Can you hit a cat

Using any means of punishment after the fact, will only confuse the cat and might well damage the relationship you have with it. Cats do not respond well to hitting and doing so can damage the bond between you and your cat. First off, hitting a cat can hurt a cat and it may well bite you back in self defense if you attempt to hit it. Very quickly, the cat may learn to fear you. It is an old school approach that is outdated because better methods are available.

When we talk about punishing, ultimately what we are trying to do is reduce or eliminate an undesirable behaviour. We accomplish this by getting the cat to associate a particular behaviour with something unpleasant. The first thing that we may think of is a squirt gun. If we catch the cat scratching the sofa, a blast of water will make it run away. In order to avoid possible offending behaviours we must give our cats outlets to act like a cats!

For example they need to scratch. Punishing them for scratching in a particular area means providing them with good places where they ARE allowed to scratch. Sometimes cats will act or play rough with their owners and this is partly due to their predatory natures. Therefore cats should have appropriate toys to play with, toys they can chase and hunt.

You need to play with them as well. You can also try using double sided tape. Tin cans, plastic cups and other noise making items are good for convincing your cat that a jump on that counter is a bad idea. There are also motion detecting aerosol cans one brand name is ssscat that shoot a blast of air at the cat when the cat passes the can. This works very well for some cats.

Urination and defecation issues require that you try to figure out WHY the cat is doing this. Is the litter box too dirty? Is it a multi-cat household?

Can the cat see other cats from a window? Can the cat have some type of urinary infection? Is this a new behaviour? You may well need the advice of your vet to help you answer your particular dilemma. No hitting please. Also, if the cat does not come when called after 2 times, give the command a third time and do the same thing. I did not have to give a kitty timeout more than once for ANY infraction.

On the other hand, positive reinforcement works great! Carry a clicker and some treats in you pocket.

When the cat does something you approve of like scratching its post , click and give a treat. Before you know it, the cat when start to put strings of behaviors together to communicate and get you to click and treat.

I still say give them a smack. I have tried all these tricks and a smack on the behind seems to work like magic. Hitting a cat or a dog is SO old school and destroys bonds and trust between you and your pet. Also they may instinctively try to bite you when you hit them. Good advice. I did give a light smack on my cat once or twice, but I think ill try these methods. Tried all of these with my kitten-soon to be full grown cat.

Nothing has worked. She sees the squirt bottle as a challenge, like do something bad and see if you can get away quick enough not to get squirted. Or sleeps the whole time and wakes up and remembers nothing, runs out and does it again immediately. She enjoys the load noises and makes them into new, and very annoying toys.

Only tape she has reacted is after being hogtied to have her teeth cleaned. Even taken to gently smacking her on the rump to make her stop. She has toys, places to climb, scratching posts, beds to nap in, never had a cat this bad before. I have a cat that gets aggressive when I come home after a long shift at work.

I really need to find an effective way to get her to stop biting. This is a problem that requires a better back and forth than a blog posting can handle. I recommend that you post this on our forum. Good luck. My cat scratched my foot and its bleeding like crazy!

Im kind of mad at it but each of these seem to extreme for a one time infraction. I tried everything with my kitten.. Now all i do is raise my hand and she stops. She still comes to give me love and purrs and pads me.. My kitten soon to be a full grown cat is getting a little naughtier as she gets older, nothing too bad and sometimes she nips me and my wife but its not a full blown bite.

In this situation, stopping the car will in no way put you or other drivers at risk, so should not be a reason to keep driving and leave the animal. The cat will be terrified and likely in pain so avoid any sudden movements and aim for slow, gentle body language. The best way to lift an injured cat is with one hand under the chin at the front of the chest, and the other supporting the hind quarters.

If the cat is displaying signs of aggression, it may be better to use a blanket or equivalent to lift them. Using a board underneath the cat and gently sliding them onto it will act as a stretcher and is a good way to avoid causing further damage or complications.

Proceed driving carefully to avoid any further injury or pain and try to remain as calm as possible. This in no way signals they are OK.

Follow our advice on what to do if the cat runs off following a collision. Because dogs are required by law to be kept on a lead near a highway, a collision with a canine needs to be investigated to see if the owner has broken the law.

As cats are legally allowed to roam freely, it is unlikely their owner would have broken any law should they be found on or near a highway. Firstly, accidents involving dogs are more likely in the eyes of the law to lead to damage, either to property or people, so drivers need to report the details to the police to establish liability.

A recent study by CarBuyer found almost 60 per cent of Brits agree the law should be changed to include cats as well. Their research, along with figures from Highways England, indicated as many as 8, cats are killed in road collisions and left unreported each year in England alone.

If cats were to be included in the law, drivers could be at risk of hefty penalties should they flee from the scene of a feline fender bender. It's likely a collision with an animal would fall into the lowest category of sanctions, which carries a fine of anywhere between per cent of the offender's weekly income - and a maximum of six penalty points on their licence.