Mary Allen
Is your cat jumping around on the dining table, scratching the wallpaper, and gnawing on your shoelaces? Raising a cat isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but certain mistakes can be avoided. Here you will find six typical mistakes in the upbringing of our beloved house tiger.
Cats have a mind of their own and mostly do what pleases them. Still, it’s important that they don’t dance on your face all day. A velvet paw should know what it is allowed to do and what not. Important to know: No cat is interested in deliberately driving you nuts and no cat does anything out of spite – the mistakes are in cat training.
Yelling at Cat
Cats ‘ hearing is extremely sensitive, so loud noises can sometimes be really painful for the fur noses. Therefore, you should never yell at your cat, even if it has done something wrong. If you come home at night to find a shattered vase and yell at your kitty about it, you probably aren’t associating your anger with the accident anyway, just confused and scared.
Be Violent
Violence is generally never a solution, both in cat training and in relation to dealing with living creatures. The relationship between a violent person and his or her furry cat would be permanently disturbed and apart from that one would be guilty of animal cruelty. Brutality and violence are taboo.
Parenting Inconsistently
Set goals and rules when you first start training your cat and follow them throughout. If you allow your cat to jump on the dining table one day but forbid it otherwise, you won’t understand the prohibition anymore. However, it may be that your clever velvet paw still hops onto the dining table from time to time when no one is looking, because she has noticed that if someone catches her on the table, she only gets a “no”; as long as she doesn’t get caught, then it’s probably fine. Be consistent nonetheless, maybe one day it will bear fruit – otherwise, your cat will train you not to leave anything on the table that is not intended for it. And that’s something.
Wrong Timing
Whether you punish or reward, make sure you do so in good time or immediately after the situation. For example, if you want to teach your cat to use the litter box and she does it successfully, there is no point in giving her praise or a treat minutes after doing the job – she may not associate the accomplishment with the reward. You should use penalties as sparingly as possible; Violence and shouting are taboo, water splashes and loud noises are borderline. It’s best to say “no” consistently, possibly interrupting the cheeky kitty when it’s behaving unwantedly and ignoring her. For example, if she bites while playing, stop raving immediately, put the rascal on the ground, and pay no further attention to it.
Annoy the Cat
Cats are sensitive and will withdraw from time to time to have peace and quiet. If your velvet paw doesn’t feel like cuddling or playing, you should always accept this and don’t push her into anything. Don’t bother your cat while it’s eating either – cats usually want to do this in peace, just like dogs do. Frequent disturbances cause stress and unsettle your Schnuffelschnute in the long run. In the worst case, this can lead to anxiety or behavioral problems.
Being Impatient
Patience is an important building block in successful cat training. For example, if you want to teach your cat something, don’t overwhelm or rush it. If something doesn’t work right away, give her time and just try again the next day.