| Behavior
Training for your stubborn Cat |
By:
J. Brian Johnson |
|
Learning
cat behaviors before you start training them would be
an good idea for anyone that is going to train a cat's
behavior.
A cat can jump and land on its feet as this is a
natural instinct for a cat. When a kitten is born the
cushion in its paws are not developed with the cushion
to land on its feet. It takes about 7 weeks to develop
the cushion in a kittens paw for landing. A cats bone
structure is unique to other animals as the bones are
flexible, cats have no collar bone, which enables them
to twist and bend their bones. A cat can jump a great
distance without sustaining any injuries.
With this behavior, you will want to teach the cat to
jump hoops, sticks, or off the scratching tree.
Letting a cat jump from extreme heights will cause
injury to the cat.
Cats have a unique hearing ability; they are able to
hear high tones and pitches, like opening a door or a
can of food. Cats also have unique smelling abilities.
The reason a cat will scratch or urinate on the floor
, rub its self up against a door or furniture, is the
cat is leaving their scent in those areas so they will
be able to come back and know they were there, in
other words marking its territory. In addition, if
another cat or animal comes along in the area a cat
will know this. Cats can also smell with their mouths.
There is a gland called Jacobson's organ, it is a sac
in the cats upper mouth filled with blood, as the cat
smells the scent and the slightly opens their mouth
and upper lip, this allows the scent to be carried in
and to the sac, which it will carry the scent goes to
the cat brain. This mostly happen to male cats when a
female has urinated.
Knowing these natural instincts and behaviors can give
you some insight training your cat. With behavior
training you will want to make sure that you allow
your cat the ability in some way to play out its
natural instincts and behaviors.
When training a cat for behaviors there are some
things you need to take into consideration.
Aggression, especially in older cats, can be caused
from illness or other cats in the home. You may want
to contact your vet to have your cat checked out to
see if it's alright at this time to train a cat.
Depression and anxiety can play another part in trying
to train your cat. If a cat is separated by a recent
owner the cat can become depressed. Stress is not
uncommon for a cat. If you think that your cat has
depression or high anxiety, this would be a good time
to take him to the vet. Vets can talk to you about
some of the things that may be causing this. There are
also medications that a vet can prescribe for the cat
to help with depression and anxiety.
Never hit a cat for punishment, he will learn to fear
you, and fearing will be a behavior you will not be
able to control or retrain. When they do something
that is not right, ignore the problem unless you catch
them in the act, you can associate a noise with that
behavior you don't like, or in a stern voice tell them
“NO”.
If a behavior is becoming impossible, you may have to
resort to the baby proof home, all containers that
have food in them have a lid on it. Make sure that the
counters are clean and have nothing that a cat would
want to play with.
You will want to start training your cat or kitten
almost immediately after you get them. This will stop
many unwanted behaviors and hopefully not let any new
bad behaviors to start.
Healthy cats need healthy relationships with their
owners. Good Luck!
J. Brian Keith is a Cat Training author and
contributor at RustyCats.com, where innovative ideas
and information about Cats is openly shared. See Cat
Training related articles.
http://www.rustycats.com |
DON'T
FORGET TO BOOKMARK OUR SITE
|
|
|
|
Top PET MAGS
|
|
|
|
Top HEALTH
BOOKS |
|
|
|
