By Max Young
Learning to bite and scratch is a main part of a cat's development. These accomplishments are especially essential for cats that live mainly out-of-doors, as they provide their sole means of defense. These two activities will also form the main staple of your cat's leisure time, playing out conflicts with toys, other cats or humans.
If you do not want to be bitten by your cat, the 1st rule of thumb is to train your cat not to bite your hands. If your cat thinks your hands are toys, their little talons and fangs will soon find their way to your flesh.
However, if it is too late for that rule, there are some steps you are able to take to minimize the damage done during play attacks.
First of all, as you train your cat to behave in new ways, you should trim his claws (don't declaw, as this is severely painful for the cat). This will take a lot of the razor-sharpness away and make your playful encounters less painful.
Once your cat latches on to your hand, react with a loud and firm, "Ouch!" Do not yell, and don't yank your hand away or the cat may think it is a toy and follow it again. Take away your hand slowly from his mouth after your determined "Ouch!"
Apply a method of correction the mother cats use. Clutch your cat by the scruff of his neck and strongly drive his head down while you say, "No!" in a very rugged voice. Restrain him in this placement for a few seconds and then let go. Most likely, he will skulk away, totally chastised, and try to reclaim his dignity. But he will not quickly forget your reprimand.
Most of the time, your cat is scratching and biting because he is bored and would like to play. Using focused amounts of play time with a fun cat toy should help relieve boredom.
Aggression is an inherent aspect of your cat's predatory nature: behaviors like stalking, chasing, leaping, pouncing, swatting, and biting are all common displays, and are always a major component of any play session.
Usually, this does not constitute a problem: it's just how cats play, and catering to your cat's predatory whims can be pretty fun.
| Max Young is an information researcher whom presents working information to be used for every day experiences. To get the inside word on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors like aggression and dominance in your dog/cat, click now on the following link. |
0 comments:
Post a Comment