How do you treat your cat?

Question

Ok I figure I'm in the minority here since from what I read, most people let their kittens and cats do what they want, THEY are the boss. Not all of you but admit it some of you do, you aren't able to control your cats. In addition, aside from saying No loudly, you hardly ever physically discipline you cat. Now it's your cat, so it's your proragative what you do with it but my cat, when he's bad he get's a knock on the head or a smack on the butt, not that I don't abuse him but I treat him like a fragile girl either (he's male). He knows I'm the alpha in this family and he does things my way. I'm just wondering if the other guys out there treat their cats the same way or does everyone just let thier cat rule the house?

See that's the thing, a lot people are "afriad" that their cat won't love them anymore or be afraid of them, when they don't know if that will happen or not. One, yes my cat is afraid of me but not the run away whenever he comes type, my cat loves me, comes up and sleeps in my lap, follows me around wherever room I go to but he also respect me as the Alpha. I'm not a bully, I'm a cat parent, there's difference.

Also he's a male cat and I'm a male, he's left a few scars on me too to let me know, hey's that's enough and I respect that. Anyways, cat's in the wild are not gentle creatures, they too have a heirachy. There's no way I'm going to "pussify" my cat nor will I let him run all over the house. People who have no control over thier pets are the people who let them go when they have children because they don't know if they can control them. I figure that if the professional people can tame tigers and lions, we normal people can control our pets.

Answer 1

i get what you're saying. i have a small female cat but she goes crazy (running back and forth and pouncing out at our big dog just for fun) so i'll talk sternly to her and swat her (not hard but enough to surprize her) if she beings to scratch or chew the chairs..... but then when she's good i give her plently of TLC!!!!!!!

then again, cats DO rule themselves... they think of themselves as gods, lol.

Answer 2

My cat does nothing wrong. Religiously uses the litterbox, only scratches her cat tree and condo (putting catnip on them once every two weeks helps immensely), and will sit a few feet away from me when I eat. She never gets on the counters (I wipe them down with disinfectant before cooking anyway, so it would not matter), and we never use the kitchen table anyway.

All I've ever done is give her treats for doing what I wanted her to from kittenhood. I've also clicker trained her, and saying her name or clicking twice makes her stop whatever she is doing and come to me.

She was a feral kitten, and slapping her would've completely negated the process of getting her to trust people.

She's shy enough without being batted around for normal behavior which can be trained out with treats and patience.

Answer 3

I have had cats all of my life, and yes you can raise your voice, let them know what no is, and I have seen them understand it and respect it. However, you have cats and dogs mixed up here because cats do not go by who the alpha is. At present we have 5 cats and they all lie together, all fixed, all mixed, male and female. There are no hierarchies. They look to me and to my husband and kids, to be fed, to be given water, to be loved. They are not in need of hitting or anything else! In over 40 years, have never had to nor did my parents to a cat, to keep them in line or let them know who the boss is, and nor will I! I think you need to take a look at why you think you have to be the boss etc. That's not right to swat them, for what? There isn't anything a good stern no will do than a swat on their butts? That's just downright unfair and nasty!

Answer 4

Hi there..."successful" professional animal trainers NEVER discipline with negative punishment as their animals will not learn what they need to do and this punishment creates devastating or fatal risks as the animal becomes fearful as well as aggressive. The big cats, elephants, etc actually are trained ONLY with positive reinforcement in order to achieve the results many people witness in show exhibitions. The old days of whipping the tigers are no longer accepted by professionals as they know these methods are considered dangerous and not to mention inhumane as well.

Please understand that canines have the alpha male. This doesn't apply to cats as they are independent and solitary naturally, therefore there is no reason to inherit this behaviour. Cats only resort to aggressive means in the wild to defend their food or territory--nothing more. Any animal who is punished will learn to become fearful, some aggressive, but yes they will still return because of the fact they need to satiate their hunger. Animals that can get fed from another source and isn't punished will avoid the punisher if they know there's food another source.

Domestic cats can act like they rule the home, however they can be trained with positive reinforcement to effectively behave if there are problems. This is the only way to retrain them and they can become more obedient sooner with this method of training rather than resorting to the old techniques of swatting, scolding, squirting water, etc. The only learn to associate fear with these latter techniques since they see the punisher attached to those negative punishers. Furthermore, cats cannot reason like humans as they are instinctual.

To effectively train a cat is to research the species. They are not humans and should not be trained since they lack the ability to reason with logic like humans. Understanding the species is required by all animal trainers in order to effectively train them successfully. Without understanding the nature of the species we fail them as their responsible caretakers or parents.

Answer 5

I do discipline my cats with a verbal command, a very loud "BAD GIRL" usually does the trick, If I see them doing something they should not I often clap my hands very loudly behind them and that stops them. When they were young they used to climb the walls and that had to stop, so we used a water pistol and would shoot water at them (never in their face) and this soon deterred them from doing anything, after about a week they stopped doing that and we just had to point the water pistol at them and that was enough. They know they are not allowed in our room, I just do not agree with cats on the bed as they have their bed, I have mine.

Answer 6

I've never caught my cat doing anything bad. She always uses the litter she doesn't jump on the counter or scratch the furniture.

She has free reign over the house, she's never given me reason not to let her do what she wants.

She even comes when I call her name.

Why would you ever need to hit a cat?

Answer 7

My cat, I let her do as she pleases. She's not a troublemaker. I don't believe in hitting cats, because the cat sees it as ABUSE and will eventually learn that you're not friendly, and will avoid you. It's better to use a light spray from a water bottle. Cats see that as an 'act of god' and will learn not to misbehave.


I love my cat and would never raise a hand to her in the name of 'discipline'.

Answer 8

Cat`s don`t have "alphas". They are solitary animals by nature and hitting serves no purpose other than causing your cat to shy away from you. So go ahead, ruin your relationship between you and your cat because I guarantee thats whats going to happen you dickweed.

Answer 9

it's JUST an animal. Why have a pet if you are going to hit it!!

You should have your pet taken away from you. I have three cats and we have never hit our cats. A water bottle with a spray nozzle is discipline enough when they are misbehaving!!

Answer 10

I think it is somewhat necessary at times to smack your cat around a bit. I give my cats a flick in the nose if they are being bad, that is the only thing that i can really do they like the abuse i think. haha im jk i dont hurt them. But i do toss them around, smack them on the behind, and i put them into beer boxes and spin around in circles with them. You would think cats would hate this sort of thing, but not mine they alwasys come back for more.