Just like you would say no human is perfect, it can also be safe to say that no feline is perfect. A lot of pet owners have realistic expectations for their cat’s behaviour for that reason if the animal occasionally does something that isn’t alright you might just overlook it and not be surprised by it.
However, you might not want to be a bad cat owner, and for that reason, you find it difficult to discipline your cat when it consistently exhibits terrible behaviour. The big question is, is it alright to punish your cat?
Chewing on electric wires jumping on top of counters, scratching household items that are not designed for such, urinating outside the litter box, and many other unpleasant characters are commonly known as unwanted cat behaviours.
Some of such behaviours are simply a natural reaction to the animal’s environment, but some others are bad habits that should be checked.
No matter what the bad behaviour your cat is exhibiting is, the major thing on your mind would be how to stop it and if it is possible to stop well the good news is such characters can be stopped, and it is not too difficult.
Train your cat
When we talk about animal species that are smart and intelligent, most people would think dogs. However, cats as well and very smart and equally have a great memory.
Experts have claimed that cats have both long term memory and the short term memory which means they can be trained and they also know what bad characters they can continue doing and get away with.
Just like people, pets also react to positive reinforcement so your cat will never forget when it gets something that it enjoys. Most feelings love food attention toys and sometimes all 3.
it is then left to you like the cat owner to choose the motivation that can be used to entice your feline to do whatever it is you want it to do and also to provide the animal with some form of positive reinforcement.
If it is possible only to reward your cat with that special item when you are training it for specific behaviour. By keeping that desired item for training only, it would increase the value of the reward and also make it more enticing to your pets.
If you have tried to use food and attention and they don’t work, you can also try items such as can’t cheese spray tuna shrimps and even catnip toys one of these items may just be the answer to your question.
Discourage bad behavior
Cats and some other pets are much more receptive to rewards and treats than they are to other methods like punishment.
However, you can discourage bad behaviour by using a few of the tricks below:
- Shake a noisy can: if you notice your cat jumping on the counters or going anywhere, it shouldn’t be you can shake a can with some pennies in it just to startle the animal and make it understand that it’s not meant to be in such places.
- Used deterrents: some cats cannot stand the smell of red pepper citrus smell flakes and some commercially available sprays that are specially designed to keep cats from specific areas. If your cat is in the habit of chewing on wires and other things, some specific sprays have a bad taste that is designed to keep cats away from throwing stuff you can use those too.
- Use a water spray bottle: you sure know how annoying it can be when someone sprays water on you, cats feel the same way. You can quickly spray some water on your cats if they are somewhere they shouldn’t be, or they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing there is a chance that after doing this a few times watching you reach for the spray bottle would stop your cat from engaging in those bad behaviours.
- Use aluminium foil or double-sided tape: you can place either a double-sided tape or an aluminium foil on surfaces you do not want your cat to scratch cat hates the texture of these materials which is why they can be very helpful.
- Say something: each time your cat exhibits bad behaviour startled the animal with a loud sound you could maybe yell out or stop, or any other word that you think would be scary enough. This method is very effective for cats that are aggressive with people and have formed the habit of grabbing onto your arm or leg or even biting.
- Give a time out: anytime your cat begins to exhibit a bad character you can take it and lock it up in your bathroom or in any other room with no people no toys and no food except for a litter box in it. When the cat stays there for as long as 20 minutes the chance that it will come out with a different attitude is very high.
Encourage good behavior
Whenever it is possible to give praises, treats, and even attention to your cat when you notice it is behaving nicely if you notice your cat is lying down next to something that it normally would chew, it is good for you to reward it.
If you notice your cat scratching the scratching pole you have provided instead of scratching your sofa you should also reward it that will help the animal learn the difference between good behaviour and bad behaviour.
Problems and proofing behaviour
It is very essential that you never hurt your cat physically. This includes heating kicking spanking or intentionally hurting your cat if your attempts to teach your cat a lesson by physical means it will not work and it might lead to more disruptive or aggressive behaviour.
Even though people used to scruff their cats, it is no longer a recommended method of restraint or even transports for adult cats. the reason for this is that scruffing is painful and when a cat who naturally misbehaves is caused any form of pain the issue will only get worse.
It has also been discovered that what was thought to be relaxation for cats that were scruffed is nothing but fear paralysis.
You can share other tips with us by leaving a comment, and we will be glad to hear from you.
