A lot of people love to raise their pets as they raise their children. Some cat lovers are particularly known for voicing strongly that cats were once Egyptian goddesses and still are. And as much as we want a fun-loving household, a disciplined house is also something to look up to.But imagine what if your cat is in the habit of pooping around the household, scratching, biting, jumping on you, or indulging in any unpleasant behavior? Well, surely a nightmare, isn’t it?! Thus, at such times our felines will require discipline to make sure it’s a safe space for both the owner and the pet. So, you need to understand how to discipline a cat.
The first step is to break the chain of bad behaviors. When disciplining your pet, you must take care of some intricacies. But often, the question arises as to what should be done or what can be done. So, allow us to direct the way for how to discipline a cat.
How to Discipline a Cat?
#1 Reinforce Good Behaviors
It is the Best way to discipline a cat. Start by keeping a lot of treats handy and rewarding your felines for every good behavior. Besides, cats fail to register the meaning of punishments but can make a connection between their demeanor and their reward. Since all kittens want the same thing, more treats, they will connect their good behavior with a cat treat and do it over and over for that.
#2 Give No Attention
Not giving your cat the attention that it craves is another step to follow. Furthermore, ignoring them is one of the most effective methods for putting a stop to negative behaviors. Redirect your cat’s attention to something entirely different to discourage her notorious behavior. Moreover, those who question how to discipline a cat for attacking, must simply not react to their attacks by avoiding their pets.
#3 Startling the Pet
Individuals have to startle their pet with a loud noise like an “ouch” or any word to discourage rough behavior. This works well with overly aggressive cats who are in the habit of biting or holding onto our arms or legs. The key is consistency to stop cats biting. Once you’ve used a word to put a stop to bad behavior, remember to use the same word every time. This makes it easier for felines to associate that word with their negative behavior.
#4 Discouraging with Claps
Next up is to discourage a kitten’s conduct by clapping hands. Unlike humans, they won’t consider it as applause for their performance. Rather get annoyed by the clapping. A clapping noise will irritate a feline, and hence, it will discontinue whatever it is doing. Furthermore, repeated clapping will make cats associate their behavior with clapping, and they will eventually stop.
#5 Change the Environment
Changing the environment is a sly way of getting your cat to stop doing stuff that you do not want to. For example, if you require your cat off the table, put a cookie sheet on the tabletop. It will slide right off the table as she jumps. Additionally, one can place double-sided tape or aluminum foil on surfaces to stop felines from scratching, you can opt for a cat scratching tree. These fuzz balls do not appreciate different textures. However, remember not to make changes that will potentially harm them.
#6 Give your Cat a Time Out
Another step is that every time a kitty does something bad, one way to discourage her behavior is to put her into a little cat jail. People may designate a room to abandon their pet into for over 20 minutes every time it does something they want to put a stop to. It is preferable to use your bathroom or a space where there will be no one but your cat. The chances that your cat will introspect are slim. But they will associate their jail time with their behavior. And while you are at it, remember to take mug shots of your criminal. Isn’t that cute?!
It is important to note that even your kitty aspires to have a loving relationship with you. So you must be patient and observe what works for your cat and what doesn’t when you want to learn how to stop a cat from biting.
What to Avoid in the Process of Disciplining a Cat?
#1 Remember, Cats and Dogs are not the Same
Discipling a cat is not similar to disciplining a dog for several reasons. They react differently to a set of commands. On the one hand, a dog will follow the basic commands like stay and sit, but a feline won’t in most cases. It is, therefore, important to treat a kitty in a unique way and not like any neighborhood dog you might have come across.
#2 Don’t Hurt Cats Physically
When you physically discipline a cat, it affects the bond between you and it. Physically harming a feline as a form of punishment will make it go rogue. Moreover, it might lash out too. It is also important to note that kittens do not associate physical punishment with bad behavior, so it is not exactly helping your training process. Thus, this will cause distrust in felines. They won’t feel safe around their owner, and this will affect the bond, ultimately.
#3 Do Not Yell at your Cat
One thing to remember is not to shout when you want to know how to discipline cats. Yelling at the cat may scare her and can cause stress or anxiety. Now, that can lead to another problem. So many vets do not suggest yelling at a feline. Furthermore, yelling can cause misbehavior in cats, defeating the cause altogether. So, avoid shouting loudly at them.
#4 Don’t Allow All Kinds of Playing
If, during playtime, your kitten is swatting or biting your finger, stop this behavior immediately. So people complaining about how to discipline a cat for biting do not encourage that conduct. Ensuring to avoid such a negative demeanor at an early stage can instill good nature in felines. These fuzz balls can comprehend what their owners like in them and what they do not. So take care of letting your pet know what you do not like or expect from it.
#5 Don’t Use a Spray Bottle
It is most likely that your cat is not associating being sprayed with bad behavior. She will stop whatever she’s doing just to run away and avoid being sprayed. Moreover, it can annoy felines and can probe them to continue with their bad conduct. Sometimes, they can also bite and ruin the spray bottle. So, if you want to learn how to get cat to stop biting, do not use a spray bottle but use any of the steps as said earlier.
#6 Prompt Punishments
This is the best way to discipline a cat. Always give prompt punishments to ensure that your cat associates the punishment with bad behavior. Unlike physical abuse or shouting, give them punishments like no treats, no petting, etc. Lack of treats and petting can make them consider that as a punishment and will make them learn their lesson.
#7 Lack of Consistency
A lack of consistency will make your disciplinary actions counterproductive. Furthermore, this will only confuse your pet. Suppose you discourage them from biting your fingers one day, and other days you just play along. This can put the kitten into a dilemma of what’s wrongdoing and what’s not. Maintaining consistency is the key to cat discipline.
FAQs
Begin with reprimanding a stubborn cat gently for every bad behavior, and use the aforementioned techniques. Stay consistent and watch. If it still doesn’t work, take your cat to the vet. Their bad behavior may be the cause of some health issues they are facing and are having difficulty communicating.
It is important to stay patient, watch and continuously discourage bad behavior in a cat that’s misbehaving. But do not take it too far. Continue giving them love, and don’t completely isolate them. Additionally, take the process of disciplining slowly, do not hurry through it.
If you feel you’ve taken the punishments too far and want to apologize, say sorry in a sweet, calming, natural tone to your cat. Also, ensure you pet her and shower her with love with treats and cat toys.
Scratching, hissing, and biting by the cat are all acts of aggression. It is advisable not to ignore this behavior, for it might be a cry for help under the disguise of misbehavior. One may also reprimand their felines but try to understand the reason for continued bad behavior.
Yes, cats can tell when their owners are mad at them. Furthermore, these animals can distinguish between an angry and a positive, loving voice. They can pick up on your emotions and can make decisions like when you need love or when you are mad.
Conclusion
Can you discipline a cat? Of course, yes. All a person has to do is follow all of the steps mentioned above. All of them are the most generic solutions to the problem of how to discipline a cat. But you must also keep in mind the individuality of your kitty. Please note that the idea is to observe and learn. Try to pick up what works best for your cat and what affects it the most, and continue with it. While it might be an exhausting process, remember that it is rewarding. Besides, it might also work to build a better bond between a cat and its owner. Such a disciplinary process will provide individuals with a better understanding of their feline and vice versa. It will serve to better the communication between you and them.