Punish Cat VS Reward

It rarely does any good to punish or scold our cats no matter how poorly they have behaved. Cats simply do not understand our language or behavior as humans. It is true that cats can learn the meanings of some words and expressions but this is normally limited to simple commands or things that the cat wants (like "dinner time"). Try as they may cats will never understand everything we are saying or the reasons why we are behaving the way we are.

Lets say that one night your cat climbs into your bed and cuddles up to you. You respond positively to this show of affection and together you fall asleep. The next morning you find that the cat has soiled the bed cover with its paws, which were filthy, after a romp in the garden the previous night. No matter what you say to your cat or how you say it there is no way it is going to understand why you are upset and will simply think that you are in a bad mood for no good reason.

It is important to be consistent with the house rules. You should make up a list of what things the cat is allowed to do and what things are forbidden, what times the cat eats and when it needs to just wait. Is your cat permitted on the furniture and beds or are these things off limits. If every member of the house is not maintaining the house rules then your cat will just become hopelessly confused and this can lead to inappropriate behavior through no fault of its own.

Cat Rewards: What treats does your cat like? Is it partial to food treats or does it prefer a toy or some time playing games? When you know these things about your cat you can use them to reinforce its good behavior. Just be careful never to "reward" it when it is misbehaving or else you will be teaching it that, this misbehavior brings a reward.