Punishing Cats - Does it Have a Positive or Negative Effect

Cats are curious creatures and they're bound to get in trouble every now and then. But does punishing cats have a positive or negative effect on the way a cat acts around you? The last thing you want is for your cat to be afraid of you and run away every time you're around.

When a cat scratches or bites you with aggression it hurts. A likely reaction would be to yell or make gestures to express the way you feel about it. You might even go so far as to lock the cat in the basement the same way you would send a child to their room if they misbehave. But how effective is it punishing cats the same way you punish a child? Is it going to produce a positive result?

The short answer is no.

So, what does work? I have two cats and at one point both would spray to mark their territory. My vet suggested I use a water pistol to make them stop. It's the belief of many veterinary professionals that the cats would associate the water pistol with bad behavior and they wouldn't do it anymore. Did it work? Briefly, but for the most part the cats just feared me and, as I said before, this is never the outcome we want. Plus they would just spray when I wasn't around.

After trying a few different methods of punishing cats and other techniques that failed I finally had some success. I tried paying attention to them more and if they either attempted to spray I would just call them over (or go over to them) and pet them, play with them etc. The spraying happened less and less and eventually stopped. It was tough but a great relief when it was all over and done with. There is always the chance it will happen again but I've taken steps to prevent that.

The bottom line is what worked for me may not work for you because not all cats are created equal. It took a few tries but once I tried understanding why the cats were acting the way the were it all paid off.