DO NOT HIT THE CAT. This will only enrage the cat more. Make a loud noise or throw something (at a wall) as a distraction. Leave the area of which the attack is taking place.
Never hold down, shake or hit your cat. Physically harming your cat can actually make the situation worse and cause her to lash out or become withdrawn. Also, cats have a hard time associating the physical punishment with the bad behavior, so you're not actually training her to stop doing it.
Species appropriate punishment such as “hissing” or the use of punishment devices such as a water sprayer, can of compressed air, or hand held alarm are better than using any physical techniques since they are less likely to lead to fear and retaliation.
The goal is not to scare the cat, but to distract him and refocus his attention. Never physically punish, or even touch a cat, during these times, as this may cause a cat to become fearful of people or may be interpreted as play, which may inadvertently reward the aggressive behavior.
Do not physically punish your cat for rough play. If you hit or slap your cat, he may perceive your actions as play and become even rougher. Alternatively, he might become fearful of your hands and respond by avoiding you or changing from play to real aggression.
“Cats don't forgive, and once they realize a person is causing them anxiety or hurt, they keep away.” So says John Bradshaw, an anthrozoologist at Bristol University and author of “Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet.”
Overhead movements or certain noises may frighten an abused cat, triggering a long-term memory of prior trauma. It's possible your cat will carry that unpleasant memory for the rest of his life.
Never let the cats “fight it out.” Cats don't resolve their issues through fighting, and the fighting usually just gets worse. Interrupt aggression with a loud clap of your hands or spray from a water gun.
There is no definitive answer as to how long your cat will do this. For many cats, minor misdemeanors seem to fall in the short-term memory category so it is likely all will be forgiven within a few hours to days. Kittens have a relatively short memory and can appear to be more forgiving than older cats.
Our team of vets agree that using water bottles to discipline cats isn't the best course of action. According to Dr. Dwight Alleyne, “Spraying cats with water can create a negative association with humans. As a result, they may become more anxious or even aggressive over time.”
Scaring them may yield a “funny” response, but it can cause long term damage to their psyche. It can also be a detriment to you if your cat can't trust you anymore. It's generally a good idea to observe the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
More frequently, cats try to protect their pet parents from people they consider to be dangerous. Although cats are fierce predators, humans can seem big and scary to some cats. It's instinctual for a cat to defend their territory and yours.
When dominating a cat, don't be rude to the cat. Don't mock the cat while doing it. Just be firm and loving as a cat-mom, and you will get across the message that the cat's not rejected. Time, patience, honesty, confidence and consistency are the best ways to establish enough trust that you can dominate a cat.
Symptoms of angry cat behaviour
An angry cat will be rigid, with tail held out stiff and straight or curled around and under their body. They will act very differently from usual – they could be silent, hissing, spitting or growling.
Overall, our results showed that cats are able to integrate acoustic and visual emotional signals of a conspecific “hiss” and human “anger” and “happiness”. They also show a functional understanding of highly arousing emotions (i.e., cat “hiss” and human “anger”), regardless of the species that produced them.
This study shows that cats respond functionally to their owner's emotional stimuli when their owner showed “anger” or “anxiety”, and their stress levels were higher as compared to when they were shown “happiness”.
Here's how you can condition your cat to accept an injection: Start by offering a vet-approved canned food or a low-carb treat while simply petting the injection site. Then take the food away. Transition to pinching the skin while giving the food back.
They include, Approaching you (it's a little gesture, but it means they feel safe) Head butting and rubbing. Purring.
Of course, your cat may understand that the change in your volume means something is different, but yelling may scare your cat or call too much attention to negative behaviours. Yelling may cause your cat to feel stressed and anxious, which can cause additional misbehaviour.
Folks, I'm here to tell you that cats aren't spiteful. Cats are smart, for sure, but spite is a complex feeling that isn't part of their emotional repertoire. But cats are easily stressed, and when stress enters their lives, they often respond in ways that are comforting to them but crazy-making to us.
Hissing, growling, biting, slashing, or digging their nails into your skin are fairly clear indications that a cat is not happy with you. Of course, some cats do play a little rough, and most cats will give a love bite now and then, but if your cat bites you hard enough to break the skin, that is one pissed-off cat.