Disciplining Your Cat

Cats tend to be a more independent type of pet which is why many people prefer them over other types of pets.

However, you might find that your feline friend doesn't always do what he is supposed to. At this point you need to find a way to discipline your cat that doesn’t involve hitting and screaming at him. If you bought your cat as a kitten, the odds are they will pick on what is allowed and what isn't fairly quickly. If you bought an adult cat you might have to work on a few bad habits, but need to remember to be patient while doing so.

Below are a few ways that might help you deal with the disciplining of your cat, especially when it comes to particular areas.

The first thing that you should know is that it helps to use the same words when disciplining your cat, don’t change it up all the time because you will end up confusing your cat in the long run. If there is more than just you in the house, you need to make sure that your discipline techniques are uniform so that the cat will not be confused as to who they need to listen to.

Come Fluffy, Come!

You need to realize that you cat is not like a dog. They are not always going to obey when you call because they basically have a mind of their own. Although they do have a completely different personality, it is possible to get your cat to come to you if you call it and reinforce your command with positive behavior. You can do this by offering them so sort of reward such as petting them, brushing them, or giving them a treat.

If you are screaming at your cat to come to you with the thought that such an action will shock them into coming right over, you will soon realize that such tactics will not work with a cat as they saunter off in the completely opposite direction.

It's Green and Leafy, it's a Plant!

If you happen to have plants in your home that are not harmful to your cat, the odds are that you don't want your cat to destroy them. As mentioned earlier, cats are very curious and will try getting into everything. It is also important to note that it is instinctive for cats to claw or dig as they do in the litter box so if you are not care, they might do the same to your plants. In order to prevent the certain mess that will occur otherwise, you need to go to a craft store and purchase plastic needlepoint mesh.

Then cut it to fit the opening of the pot and a spot for your plant and then apply it over the dirt. This will keep your cat from clawing at the dirt in your plant. Chewing on plants is another matter entirely. All you need to do is spray the leaves and coat them with a cayenne spray or a bitter apple spray that you can get at most pet shops. The bad taste will keep your cat from chewing further.

Ouch! He Bit Me!

Biting is not a fun thing when you cat has sharp little teeth. Often cats tend to bite or nip when they are playing around and in reality it is quite a painful shock when those teeth connect with your skin. In order to get your cat to stop this painful behavior, you need to take the right steps. The next time he decides to take a playful nip at whatever skin is handy you can choose to do one of two things, you can either hiss at him like another cat would do, or scream in pain. Either one of these reactions is sure to get your cat's attention and make him stop.

Keep Your Cat from Electrocution

Cats are curious and some love to chew on things, especially what they are not supposed to be chewing on. For this reason it is very important to cat proof your house. Part of cat proofing involves keeping electrical cords out of reach of your cat because they will invariably end up chewing on them. If it is not possible to have your cords shortened, there is another method that you can try to keep them from chewing on cords that have electrical current running through them.

Try coating the cord with some different mixtures such as cayenne pepper, hot sauce, nail biting polish, or orange peel. You can also try organizing your electrical cords into tubes such as wrapping paper in on. This will keep them out of reach from your cat and help keep them safe from any electrical jolts.

Climbing the Walls, Nope, Just the Curtains

Cats love to climb and explore, if you have curtains in your home when you get a cat you are just asking for disaster. This would definitely be a good time to consider switching to blinds. If you don't want to redecorate your house there are a few ways that you can make things a little safer for your cat. If you cat has a habit of climbing up the curtains, you might look into a rod that will fall when pressure is put on it, a few times of the curtains falling down might just scare your cat out of climbing them in the first place.

Also, you want to make if you have a cord on your curtains that your cat cannot end up choking themselves on this. If the cord is in a loop, you will need to cut it so that your cat doesn't get stuck and end up hanging themselves. Hopefully you can get your cat out of the habit of climbing your curtains before he ends up ruining them altogether.

Jumping on Kitchen Counters

It is simply not safe for your curious little cat to be jumping up on counters and tables while in the kitchen. Not to mention that it is entirely unsanitary as well for them to go from doing their duty in their litter box and then walking around on the counters that you prepare your food on. In all, it is not a good idea for you or your cat. You really don't want your cat to become accustomed to jumping up in the kitchen because eventually they are going to jump up onto a hot stove and seriously injure themselves.

There are different ways you can go about training your cat that the kitchen is an off limits area for jumping and exploring. The first method is to simply pick them up whenever they jump onto a kitchen counter top or table and tell them No! In a firm voice, and then to put them back onto the floor. Another idea is to stack items that can not necessarily hurt your cat, but will make a loud noise near the edge of the counter so they will fall down and frighten your cat when the jump up.

If neither of these ideas work, you can always resort to using the spray bottle of water, but try these first before you resort to more drastic means. Just remember that you are looking out for both the safety and health of your cat as well as yourself.

Adding Another Cat to the Mix

Not all cats respond to change great at first. Some will adapt right away whereas others require a little bit of time in order to make the change. Adding a new cat to the mix can be a stressful situation for any of your existing cats. You need to realize this in advance and do what you can to make the transition a little easier. Many cat owners find that the easiest way to accomplish this is to put the new cat into their own area for a few days so it can become used to its surrounding without being bombarded by other cats that have sonority in the home.

Make sure you are spending time with both the new cat and your other cats. Make sure that your new cat has access to food, water, and a litter box in the room they are in. After a bit, begin to leave the door open to the room that the new cat is in. Eventually your existing cats are going to become curious and check out the new cat. When this happens make sure that you go in as well to make sure nothing bad happens.

Pay attention to each cat and give them equal amounts of attention, this way neither cat will feel like you are fonder of one over the other which is extremely important. After a while the cats will work out the dynamics of their relationship, just make sure to continue showing an equal amount of affection for each cat.

Scratching up the Furniture!

Anytime that you decide to take a pet into your home you are taking the chance of having them destroy a lot of your belongings, including your furniture. What you need to remember, no matter how hard it might be at the moment, is that cat's do have a reason for what they do. For many, their cats have a problem with clawing up the furniture and for this reason they have their cat declawed.

This is an option, but might not always be the best one for your cat or for your reasons. You really need to think it through before you have your cat declawed. It is possible to help your cat transfer their urge to claw your furniture into clawing something else such as a scratching post.

It is possible to train your cat to you a scratching post for their stretching and scratching needs. This can be done quite easily by making the scratching post seem enticing. Some people choose to rub scents such as catnip or dressing it up with a toy or two to make it more appealing. You also need to keep in mind that you need to strategically place your cat's scratching post in an area where they can use it whenever they want to.

One of the keys to getting a scratching post that your cat will like is to make sure it is tall enough and sturdy enough. The great thing is that there are a variety of scratching posts available to fit every cat's preferences. Also make sure that you discipline your cat whenever you catch them scratching your furniture and praise them when they are using the scratching post, you cat will soon catch on that they will be petted and praised when doing what they are supposed to be doing.