How do you punish a Cat?

Question

How would the cat understand you are punishing him?

Answer 1

get a spray bottle and spray water at him, use a stern tone of voice. He will understand. He won't take a lot of notice!

Answer 2

I think Amber's answer comes the closest to this - I used to work at a cat sanctuary & have had loads of cats over the years. Cats have a pecking order (like a pride of lions) & want to be in with the "in crowd" part of the pride ....being left out of this really really upsets them. You know how your cat will ignore YOU but will do so right infront of you if you've been out of the house too long?... the reason it does so infront of you but facing away from you & not acknowledging you is so you get the message it's NOT HAPPY... otherwise what's the point??!!.. Use the cat's own tactics......treat the cat exactly how it treats you - remember YOU'RE the leader of the pack & you're in charge ....so to punish a cat tell it just once "BAD CAT" ... so it knows you're not happy & then TOTALLY IGNORE it..... ignore it for a few hours & it will get the message that bad behaviour doesn't pay & will try really hard to please you after that because it wants to be in "the gang" - try locking it out of your lounge in the evening when you're watching TV or on the computer & it will feel really snubbed - it has worked for every cat I've encountered & for certian difficult people as well!!!.. at least the cat won't get even more stressed & uptight by being beaten or sprayed with water or yelled at...... best of luck

Answer 3

If your cat does something you don't want - jumping on the table for instance or sticking its paw into the fish tank - spray it immediatly with a water pistol.

Your cat will soon - you have to be consequent - associate the water with jumping on the table or going after the fishy. Therefore, the cat will soon stop the behavior as it does not like water.

My cat let go of unwanted behavior through this.

NOTE: A cat only will pick this up when you spray it on the spot. It won't help to spray her 15 minutes after.

Hitting or slapping a cat will not work. It will make the animal scared and maybe even aggresive.

Answer 4

I am not a vet, but I do spend about alot of time (I vol. at my local animal shelter EVERY weekend, and my mother in-law is a dog/cat groomer) around animals. It depends on the problem, One of the main things said on here is partial right, but you do not use a squirt gun (HAVE YOU EVERY HAD A WATERHOSE HIT YOU DIRECTLY IN THE EYE ON ACCIDENT BEFORE?) instead use a spray bottle set mid-way mist-spray. If it is a problem getting on counters...or places not allowed, put a few pennies in a can on the edge counter/table/fishtank and can be easily knocked off by the cat when they go to jump there, move them every so often, the noise scares them and generally works for an unpleasent sound to them that they try to avoid it. Hope this helps, -Me...Mother of a toddler, and infant, a saint bernard puppy, and an adult pointer/hound. lol...I Love Muh kids

Answer 5

My cat likes water.
We tried that whole spray them in the face with a water pistol thing… she just closed her eyes and leant in for more.

But she also sleeps in the bathroom sink, so it might just be that she’s weird.

I don’t punish my animals. They don’t understand it.
If you catch an animal IN THE ACT a sharp clap will usually make them stop… Unless they’re really determined, then you might have to resort to picking up the cat and removing it from the room.

If you yell at an animal for something they have done, rather than something they are doing, it will have no effect. It will just upset and confuse them.

Answer 6

You cant. Look at it this way: Dogs have owners and Cats have staff. If anything the cat will probably punish you by peeing on you, Honest! But dont worry, they only do it the once. Its there way of saying Go boil yer head! Fact not fiction

Answer 7

It's almost impossible to punish a cat effectively because, as you seem to suspect, they're not likely to understand.

You have to catch them in the act of doing wrong, and they still might not get it, because they're not really wired to understand that anything they do is "wrong."

It's not that they're dumb; they just figure that whatever they want must be "right."

There are ways of teaching cats not to do things, but they seldom involve any kind of punishment. Maybe if you post more about your situation, someone can suggest a solution to your problem.

Answer 8

The punishment must be immediate, not even 15 seconds later. Water spray is good. So is a loud noise like stamping on the floor. Nothing too harsh or direct.

Answer 9

All that stuff below is nonsense you dont tap a cat on the *** no matter how light it is. If you want the best and safest way press your finger gently on her nose and the cat will know it is wrong i have rad a lot of books on cats and trust me when i ay this that you need to just gentely press her nose.

Answer 10

We give our cats a light (emphasis on LIGHT!! You don't have to beat the crap out of your cat.) slap on the @ss - but don't do it after the fact. Cat won't remember it's "sin" if you don't catch it in the act. Or roll up a newspaper and smack it on the floor - the noise will stop the cat from doing whatever it's busy doing.

Answer 11

They don't take too kindly to it at all. Very intelligent creatures but they seem to play dumb when it comes to punishment. Lord knows that if you try, they will hold it against you for a long time. It can do more harm than good if you lock them up or yell and scream, they become flighty and when you are over your anger you will be upset that they are still frightened of you. Best thing is to train them to do what you want. They can be trained very easily but you need to be consistent with your behaviour. They will eventually understand that no means no.