How to Discipline Your Cat or Kitten

Co-authored by Jessica Char

Last Updated: December 20, 2022 References

You feel like you are at your wit’s end because your cat just won’t stop scratching your furniture, urinating outside of her/his litter box, or doing some other undesirable behavior. You may be willing to try anything to get the bad behavior to stop, but it is important to realize that there are right ways and wrong ways to discipline your cat. You will need to discipline your cat in ways that will not only stop the bad behavior, but also keep your bond with her strong and intact.

Things You Should Know

A misbehaving cat may have a medical problem or behavioral issues as the root cause.
Some behaviors, like scratching furniture, are normal for a cat; to correct it, find an alternative for your cat to scratch.
Bonding and spending time with your cat can help prevent it from acting out due to stress or boredom.
Discipline your cat by making bad behavior difficult or unrewarding, and making good behavior very rewarding.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Learning Why Cats Misbehave

1
Learn the medical reasons why cats demonstrate unwanted behavior. As much you might want to think that your cat is doing something bad simply out of spite, there may be a medical or behavioral reason why she’s doing what you don’t want her to do. For example, your cat may be going outside of the litter box because of a urinary problem (urinary tract infection, kidney disease) that keeps her from making it to the litter box in time. Your veterinarian will be able to determine if a medical problem is the root cause of the undesirable behavior. But also remember your cat may have a anxiety problem. ^{[1]
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- Pica is a medical issue that involves eating or chewing on inedible objects, like plastic or cardboard. If your cat is chewing on or eating unusual things, it may be a sign of dental or gastrointestinal disease.^{[2]
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- Dementia could be causing your cat to cry at night.^{[3]
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- Medical issues should be ruled out before behavioral issues are considered.
2
Learn the behavioral issues that could be causing your cat’s bad behavior. If your veterinarian has been able to rule out medical causes of bad behavior, then it is time to start looking more closely at your cat’s behavior. One behavioral cause of bad behavior in cats is stress. Cats do not adjust well to change (new house, new pet, new baby), so changes in their environment can easily stress them out, causing them to scratch furniture, spray urine, etc.^{[4]
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- Your cat may be acting out if she’s bored.^{[5]
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  Research source} If your cat does not have enough toys to play with or doesn’t get the attention she wants from you, she may find other things to do out of boredom, like tearing up toilet paper. Keep in mind that she probably does not realize that the behavior is wrong; she’s simply doing something to keep her busy.
- Your cat may misbehave if she hasn’t been properly trained.^{[6]
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  Research source} Although cats are typically very smart, they still need to be trained to do the right thing. If she has not been trained, she will not know what’s right and what’s wrong and will essentially do as she pleases.
- Cat aggression usually comes from a place of feeling stressed or anxious, being new to the household, or having an illness.^{[7]
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  Expert Source
  
  Rita Reimers
  Cat Behaviorist
  Expert Interview. 22 June 2021.}
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3
Understand that your cat may not actually be misbehaving. Keep in mind that behaviors you may consider acting out — such as scratching furniture, just to sharpen their claws — are simply a normal part of cat behavior. Instead of punishment, you might think about ways to provide the cat with a more appropriate outlet for that behavior, such as providing multiple scratch posts.
- Make sure you are providing your cat with an interesting, enriching environment. Puzzle feeders, scratch posts, toys, climbing towers, and engaging in active play every day are all ways your cat can redirect the behavior.
4
Familiarize yourself with how cats learn. How cats learn is a simple concept: they repeat experiences that are good and avoid the experiences that are bad.^{[8]
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Research source} It is very important to remember that cats do not learn by punishment. Instead of teaching her that what she is doing is wrong, punishment will leave your cat feeling confused and fearful.^{[9]
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Jessica Char. Cat & Dog Behaviorist.} She will probably want to avoid you, which will weaken your bond with her.^{[10]
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The Humane Society of the United States
National organization devoted to the promotion of animal welfare
Go to source}
5
Learn what disciplinary actions will not work. As just mentioned, punishment will not get your cat to stop the bad behavior. Yelling and hitting your cat are forms of punishment that you should never use to discipline her.^{[11]
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Trustworthy Source
The Humane Society of the United States
National organization devoted to the promotion of animal welfare
Go to source}^{[12]
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Expert Source

Rita Reimers
Cat Behaviorist
Expert Interview. 22 June 2021.} In addition, using a spray water bottle is generally frowned upon as a way to discipline cats, although many cat owners use it.
- Although you may think that spraying water on your cat will deter her from the bad behavior, she is actually learning to perform that behavior when you are not around.^{[13]
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  Jessica Char. Cat & Dog Behaviorist.} Use of the spray bottle can also make her fearful and wary of you.^{[14]
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  Research source} Also, your cat will start to associate you with the water bottle, which will make her afraid of you.^{[15]
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  Expert Source
  
  Rita Reimers
  Cat Behaviorist
  Expert Interview. 22 June 2021.}
- Rubbing your cat’s nose in her urine if she goes outside of her litterbox is an ineffective disciplinary method. It actually reminds her of a good spot to go to the bathroom.
- Scruffing should not be used as punishment. It can be a method to disrupt bad behavior, but is not an effective method to punish your cat.^{[16]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Learning How to Properly Discipline Your Cat

1
Bond with your cat in fun and rewarding ways. It may not seem like bonding with your cat will help stop her bad behavior, but the extra attention and playtime may divert your cat’s energy away from misbehaving.^{[17]
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Jessica Char. Cat & Dog Behaviorist.} One of the goals of increasing your bonding time is to decrease the negative reprimands and punishments that you may be giving her.^{[18]
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Research source} The more that she enjoys your company and trusts you, the less likely she will misbehave because of stress or boredom.
- In addition to playing with her more, you can also try giving her massages.^{[19]
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2
Make the bad behavior undesirable or impossible. Since cats learn by avoiding an experience that has a negative result, you want to attach a negative association to whichever bad behavior she is doing. For example, if she is scratching your sofa, you would discipline her by making the sofa difficult to scratch. Putting double-sided tape or aluminum foil on the sofa are helpful deterrents.^{[20]
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Trustworthy Source
The Humane Society of the United States
National organization devoted to the promotion of animal welfare
Go to source}
- Making aspects of her environment undesirable when you are not around is called ‘environmental punishment.’^{[21]
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  Trustworthy Source
  American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
  Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty
  Go to source}
- If your cat likes to jump on the countertops or table, try balancing a cookie sheet or baking sheet on the edge of those surfaces. When she jumps up, the baking or cookie sheet will fall to the floor and make a loud noise. She won’t like the loud noise, and landing on an uneven surface will throw off her balance. Eventually, she will learn not to jump up where she’s not supposed to.^{[22]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
  Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty
  Go to source}
- If your cat keeps on eating your plants or urinating in the soil, make the plant undesirable by spraying bitter apple or bitter orange on the plant leaves. You can also cover the dirt with aluminum foil or gravel.
- Commercially available deterrent devices can also make bad behavior undesirable. Examples of these devices include upside-down mousetraps that spring into the air when touched and motion-activated devices that spray a blast of compressed air. These devices are available at your local pet store and are useful to keep your cat from going into areas where she is not allowed.^{[23]
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- Cats are social and like to spend time with you. If your cat is being aggressive, you could put her in a separate room and give her time to cool off.^{[24]
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  Expert Source
  
  Rita Reimers
  Cat Behaviorist
  Expert Interview. 22 June 2021.}
3
Make the good behavior extremely rewarding. The more positive reinforcement your give your cat for doing the right thing, the more likely she is to repeat the good behavior.^{[25]
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Research source} For example, when you see her using her scratching post instead of scratching your furniture, reward her with extra playtime, verbal praise or edible treats.^{[26]
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Jessica Char. Cat & Dog Behaviorist.} Make sure to reward her while she is doing the good behavior, rather than afterwards, or she may not understand what she is being rewarded for.

Expert Q&A

Question

What do I do about a 12-week-old kitten that keeps biting and scratching me?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

This sounds like normal play behavior in a youngster that hasn't learnt to be gentle. To remedy this, yelp or squeal when she bites or scratches, but avoid jerky movements like pulling away, as this will make her chase more. Distract her with a toy (keep one in your pocket), and give her plenty of opportunity to vent energy through play with toys, such as a wing-on-a-string, so she doesn't attack hands or feet in play.

Warnings

Do not use a deterrent device, like a real mousetrap, that would injure your cat.^{[29]
X
Trustworthy Source
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty
Go to source} Although your cat may not repeat that behavior, she could also develop a fear and mistrust of you.

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Do not use a loud deterrent if your cat is already skittish or nervous.^{[30]
X
Trustworthy Source
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty
Go to source} The startling effect of the deterrent could worsen her nervousness, which might cause her to misbehave due to stress. She also become so frightened that will be afraid to go to any part of your home.^{[31]
X
Trustworthy Source
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty
Go to source}

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