Punishing is the hardest part in training a pet especially with cat. There are many ways a trainer can punish the cat. It can be through words, actions or something physical. However, there are things that need to be considered when punishing a cat during cat training.
- Find the perfect time. There is a perfect time a cat should be punished during training. A punishment will only be effective if delivered immediately after the cat has done something that is not desirable. If the cat is punished later after the misbehavior, it will not be able to associate the punishment with the misbehavior. Cats do not understand the same way people do. That is why it is important to associate the undesired action to communication of the punishment.
- Punishment does not mean that the trainer has to hurt the cat. Cats are just animals and do not have a sense of what is right or wrong. Punishing a cat by inflicting pain in their body is not right.
- Aside from the fact that inflicting physical pain is against Animal Rights, the cat will only be provoked and might fight back. It may only cause the trainer to be bitten by the cat. This will also result in making the cat become violent which may be very dangerous to kids and other people who may come close to it.
- Other alternatives may also be used in correcting a cat. One effective way is the reward and recognition method. In the rewards and recognition, the cat is reinforced to continue a likable behavior because a reward is associated to it.
Rewards can be in the form of praises, petting, food or toys. If a cat did something good that it was taught to do, the cat may be given rewards like food, a yarn toy, or a hug. The trainer can immediately remove the rewards if something undesirable is done. The cat will then learn that the treats will be removed if the undesirable action is made again.
Training a cat, like any other pets, requires patience and understanding in order to be effective. Results may not be fast, but if one is consistent in training, results will be a lot faster. Cats are the sweetest pets one could have and it is only fair that they be treated the same.
