How to properly punish a cat?

The article's title is certainly terrifying, but the topic is relevant. How do you properly punish a cat for bad behavior or for soiling the house? How many unfortunate kitties end up on the street simply because their owners failed to teach them anything, concluding, "She's a weirdo, let her live on the street." In reality, Murka may be perfectly normal; her owners simply failed to properly train her. But upon hearing this argument, the owners will unanimously say, "Excuse me, didn't we beat her, didn't we use a slipper, a mop, and everything else? She still doesn't understand!" That's why this topic arose: "How to punish a cat"—in a way that doesn't cause harm, and makes everything clear to her.

Content

1 Should cats be punished?
2 How can one not punish?
- 2.1 Analyzing the causes of bad behavior
- 2.2 How can you punish a cat without using force?

Should cats be punished?

Let's start with the question: is it necessary to punish a cat at all, or is it a waste of time? Punishment is necessary, but not to vent anger on the cat for a misdeed it has long since forgotten, but to correct its behavior. If you approach the issue correctly, not only will the cat improve, but you will remain its best friend, not an owner (or mistress) from whom it's best to stay away.

When should you punish a cat for misbehavior? It should be done immediately.

Cats really do have a short memory. As the saying goes, 16 kilobytes. So if your pet was having fun and getting into mischief in the morning, and you discover the results of her fun in the evening, don't waste yours or her nerves on punishment. She's long forgotten whose hands (or rather, paws) did this, and she's probably just as confused as you are about the mess in the apartment. Now, imagine her shock when her owner, out of the blue, pounces on her with a scolding, or even with a broom...

Conclusion: the owner is a capricious and unbalanced creature, from whom you can expect anything. Therefore, if you want to teach her something, try to catch her red-handed or a few minutes later (when new wonderful impressions have not yet appeared in her memory, burying the old ones).

How to punish a cat

How can one not punish?

Of course, you should never hit a cat!

Firstly, since cats and people are in different weight categories, it is possible to accidentally injure a whiskered one.
Secondly, it is unlikely that pain itself can induce an animal to think deeply about the topic: “How wrong I was”... It is simply in pain.

A cat isn't human; it's incapable of reasoning. It will simply try to stay away from its owner. And if you spank a kitty too often, it will either stop responding to punishment altogether or become aggressive.

Analyzing the causes of bad behavior

So, let's first analyze the offense. Why did the scratchy one do this? For example, scratching the furniture. Question: does she have a scratching post? Or, does the whiskered friend go to toilet Anywhere. The question is: is her litter box clean? Is it too small, and where is it located? Does the cat like it there? Another misbehavior that irritates owners so much is that the cat climbs on tables. Or maybe she's just hungry? Or maybe someone put porridge in her bowl and cutlets on the table? Then stealing is quite understandable.

How can you punish a cat without using force?

By understanding the reasons for the misbehavior, the problem can be resolved without punishment. But what if your pet simply forgot who's boss? Then it's time to remind them. When your cat is misbehaving and looking you in the eye, you can hiss at them. For a cat, this is a sign of threat. Alternatively, you can slam a towel nearby, stamp your feet, or otherwise make a loud noise.

Spray it with water, or approach it, grab it by the scruff of the neck, and look it straight in the eyes. Cats really don't like this. But after stopping the misbehavior, it's still worth keeping an eye on your pet. Perhaps the bad behavior is explained by other, more objective reasons than just a bad temper.

Incidentally, some cats, when punished, start misbehaving precisely because of extreme stress, but if you give them more affection instead of punishment, the mischief disappears, as if it never happened. Love is the most reliable and time-tested method of training. Before punishing your cat, consider: is it really necessary?