$this->SaleDetail->unbindModel(array('belongsTo' => array('Product'))); $this->SaleDetail->unbindModel(array('belongsTo' => array('Sale'))); //and update the field $this->SaleDetail->saveField('collected', 'true'); ____ from model: var $belongsTo = array( 'Sale' => array('className' => 'Sale', 'foreignKey' => 'sale_id', 'conditions' => '', 'fields' => '', 'order' => '' ), 'Product' => array('className' => 'Product', 'foreignKey' => 'product_id', 'conditions' => '', 'fields' => '', 'order' => '' ) );