How to punish a cat correctly?

 

Did the cat interfere with your sleep at night again? Shouted at 5 am? Have you marked the corners? For the ninth time, knocked a flowerpot off the windowsill and placed a pile in the middle of the kitchen when you were already late for work? Which of the following do you think require punishment? Should a cat be punished at all? And if so, how? About this in our article.

 

Why are cats being mischievous?

Cats have lived side by side with humans for almost 10,000 years. But they still remain a mystery to us: we absolutely do not understand many of their habits. We tend to explain them from a human point of view and endow cats with our views and motives. But this does not work, and sometimes it is harmful.

 

The main thing that needs to be understood for every owner is that cats never do anything on purpose to annoy us.

 

A cat can "play pranks" when it is bad, painful, uncomfortable, exciting, or when it is influenced by instincts inherent in nature.

 

Often we do not understand the reasons for "bad" behavior and make the simplest conclusion for us: they say, she wants to annoy me so much. But there are no such motives in the feline world. Every act of the cat is guided by something more practical and serious than an empty desire for revenge.

 

Let's take the most "terrible" faults of cats. For example, do your little things on the pillow. The owner thinks that the cat is taking revenge on him for something (maybe for the fact that he didn't give the sausage yesterday), but in reality the cat may have an ICD. Sometimes animals simply cannot control urination, and the marks occur unconsciously.

 

And ignoring the tray? Think the cat is bad? Or maybe it's a filler that scares off with its smells or hissing sounds when absorbing urine? Or in a litter box that about 2 out of 3 cats hate? Or maybe the tray is in an uncomfortable passageway?

 

Another example is the passion of cats to drink water from the toilet. This habit is easily explained by zoopsychologists. By nature, cats tend to drink water from flowing sources, away from the place of eating. This is why your beauty prefers not a clean metal bowl in the kitchen next to dry food, but a toilet or sink.

 

When resorting to punishment, you must be sure that it is necessary. What if the cat needs help, not punishment?

 

Punishing the cat

Can a cat be punished?

Before you punish a cat, you need to think about what you are punishing it for. For real offense? Or for natural instinct? In the case of a second punishment, it is completely meaningless. On the contrary, they will destroy all trust and love between you.

 

The squeak of a kitten calling for mom, March screams at night, "burying" their affairs, jealousy of a new dog - all these are not bad habits and not attempts to make you unhappy, but completely normal behavioral features that should not be angry.

 

When there is a problem, it is important to understand the cause and consider if you can solve it peacefully. Consider why a cat behaves this way and not another? What can you do to make her more comfortable and change her behavior? If you do not understand the motivations for feline behavior, consult with a zoopsychologist. He will help you see the situation through the eyes of a cat and tell you how to proceed. Maybe no punishment will be required!

 

However, this does not mean that you need to close your eyes to unwanted behavior. As a good owner, you should be able to set boundaries and instill in your pet basic norms of behavior. For example, do not spoil furniture and wallpaper, do not climb the table, do not walk past the tray. Therefore, if peaceful solutions to the problem do not help, you will have to proceed with punishment. But for it to work, you need to punish correctly.

 

How to punish a cat correctly?

Cats are strong and independent animals. They walk on their own and do not tolerate violation of personal space. The path to friendship with a cat is through respect for her person and gentle but persistent setting of boundaries.

 

Any manifestations of aggression: loud shouts, reprimands, the use of physical force in dealing with a cat are unacceptable. There has never been a single example in history when such an approach would be beneficial. All this only increases stress and pushes the cat to other unwanted actions. But worst of all, it instills fear in the cat, makes it nervous, kills trust in the owner. Imagine if you couldn't feel safe in your own home? What good behavior can we talk about here?

 

How then to punish the cat? How to convey that she is committing an inappropriate action? These three rules work:

 

1. Timeliness

 

The most important thing is that you can only punish a cat at the moment of misconduct. The cat's brain is designed in such a way that after a couple of minutes she will not remember her action and will not understand why she is being punished. The lesson will not be learned, and the cat will fall into a state of shock, never understanding why the beloved owner treated her so cruelly.

Remember: you can punish a cat only in the moment "here and now", when you caught her committing an offense.

 

If, after returning home after work, you find a broken pot with a violet, do not even bother to punish the cat for this. She has already forgotten about that pot 200 times, and the punishment is completely pointless.

 

2. Sequence

 

Decide once and for all which behavior is acceptable for your cat and which is not. And strictly adhere to this plan: either prohibit always, or do not prohibit at all. For example, if you do not allow your cat to climb on the table, then the next time, do not be moved to find her stealing sour cream from your plate of dumplings.

 

3. Correct punishment

 

The cat can be affected by loud noises (such as clapping your hands or rattling) - this simple method works great. When you catch a cat doing something wrong, say its name loudly to get attention and clap your hands (or make another loud sound, but not a scream). Repeat this every time your cat breaks the rules.

 

As a heavy artillery, you can use a spray bottle - sprinkle water on the cat at the time of the offense. And even in the most severe cases, it is permissible symbolically, to gently shake the cat by the scruff of the neck - this is if you are already very angry. This is the maximum punishment a loving, thinking owner can afford.

 

Shouts, assault, throwing objects (including slippers), poking your nose into a "puddle", locking yourself in the toilet, starving diets are not punishment, but cruelty to animals.

 

How to punish a cat correctly

Focus not on punishment, but on rewarding good behavior. Remember to give your cat compliments and treats when she is behaving. For example, if today your cat went to sharpen its claws on a new scratching post, and not on your favorite chair as usual, be sure to scratch it behind the ear and treat it with your favorite treat. After a few such repetitions, the cat will understand the pattern of "action-reward" and will not exchange its scratching post for any other chair in the world!

 

Patience and work will grind everything, and love and care are the best keys to good pet behavior. We wish you good luck!