Cats, especially when they are young, sometimes have aggressive behaviors that must be punished in the right way so that they do not reproduce. Sometimes these behaviors are even repetitive and can lead to a general misbehavior of the feline.
And sometimes these behaviors are very aggressive, even if it does not hurt. So how do you punish an aggressive cat? In this article I show you the best solutions to stop bad behavior without hurting the cat or scaring him.
It’s entirely possible to discipline him to conform to the behavioral patterns you want to instill in him.
How to Punish an Aggressive Cat: Understanding the Causes
Most of the time, the aggressive behavior of the cat comes from its natural inhibitions which are numerous when it is young and you must help them to adapt.
Sometimes the causes are other, but you will still have to take matters into your own hands so that everything goes well afterwards.
Aggressive behavior of cats
There are several feline behaviors that are inappropriate in cats that often show up in its youth. There are 4 types of harmful cat behavior:
- Jump everywhere: Whether on you or on an object to spend its excess energy. Very common in young cats and which uses their energy to stimulate their natural predation instinct without necessarily realizing the heckling they are making. This phenomenon is more common in cats that were weaned at the wrong time.
- Chewing wires in the house : It is a real passion for some young cats who bite cables and cords. Here the cause can be behavioral as physical, a disease being able to cause this attitude.
- Scratch everywhere : Usually the sofa, which they love, but also any other element that allows them to scratch. Without a scratching post and access to the outside, they will necessarily tend to scratch everywhere.
- Bite : He usually does it to play and sharpen his predatory instincts but can also have behavioral or physical problems, as mentioned above. Check the condition of the gums to be sure.
How to punish (or rather discipline) your cat?
After having put in place certain methods to discipline a cat, I can assure you one thing, it is that they are all based on the principle of cause and effect. That is, the cat must associate any bad behavior with something unpleasant and vice versa.
1 Use your voice
When your cat shows aggression, start by telling him « No » firmly to stop his bad behavior. With consistency, he will come to understand what he is doing wrong and will not repeat it again thereafter. In young cats, authority is a very good thing to make them understand from an early age, the younger he is, the faster he will understand.
2 Clap your hands
Another solution is to clap your hands to make a noise that will surprise him and be very unpleasant for him. Here too, repetition will eventually put an end to his bad behavior. Do not do it too close, so as not to break his ear with his very fine hearing, he is able to understand even from afar.
3 Use noisy boxes
When a cat jumps around and climbs on the cupboards, you can place tin cans that make noise there, so that the noise will scare him away. It will stop going everywhere after a while. You can also use soda cans, the idea is that everything clashes at the slightest touch and makes enough noise to discourage it.
4 Use Deterrents
There are sprays available online or commercially that emit unpleasant odors for cats and do not affect their health. By placing it in places where it trashes everything, it will stop because the smell will repel it.
5 Play With Him
A bored cat is a disaster ahead. If you don’t play with it, then it will try to find other ways to amuse itself, such as jumping around, biting you, or throwing itself at anything that moves. Sometimes playing with him can help him to be less stressed which can also be the cause of aggressive behavior. You can buy him toys so he can really get his energy out of them instead of jumping around.
6 Take a break
When your cat becomes aggressive, take a break and put him in a place and only bring him out after 20 minutes. The bathroom is ideal because he will get bored there very quickly. Avoid small rooms because it can live very badly, even for such a short period. He will eventually associate the heckling with a period of isolation.
7 Use a vaporizer
Cats hate water, and spraying water on their face with a spray bottle will let them know they’ve done something wrong and they’ll associate the behavior with the spray. Don’t let him know the water is coming from you.
8 Reward good behavior
This is the reverse of the previous point. If your cat does something good, offer him a reward so that he makes an association in his mind and replaces his bad behavior with good behavior.
What if that’s not enough
Sometimes the cause of bad feline behavior comes from a deeper cause. Here’s what to do if nothing helps.
Perform a medical examination at the veterinarian
Sometimes the cat’s behavior is explained by a medical condition that makes it aggressive and which is not visible. For example, cats can suffer from undetected injuries, imbalances in their hormones, distress, parasites, and psychological disorders to name the major ones. In case of doubt, a medical examination will make it possible to carry out a precise diagnosis.
Look at the cat’s diet
Have you recently changed your cat’s diet or changed any elements of its food? It could be that his aggressiveness stems from changes in his food. In this case, go back to the old food.
Watch his medication
If he is currently on medication, perhaps this influences his hormones and therefore his behavior, which becomes more aggressive. Contact your veterinarian to find out how to react to it, it may be necessary to change treatment.
Check his environment
Cats are territorial animals and they hate change. If you have just moved or new elements or people have appeared, this can stress the cat who has not gotten used to it. He will have to acclimatize before regaining his composure. Sprays with soothing pheromones will help him regain his calm, as well as an environment he can only love.
What you should not do
Just as there are many ways to calm and punish an aggressive cat, there are also many things that will only make the problem worse. Here is everything that may seem effective but which ultimately should be totally prohibited.
1 Being physical
It will only hurt him and extinguish his confidence. You should never raise your hand to your cat or even pretend to smack it.
2 Always Give Quick Punishments
Do not hang around in case of bad behavior to make it stop as soon as possible, because he must understand as quickly as possible that it was his bad behavior. If he does it several times without punishment, then he will not understand why he is being punished.
3 Lack of consistency
Humans can be told what they are doing is wrong and punishments can be given based on that. But with cats it does not happen like that and it is absolutely necessary to link the bad behavior to a punishment.
So create his associations each time your cat does something wrong to make it clear that his behavior is not good, otherwise he will not understand and will continue.
Punishing an Aggressive Cat: The Final Word
There is no one way to correct bad behavior in cats. Along with proper investigation of the root of the problem and its type, patience is the only other thing you need to get results.