How to “punish” a cat if it misbehaves?


Many families have cats as pets in their homes, surely you are one of them and have you ever wondered how to punish a cat if it misbehaves? and if that’s okay.

While these are usually adorable, calm and playful, there are times when their animal and wild instinct comes out and they can do things that can annoy us, within the home and for the family.

For cats to learn that certain behaviors are not good, it is possible to “educate” them and sometimes “correct” certain behaviors.

Clearly, when we talk about punishments, we are never referring to physical abuse of the cat, it is simply doing something that makes them uncomfortable or bothersome, so that the cat can associate this with their bad attitude, and they do not want to do it again.

We also do not want our cats to begin to see us as an enemy or to be afraid of us. It is important not to exceed certain lines.

But how to “punish” a cat? What is the proper way to do it? Well, in this post we will mention the appropriate ways to correct certain behaviors and / or reprimand a cat when it has behaved badly or has done something bad. Shall we start?


Positive punishment

First of all, we must know the context of the punishment, since there are different meanings for that term. In the case of a punishment for a bad attitude of our pet, we will take the punishment as the action of warning, preventing and teaching.

There are two types of punishment, violent punishment and positive punishment, and when it comes to educating our cats, the correct punishment is positive, which is more like a lesson, to make them understand in a peaceful way, without aggression, with direct associations. , that some attitude is wrong. Let’s see it.


Does the cat understand the punishment?

If your way of punishing and scolding your cat is by yelling or hitting it, then DEFINITELY NOT! This way you don’t understand.

The only thing that is achieved with these ” violent corrective ” actions is that they begin to fear you. That they see in you instead of a protective companion, an enemy that hurts them.

Therefore, punishment must be understood as a measure


How to punish a cat when it bites?

There may be times when your cat bites you while playing, sometimes unexpectedly or on the legs, for no reason. This is because they are animals with a wild instinct.

Cats that live in freedom learn to socialize through these behaviours and one of them is small bites, in games with their siblings.

If this happens, you simply have to remain immobile, until the kitten lets go of you. Generally, the most common thing is that it bites you on the hands.

Once it releases you, gently remove it from its grasp, so that it does not bite it again.

So that they do not repeat this action and understand that biting is wrong, what you have to do is that each time they do it while they are playing, stop the game immediately so that in that way they associate your action with their behavior.

It is important to clarify that it is not a good idea to play directly with your hands. Always do it with an object (rods, toys, strings). Direct contact can be seen by the cat as an attack.

So if you have a toy nearby, and you see the threat of wanting to bite you, offer them this toy, in this way it will also understand that you do not want it to bite you.

However you decide to punish or correct this biting behavior, you need to have a little patience. At any moment you will notice that it does not do it anymore.


How to punish your cat when it urinates outside?

The cat may develop a habit of urinating out of its litter box, everywhere.

This is undoubtedly a behavior that is stressful, since it is not pleasant to find cat urine, in all the corners and spaces of your home.

But if this is happening, what should be done? Well, first of all, you should know the reason why your cat is doing it, since it may be a rebellious action, that it presents a health problem or that it feels stressed and uncomfortable about something.

There are several reasons that can lead your cat to urinate everywhere, and you must first find out what the reason is , to take the necessary measures.

If you discover that your cat urinates everywhere on instinct (marking the territory), there are ways to correct and / or punish them. The main one is, when it does, ignore them and of course, do not yell at them. It is of no use and you will make the behaviour worse.

Yes, as you read, start ignoring them when it does this, because, on many occasions, what your cat may be looking for is to attract attention.

When you see that it is urinating where it should not, pick them up, and without saying anything, take them to its litter box, do it like that, even if it is still urinating.

Another way to correct this behaviour is to spray them with a little water with a spray, without them seeing you do it, or blow something loudly to make them startle a little.

The annoying and uncomfortable sensations that these actions will cause you will associate with your behavior and will soon stop doing it. Be consistent and be patient.

To correct and prevent cats from urinating outside, these are some important recommendations that you should keep in mind:

  • You must check that the sandbox is not dirty and that its location is appropriate. A quiet place in the house with little traffic
  • Change the type of sand. Maybe the one you wear bothers them or doesn’t find it pleasant.
  • Observe very well, if something has not happened that could have stressed your cat.
  • If you have multiple cats, locate multiple litter boxes. (it is important that they have more than one)
  • Spay your cat. Many problems of this type are related to the marking of territory for reproductive purposes.
  • Use synthetic feline hormones to relax them
  • If you are not clear about the reason for this behaviour, go to your trusted veterinarian and explain what is wrong with it. It may be a sign that something is wrong with your health.

How to scold a cat if it misbehaves?

The behavior of a cat will depend in large part on the education and affection that we give it. Of the limits and guidelines that we impose on them from a young age for a good coexistence.

But it is true that there are many causes that hide behind a cat with ease to moderate or snort, we are going to see some of them:

  • Has not socialized with its mother and siblings
  • The cat already has a strong character
  • Something has happened to them that has marked its character (aggression, abuse …)
  • Have any health problems
  • You feel fear, stress, or frustration from things you don’t like or can’t get used to.
  • Poor or poor nutrition and hygiene.
  • It’s a bit gross when it comes to playing

It should also be understood that cats have a less ingrained instinct for domestication than can happen with dogs.

As we mentioned at the beginning of the post, it is not a physical punishment, it will simply be a stimulus that we will provoke, to perform an action that the cat finds annoying, immediately after they have behaved incorrectly. This last point is very important.

We must ensure that these stimuli are intense enough for them to capture it, but without damaging them in any way. When you go to punish or scold a cat, you have to keep the following in mind:

  • You must do it immediately after it has done the wrongdoing, this so that he associates its behaviour with punishment.
  • Each punishment must have the appropriate intensity, which affects the animal so that it does not repeat the action, but does not cause worse behaviour.
  • Under no circumstances should you ever physically abuse the cat .
    There are 3 different forms of reprimands and / or punishments, which we must carry out as we see fit.
    • Direct technique . This is done through words and sounds, such as No !, this in conjunction with some action that annoys the cat, such as when it is playing and it does something wrong, you must say NO! And stop playing.
    • Remote technique . This is applied without the cat being able to see us, such as using a spray or making a loud noise. For example, if you see them urinating where it is not, you without them seeing you (this is very important) spray them with water.
    • With traps, tastes and smells . For this one, you don’t even have to be present. For example, if you have caught them biting something it should not and you know that it does it constantly, put something that tastes bitter to the cat to the object that it bites (for example lemon or orange peel), with that new flavour, it will soon stop. do.

If it hisses at me, should I punish my cat?

If your cat at any point hisses at you, before punishing or reprimanding it for doing it, you should find out why does it.

And it is that a cat needs its own space, and when it feels invaded, it is natural that it has some reaction.

And snorting can be one of them. Another reason for these to snort are:

  • Fear, pain, anger,
  • In defense of their territory,
  • Because they are puppies and want to play “hard”
  • A change that causes stress
  • Because something bothers them.
  • A health problem

Things you should never do when punishing your cat

You should know that there are certain things that for no reason should you do to punish or reprimand a pussycat.

Remember that a punishment should only help correct their wrongdoing, not turn them into a hairball full of fear.

Among those things you should do are:

  • Pouring it an inexplicable amount of water, and even less, that it sees you do it. If you use a spray, through which only a minimal amount of water comes out is enough, and it is very important that he does not see you do it.
  • Yell loudly at them.
  • Hitting them with the hand, or with an object.
  • After reprimanding, cuddling, or comforting them just because you felt sorry for them. After scolding them, leave them alone for a bit .
  • Not observing the reason for their behaviour. Sometimes the reason is stress or a health problem. In the second case, it is good that when in doubt, you consult with your trusted veterinarian. A check-up on time can give us peace of mind.

And this is all in the post, we really hope that the information contained here has been of great help to you, and that you have understood how to punish a cat in the proper way. We invite you to share the information and if you have something to add, then do not hesitate to comment.


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