Hitting or shaking your cat can scare them, create hand-shyness or potentially cause harm. You're more likely to experience these unintended consequences than to teach a lesson. Similarly, yelling at your cat can stress them out and over-emphasize the attention to bad behavior.
Hitting a cat can lead to hand-shyness, fear of the owner, and potential injury for both the owner and the cat. Depending on the problem, the cat will likely continue to perform the undesirable behavior in your absence since it learns that it can perform the behavior without punishment when you are out of sight.
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.
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.
“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.”
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.”
The author writes, “Although a cat may not care (as that word is generally used) about human morals, cats can and do distinguish between good and bad people, and are excellent judges of human character and emotion.
Head trauma is a serious injury, and your cat's condition can rapidly change from one moment to the next. You will most likely need to leave your cat with the veterinarian for at least 24 hours so he can monitor him until the swelling has gone down.
Cat squishing seems to be at the very core of his advice. Burstyn insists that when cats are squished under the pressure of your hands or under your arm, that this helps them feel more secure. You don't have to worry about harming them, he says, because "they are very, very tough little beasts."
Even if our folks broke out the belt. We grew up knowing full well that certain things risked ending with a good spanking. But cats don't perceive life – or punishment – in the same way that humans do. Felines act and move on their instinctive nature.
They include, Approaching you (it's a little gesture, but it means they feel safe) Head butting and rubbing. Purring.
The cat doesn't understand why you are hitting it and it would have little to no trust in you and probably doesn't like you. I know I wouldn't like someone who hit me often, in fact anyone who hit me at all. A cat cannot get into your head and understand what you are doing.
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.
Best Way to Discipline a Cat
Cats are pretty smart and are able to instinctively remember both good and bad experiences. Whenever he engages in bad behavior, you can react with either a sound, a spritz of water, or any other deterrent until he's discouraged from repeating said behavior.
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.
Yelling, clapping your hands, or shaking a can full of coins may halt a dog's unwanted behavior, but loud noises will only frighten your cat and teach her not to trust you. Instead of doling out punishment, consider what your cat's behavior might mean. Scratching the furniture could indicate boredom.
A cat can be aggressive for many reasons, including pain or illness, fear, stress, or overstimulation. If your cat is lashing out, check in with your vet first, particularly if the aggression is a new behavior. The cause can be medical, so your vet will first look for a health issue.
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”.
Many cats will choose to ignore something they perceive as a threat, or that they are stressed by. If you have punished or swatted your cat in the past, or even yelled at them, they may now see you as a potential threat. Your cat doesn't know if your intentions are good or bad, so they try to ignore you.
Too much scolding—and just one time can be too much when it comes to cats, according to Bloom—can cause your cat to feel uneasy around you. “Think about a boss or teacher who used to scold you a lot, and not always in ways that made sense,” says Bloom.