5 Reasons You Should Never Punish Your Cat

The debate is whether to punish or not to punish

Every cat owner is aware that cats may occasionally be a little, shall we say, irritable. Cats are masters at communicating their unhappiness with behaviour that isn’t always ideal because they lack the ability to use words to express how they feel about their environment, bodily feelings, or food. An unhappy cat, for instance, might decide to turn the entire house into his own personal litter box after moving into a new home. More than that, he may decide to relieve himself somewhere in the house than the litter box. In this blog we will discuss 5 reasons why you should never punish your cat.

The temptation is to reward your cat for the issue, but experts warn against doing so because it would put your cat in the same cognitive position as a human and would also be unfair.

Before you decide to punish your furry buddy, please pay attention to the following factors…

Reason #1: Cats Don’t Speak English

Do it now. Sit down and talk to your cat in depth about how their conduct is inappropriate. Inform them that they will receive a shot from the Bad Bottle if they do it again. Then watch for them to respond to your request with a well-thought-out and logical argument.

Warning: Your cat won’t respond to you in words; instead, you’ll see how they react in their behaviour, which will typically get worse as they become more stressed and upset.

Reason #2:  Punishment Will Stress Your Cat Out

There is ALWAYS a reason or cause behind the conduct. Always. Cats are not vengeful, despite what many people think. Even when they engage in undesirable behaviour, they are still communicating, thus they are not terrible. Now picture returning home to find that your restroom has been vandalised and is dirty. You try to contain yourself as much as you can because the environment in the room is filthy and revolting, and you have no intention of sitting on the horrible toilet seat. You would feel anxious about that, right?

Imagine if each time you decide to use the restroom somewhere else, someone showers you with water from a bottle. Would that make you feel more perplexed and stressed? most probably.

Reason #3: You’ll Actually Push Them Away

Would you return to a location after being slapped or squirted with water? Nope. No, not me. Cats who receive punishment on a regular basis will avoid the locations they identify with the punishment.

If you maintain your cat’s dish in the kitchen but continue to spritz it when it climbs on the counter, it’s likely that your cat will begin to completely avoid the kitchen and its food dish.

Reason #4: They’ll stop believing in you and probably start avoiding you

Cats are unable to make the connection between a behaviour and a consequence. Cats do comprehend that when they ask for aid, someone (you) is putting them through some sort of unpleasant experience.

Imagine that after telling your friend that you are hungry, they punch you in the face rather than giving you food. How long until you stopped hanging out with that friend? Very brief.

Reason #5: You’ll Need to Keep Increasing the Intensity

Your cat is trying to communicate with you—either a need they have or an uncomfortable circumstance. Sure, a punishment may temporarily stop the behaviour, but before long the cat will become resistant to the punishment and resume expressing their wants.

Then, what happens? What transpires when the demand to escape the unfavourable circumstance they’re in overcomes the unfavourable effect? It will become increasingly cyclical if you don’t increase the punishment.

Focus on understanding what your cat is trying to tell you. Recognize the cause of the behaviour and treat your cat with kindness.