You love your kitty, but it’s sure hard to show affection when you get home and the houseplants have been ripped to shreds. It’s also difficult to rally feelings of good will at 4 a.m. when your cat is batting you in the face trying to play. But the question is, how to discipline a cat? Is there any hope of training your feisty feline?
You can, in fact, train a cat to change behaviors — and it’s never to late to start, says Shawn Simons, the founder of Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats in Los Angeles. But both she and Sherry Woodard, the resident animal behavior consultant for Best Friends Animal Society, a national organization based in Utah, shy away from using the word “discipline” when referring to cats. “When I hear the word discipline I think of punishing,” Woodard says. “We have to offer instruction. We have to change behavior. Punishing a cat won’t result in changed behavior.”
Neither will getting angry at a cat hours after a bad behavior has occurred. If you catch your cat in the act, interrupt and redirect. But coming home to find your cat has ripped up your plants and yelling at him will “stress your cat out, confuse him and create distrust in your relationship,” says Woodard.
So, the question remains: how do you get your feline to fall in line? Here are four common bad behaviors and how to discipline a cat to stop doing them:
- Destroying Your Houseplants
Owners of cats who like to dig need to find a way to let their cats outside, either by harness training or by using a cat fence, says Simons. (See the instructions for a cat fence posted by Alley Cat Allies, a national feral cat resource.) If that’s not possible, try making an indoor garden with catnip, cat grass and other cat-friendly plants — a designated spot where the cat can dig to her heart’s content.You can discourage a cat from digging in your houseplants by adding a scent to it that your cat shies away from. Most cats don’t like the smell of citrus, lavender, citronella or aloe, she says. If one doesn’t work to curtail the behavior, try another.
- Scratching and Biting You
“If you’re in the habit of playing with your cat with your hands, they can suddenly get too excited and begin to bite,” Simons says. To stop this, put a toy between you and your cat during playtime, she recommends. Eventually the cat will stop associating your hand with play. Also, Simons says, recognize the signs when your cat is done with petting time. If the ears go back, the tail starts twitching and muscles tense, you can bet that your cat is ready to pounce.
- Playing All Night Long
“If you work, you’re probably gone all day and then you sleep at night. Your cat is alone a lot, and that’s no fun at all,” notes Simons. A favorite solution is to get a second cat. “I know.If you’re having trouble with your cat, probably the last thing you want to think about is a second cat, but I’ve truly seen it solve the problem,” she says. If that isn’t possible, offer enrichment during the day by leaving out toys (even if it’s just a paper bag and box). Also, Woodard mentions, “make sure to take time to play with your cat when you get home so she gets the interaction she craves.”
- Trying to Eat Your Food
If your cat is a pest during your mealtimes, the answer can be as simple as feeding him at his bowl at the same time that you are eating. If that doesn’t work, feed him in a different room at the same time you eat, Woodard says, adding, “It’s a simple fix, but it works.”
“Cats are always going to be cats with all their idiosyncrasies,” Simons says. “But there is hope. You can change behavior, and if you do that, in the long run, you’ll have a much better cat and much happier relationship.” Try some of these tips today.
Want to learn more about how to train your cat? Read A Guide to Cat Training.
Kara Murphy, a freelance writer from Erie, Pennsylvania, has a cat named Olive.
