Most days your kitty gives you a special calm and inner peace by showing her love and trust for you when she curls up in your lap and purrs herself to sleep as you gently stroke her body. She makes you laugh as she plays with her toys or speeds through the house.
But there can be those other days...Days she drives you crazy when she scratches your furniture, sneak attacks your ankles, stops using the litter box, knocks over your plants, insists on getting into things and places she's never bothered before or other strange and frustrating behavior you're positive she's doing just to get back at you for some reason. And sometimes you're looking right at her when she does these things!
Your first reaction when any of this happens is to discipline your cat. Let me tell you right now that a cat doesn't respond to discipline in a positive learning way.
First off, grabbing hold of your cat to begin administering the punishment will result in kitty fighting back. She has no idea that she has just done something you didn't like. All she knows is that right now, something bigger than her that has always been kind is holding her against her will. Rubbing your kitty's nose in the piddle she just left will probably get you bit or scratched but will also start a feeling of resentment and mistrust in your cat that may never go away.
A common form of behavior modification many people use on their cats is a squirt bottle. If you are doing this, PLEASE STOP. All you're doing is creating fear and mistrust in your cat that takes you from the "friend" category to the "enemy/predator" category in your cat's mind. You're instilling a fear of water in your cat plus you could accidentally get water in her ear, which can cause other problems entirely.
Your cat needs guidance. You need to teach your cat what behavior you'll accept but temper the lessons with love and patience. You need to begin to understand the basic nature of cats and their instincts. The "why" of their behavior.
An important first step to finding out why kitty is acting like she is is to take her to the vet for a check-up. Once you have the assurance of a clean bill of health, you need to ask yourself what has changed in the home.
The best way to stay in a loving friendship with your cat is to have patience, perseverance. Have you added something new to the house, changed the furniture around, changed cat foods, changed the location of the litter box, changed the litter, added a new pet, added a new baby or had a change in the social situation of the house? There are so many things that can upset kitty that it's going to be like solving a major detective mystery. Start putting all the clues together until the puzzle is finished and the reason revealed. There is always a reason why kitty is acting out. In the end, kitty will thank you for doing this for her instead of giving up.
Research has shown that most pets are given to animal shelters, or worse dumped somewhere; because of common behavior problems their owners didn't want to take the time to fix or didn't know how to solve. Once you understand why your cat is behaving the way she is, you will be able to fix the problems and live peaceably with her again.
Ruth Walby
These links will help you to understand why bad behavior occurs, what you are dealing with, and how to correct it. Remember; never, ever hit an animal for doing something, which to it, is only natural.
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