There is a list of things you might do to correct your cat, just as there is a list of things you absolutely should not do.
1. Never Physically Harm Your Cat
Hurting the cat or being aggressive with them won't make the situation better. In reality, they will no longer feel secure around you and even misbehave due to the physical punishments as they do not understand.
2. Punish Your Cat Immediately After the Act
If you're going to punish your cat for poor behavior (time out, spraying, etc.), you have to do it right away. The cat is not a person; therefore, you shouldn't expect it to recall what they did even 5 minutes ago. You have to catch them in the act or else it will not work. If you are not home a lot but have noticed they have been doing something you don't like, such as scratching furniture or destroying a plant, you can bait your cat to do the same bad behavior and simply watch them until they do it again and punish them only when they are committing the act.
3. Lack of Consistency Doesn’t Work
Humans are capable of being informed that their actions are incorrect and subjected to punishment as a result. Cats cannot understand past actions, thus the only way to communicate with them is through associations. Now, when you don't enforce discipline consistently, your disciplinary actions run the risk of backfiring. You won’t accomplish anything if you yelled a stern "No" at a cat today, then gave it wide reign to play with the wires tomorrow. In fact, you'll have made the cat even more confused and less likely to listen.
4. Ignoring Your Cat
Some people believe that a cat acting inappropriately may be attempting to garner your attention. That can be the case but ignoring your cat will not help make this better. If you let your cat perform a negative behavior for a long time, it will simply make it harder to control them later on. The trick is to catch the bad behavior early on and nip it in the butt.
Conclusion
There are many ways to correct your cat’s bad behavior. If you can find the root cause to the bad behaviors through consistency, patience, and the right way of disciplining your cat. Only then will you start to see positive results.
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