Related Articles

No matter what type of pet you have, you will eventually have to deal with behavior and training. Many people believe that only dogs need training, but that is not true. Cats can benefit from some training, as well. In fact, understanding cat behavior and training methods can help you and your cat to get along much better and live harmoniously.

Don't be alarmed. This is not a complicated process. Cats are smart animals and learn quickly with the right training program. While cats are independent and stubborn at times this is true, however if you can learn to understand your cat and use their resistance to change to your advantage you can train your cat in no time. First thing to know about your cat is that they learn through experiences. Anything they enjoy and find pleasant is what they end up repeating and will avoid any negative unpleasant experience at all costs.

You have to keep this in mind when training your cat because many times cat owners make a fatal mistake with their cats. This mistake is rewarding bad behavior. You may not even realize that your are doing it. That goes back to why it is important to understand why your cat is doing something. For example, you may want to break your cat's bad habit of excessive meowing, but whenever he starts doing it you pick him up or give him food or do something to make him be quiet. What you are doing is exactly why he meows in the first place - he wants attention and he is getting. So, as you can see he is not going to stop meowing if it is getting him what he wants.

This is why some many cat owners end up confused, and irritated when they see their cat's behavior getting worse and not better. Another mistake cat owners make is using punishment to train your cat like using a spray bottle to spray your cat when they are doing something wrong. Spraying your cat doesn't make them associate the spraying with the negative behavior just to you. They'll end up being afraid of you whenever you're holding the bottle.

One of the things you must do is provide your cat with an environment that encourages good behavior and discourages bad behavior. The litter box can often be an area where problems occur. If your cat does not seem to want to use the litter box then the problem could be with the litter box and not the cat. A litter box should be in a private place, away from noise and kept clean. Additionally, other cats or animals should not be using the same little box as your cat. Providing a litter box that gives your cat privacy and that is clean will provide an encouraging place for him and should help stop accidents.

Another common issue is scratching. In order to feed your cat's natural need to scratch you need to provide him with a scratching post and encourage him to use it. In the meantime, cover the areas that the cat seems to prefer to scratch on. Eventually the cat should take to the scratching post and ignore his old scratching spot.

As mentioned, cats like attention. They are not the anti social animals that many like to think they are. Kittens, especially, will do almost anything to get your attention. This can include bad behavior and excessive meowing. To help your cat avoid falling into bad attention getting habits you should first have him checked by the vet. Many odd habits can actually be a sign of an illness or other health problem. Then you should try to spend time playing with the cat and giving him attention regularly.

Take a little time to understand your cat. It will keep their behavior under control.

Ready to get rid of your cat because of all their cat behavior problems? Tired of cat training that just doesn't work? Before you make any rash decisions go to SecretsofCats.com