How to discipline your cat

Cats are low-maintenance pets, there's no denying that...but that doesn't mean that they won't require discipline! I find that my two year old American short hair Boogie, can be downright evil at times between ripping our brand new toilet paper rolls to shreds, or knocking over my vases; flowers, water and all. I'm sure you've experienced this, and many people will tell you “you can't train a cat...” and really, you can't, but there are actions you can take to decrease the bad behavior so that you don't go completely insane when your cat is having one of his “moments..”

First things first, purchase a water gun. We have a purple whale shaped gun we got for around at dollar at CVS that never strays too far...when our cat is acting up we blast him with water and 9 times out of 10 he will stop whatever he's doing. Example: Boogie loves to climb on the containers and most of the time I allow it, but if I am cooking or cleaning I don't want hair all over and so I'll squirt him. Even if I have to squirt six times for him to finally get the message, it's better than having a dinner of quiche and cat hair.

Besides the water-method, loud noises can also prevent your cat from causing mayhem and mischief in the house. If you catch your cat doing something you don't approve of, clap your hands loudly or snap your fingers to distract them. If you feel you can't clap loud enough, take an empty can and fill it up with pennies to shake..if you are consistent enough at the sight of the can they will stop whatever negative behavior they were partaking in.

If squirting with water, and distracting with a loud noise isn't helping, try to remove the item that's making your cat act up in the first place (not permanently, just for awhile) If he's swatting something that's hanging around, move it so it isn't hanging...if he knocks over your vase while you're sleeping, put it in a closet or room you don't use with the door shut at night and keep it out during the day. Sometimes we need to modify our environments a little bit to help modify our pets behavior.

When you are correcting your cats behavior please keep in mind there are some things you should never do:

Never grab your cat by the scruff, or shake him if he's doing something wrong.

Never scream at your cat, they don't really comprehend the English language too well and you're pretty much wasting your time.

Don't smack your cat with brooms, toys, etc. That's cruel, and it won't stop them from doing anything but you will eventually be the proud owner of an animal that hates your guts

Don't lock your cat in a room or closet if he's acting up.

Check out some of the Amazon links for books on cat behavior to get a better idea of why your cat does what he does.