Cat Behavior Modification
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Cats are well-known for being thoroughly tractable pets. Even the most ornery cats are usually willing to keep to themselves if left alone. It is true that some cats will scratch other pets, play rough with children, or develop other sorts of behavior problems, but at their worst they are generally much better than bad dogs.
The unfortunate flip side of this is that cats are notoriously hard to train. They tend to not develop as many bad behaviors, but it is nearly impossible to teach them to develop good behaviors. cat behavior modification requires patience, persistence, and determination on your part.
That isn't to say that it can't be done. As a matter of fact, cat behavior modification Is usually easy enough that the pet owner can do it on their own without a lot of free time. For example, training you cat to stay off furniture and away from certain forbidden household objects is a pretty easy process. All you do is spray water on your cat and scold them every time they go on the object. You can even take it one step further and put bitter orange or something similar on the forbidden objects. The cat will get this on their paws and hate the taste of it, which will cause them to avoid it altogether. It takes persistence and might get your cat mad at you once in awhile, but it definitely will work.
Of course, other forms of cat behavior modification can be a lot tougher to train. Getting a cat to follow complex commands is so hard that most pet owners eventually give up trying. It can be done, but it takes twice the dedication of getting dogs to follow commands. Dogs instinctively want to please the herd. They are pack animals and they always see you as the head of the pack. By contrast, cats are solitary animals. They may like you and feel affectionate towards you when you pet them, but that doesn't mean they want to do what you tell them. You'll have to reward them constantly for a while to get them to do tricks or follow complex commands for you.
Nonetheless, anyone who has seen a well-trained cat knows that cat behavior modification is possible. Cats, like humans and pretty much any other mammal, are extremely malleable creatures. If you start training them early on in their lives, you can really give them the motivation necessary to get them to behave properly in your house. The key is to never give up and accept disobedience. If it is important enough to you to be able to train a cat, they will eventually accept your authority. It's just a matter of time.
