13 Top Hints On How To Discipline a Cat The Right Way

How to discipline a cat is a common issue among cat owners and most cat owners get it wrong.

In this post, we will outline and discuss the right ways of disciplining a cat, we will also outline the wrong ways of disciplining a cat.

Most of the time cats read human energy before trying to be dominant over their owners, so you must have positive energy when disciplining your cat.

How To Discipline a Cat

Here are some of the most popular and efficient methods for disciplining cats:

1. Build a leader mentality

To behave effectively and feel comfortable in your care, your cat will need to be trained.

As soon as you bring your cat home, establish house rules, show your authority, and maintain consistency, especially with his feeding schedule.

Instead of penalizing your cat for bad behavior, choose to correct it in the process and not after the event. 

Once the offense has been committed, the punishment will be useless if not corrected instantly. 

Additionally, make an effort to exhibit alpha physical traits. Be sure to develop a leader mentality.

When your cat disagrees with you or disobeys you, you must keep your emotions in check since cats can read body language.

You have to train your cat to follow your instructions rather than the other way around.

Do not develop the mentality of ignoring your cat when his wrong as this may come back to hunt you.

2. Establish house rules

You must educate your cat about all there is to know about your house as soon as it arrives.

Say “no” and gently remove your cat off the table by the collar if it disobeys a house rule, such as not being allowed to sit under the dinner table while you eat.

When it comes to enforcing your cat house rules, it’s imperative that you and your family members be on the same page.

To prevent sending your cat conflicting signals, create a list of house rules pertaining to pets and put it somewhere where everyone in the family can see it.

Establishing house rules help teach your cat how to be disciplined.

3. Always reward good behavior

Although it may sound absurd, rewarding a cat when it behaves properly is one approach to discipline them.

The justification for this is so that the cat will link positive behavior with rewards.

It begins performing more positive things because it wants greater rewards.

When it’s feasible, reward your cat for being well-behaved by giving it food, attention, and praise.

Reward it if you see it laying near to something it used to chew.

Reward it if you observe it scratching the scratching pole rather than your sofa.

Your cat will soon pick up on appropriate and inappropriate conduct.

4. Put the cat on a time-out

Give your cat a time-out if it is being very active, harassing another pet, or not following your instructions.

Using social isolation as a form of punishment for misbehavior is a time-purpose out that works particularly effectively for sociable animals like cats.

The time-out should be brief and kept in an unappealing, dull location (like the laundry room) so that your cat recalls what it is missing and does not adjust to its new surroundings.

The maximum timeout length is 45 to 60 seconds.

Until your cat realizes that its turn comes as a result of a certain activity, the technique might need to be repeated numerous times.

5. Educate your cat with a stop word

It’s important to keep in mind that cats aren’t people who can understand complex word combinations.

Simply create a stop sign or utter “NO” before or during the action to use the stop word.

Make sure your cat understands the meaning of “NO” and connects it to the word “stop” from the time it is a kitten.

It’s really simple; don’t confuse it by mixing up long phrases since your cat might not know when to stop.

Your cat will learn to associate the word “NO” with bad behavior and stop hearing it if you use it often when you don’t mean it.

Only use a stop word when you want your cat to stop what he is doing. Keep practicing it until you see success.

6. Always use a firm voice tone

Most cats are stubborn due to their ancestry, therefore trying to persuade them to quit using a soothing voice won’t work.

Make careful to teach your cat how to react to different voice tones so that they can recognize what each tone denotes.

As a result, if you want your cat to stop doing anything, continually use a firm voice.

While some cats are easier to teach than others, all of them may at the very least be taught some fundamental instructions.

Particularly helpful is the command “leave it,” which may be used whenever you don’t want your cat to do anything.

This is one of the reasons we strongly advise teaching it since it may be used in a variety of circumstances.

Give the order whenever you see your cat engaging in improper conduct. You should ideally lead your cat to the proper location.

Always use a firm voice tone to correct your cat, also note that a firm voice tone is not shouting at your cat.

7. Consistently insist on appropriate behavior

It’s essential to keep your composure and insist on acting morally at all times rather than giving up when your cat defies your commands.

Changing modes or plans of action could be beneficial in the long term, but consistency and concentration produce faster results.

To create wonderful connections that your cat will seek out in the future, positive behavior should be highly rewarded.

Praise, petting, treats, and your cat’s favorite toys can all be used to reinforce good behavior.

Trainers may utilize clickers, which produce a characteristic sound that is swiftly followed by a reward when a cat does a task very well.

8. Start controlling meal time

If you have a cat that doesn’t listen to you then you can start disciplining your cat by controlling meal time.

Cats should receive the same amount of food at the same time every day for both discipline and health reasons.

Before setting the cat’s food bowl in front of it, instruct it to sit.

Say “no” and hold onto the food bowl until your cat decides to take a seat. This is a way of teaching discipline.

Every time your cat eats, remind your cat of this guideline to instill in them the idea that eating calls for restrained and polite conduct.

To establish adequate discipline, make sure that your cat eats only during mealtimes and that mealtimes are managed.

9. Make a unique sound to distract the cat

Occasionally, all it takes to stop your cat from repeating the action is to surprise them with a unique sound. 

Your cat will probably stop doing it if you can catch them the first time and clap or make any unique sound. 

This probably won’t be sufficient to break a behavior that your cat already has. The cat will refrain from doing it when you are in the room instead.

Since it can only be used once, this is frequently one of the least beneficial choices but can work with other points in this post. 

Nevertheless, this might be helpful in the beginning if you just got your cat and none of the routines have yet formed.

10. Learn to redirect your cat

Conducting a redirection action as soon as you can is one of the most effective ways to punish your cat.

This redirection should aim toward improvements rather than punishment.

Don’t shout at or smack your cat if, for instance, he is scratching your furniture just redirect him.

With his favorite toy, your cat should be brought over, and you should lead him over to where the scratch post is.

If your cat is racing about and getting into cabinets, their desire for activity is probably the problem.

Play with your cat or give them new toys so they can play on their own.

This does not necessarily imply that you should just buy additional balls and throw them about. Instead, invest in a wide range of unique toys.

A cat tree is something else you might want to think about getting.

A cat tree with some toys on it will entice your kitty to climb, which can release a lot of energy.

11. Use a spray water bottle if the cat insists

Many cat owners employ this technique, but I do not recommend it—not because I believe it to be ineffective, but rather because I think it can have unfavorable effects.

While spraying water in your cat’s face can get them to stop and go away, it might have a negative impact on your bond with them.

Despite the fact that it is frequently used, I oppose it and always recommend positive reinforcement.

Obtain a spray bottle, and anytime the cat engages in undesirable behavior, spritz it with water.

The general guideline for this corrective technique is that you must never reveal to the cat that you are the source of the water.

If you don’t, they’ll associate the water splashed with you rather than their bad conduct.

12. Discipline your cat in the act and not after

When you enter your room and catch your cat doing anything you don’t want him to, stop him right away and direct his attention somewhere else.

If you discipline your cat after the fact or later in the day, he won’t understand what the issue is or what he did.

Therefore, try to correct your cat before or during the act and not after you catch him doing anything wrong.

13. Make corrections on a regular basis

Since your cat will quickly start to identify some unfavorable actions with bad habits, consistency is essential when it comes to cat discipline.

Imagine that one day you let your cat jump on the sink and didn’t do anything to stop it.

The next day, your cat jumps on the sink, and you try to stop it.

Your cat will become confused by this and end up prioritizing his needs above yours.

Therefore, if you want your cat to quit leaping on the sink, stop him every time he does it, and don’t break the chain until he associates it with inappropriate behavior.

Read more: How To Entertain A Bored Cat (10 Simple Hacks)

Wrong ways to discipline a cat

Here are some common blunders you should steer clear of when training your cat:

• Don’t yell at your cat as a sort of punishment.
• You shouldn’t chastise or hurt your cat as a punishment.
• Pulling the tail of your cat is not a smart idea.
• Do not ever drive while holding your cat in your arms as a form of punishment.
• Never punish your cat by forcing its mouth into its feces or pee.
• Do not leave your cat’s water dishes unattended as a form of punishment; instead, remember to clean them.
• Check your cat’s litter box every day, and never use it as a punishment by refusing to clean it.
• Never let your kitten alone inside the house for a lengthy amount of time without supervision.
• Your cat should never be thrown out the window as punishment.

How to prevent bad behaviors in cats

Here are some common ways to help prevent bad behaviors in cats:

• Make your cat’s excellent behavior very rewarding.
• Early human and animal socialization is important for your cat.
• Never yell or shout at your cat since this could make them act out more.
• Make your relationship with your cat pleasant and fulfilling.
• Make sure your cat has all of its basic requirements met. 
• Discover the medical causes of cats’ undesirable behavior.
• Discover the behavioral problems that can be causing your cat to act out.
• Give your pet early obedience training lessons.
• Recognize that your cat might not genuinely be acting out.
• Establish limitations for your cat.
• Putting an end to disobedient acts done for attention.

Cat behavior that requires discipline

Here is some common cat behavior you should discipline and not ignore:

1. Play aggression.
2. Unnecessarily avoiding litter boxes.
3. Scratching furniture when bored.
4. Territorial and possessive behavior.
5. Unnecessary excessive vocalization.
6. Compulsive behavior.
7. Cat is peeing all over your home.
8. House soiling.
9. Cat attacking things.

Read more: 10 Most Common Cat Behavior Problems & Helpful Tips