If you love cats around the house, then you must teach them how to behave. Cats need some training to get rid of their bad habits. Yes, they do have bad habits which could become real problems for you if you don’t take the necessary steps to put a stop to these.

One bad habit of a cat is littering. If the cat doesn’t want to go to his litter box or go to the toilet, the problem may be medical, so consult a vet. Place its litter box in a clean dry area and train your cat to go there every time it needs to.

When your cat is fond of scratching your furniture, maybe you can have its nails cut. You can have a piece of board for scratching and lead the cat to it.

It’s a different thing if the cat scratches and bites. First, you must have your cat vaccinated. Then try to figure why it scratches and at time bites. Maybe it is trying to get your attention, so try to be gentle with the cat. Try to show you love it by setting aside some playtime. Hold it more often and pat it to show your care. If it still misbehaves, push it gently. Do not yell or strike at it. A firm commanding voice will let it know you don’t approve of what it is doing.

Change the environment. Try shock pads, aluminum foil, double-sided tape and sound alarms to keep cats away from certain areas. Make sure your house—and your cat’s litter is always clean.

If a cat has the bad habit of asking for food by making meow sounds every time you eat, immediately put a stop to it. Do not give it food. You must have a schedule to feed your cat so it will get used to it. It would also help if you put some food on the cat’s bowl, so it can also eat while you’re having your family meals. But remember to put your cat’s bowl in another room.

If your cat has the habit of jumping on furniture, take your cat away to let it know you don’t allow jumping on anything. You can also put some sticky double sided tape on the furniture since cats don’t like sticky places. Don’t leave any space on tables or kitchen counters for your cat to jump in.

One good harmless way to discipline your cat is to use spray cold water every time it is doing its bad habit. This annoys your cat but it would not hurt it. This is a way of interrupting in the middle of its misbehavior. If you do this consistently and immediately then you will eventually succeed in preventing the cat to do its thing.

Of course, it is also important to understand your cat. It is an animal that needs proper care; and part of that care is good training to get rid of its bad habits.

Jonathan Pitts

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