Cat: Controlling Undesirable Behaviour the Role of Punishment

Punishment is the application of a stimulus that decreases the chance that a behaviour will be repeated. It should coincide with the undesirable behaviour, and must be unpleasant enough to deter the cat from repeating that behaviour. It must always be paired with active reward of an alternative behaviour. Keep in mind that you are punishing the behaviour and not the cat. The need for punitive interaction when dealing with cats is minimal and, as a basic principle, punishment techniques should not be used in feline behavioural therapy.

Punishment should never be considered for behavioural responses that are normal and are occurring in reaction to natural instincts and motivations. For example, the scratching cat should be provided with an appropriate scratching post so that this perfectly normal behaviour can take place in an acceptable context. Punishment for scratching in the absence of this provision would be inappropriate. Perhaps most importantly, punishment whether interactive or remote should never be a substitute for good supervision and the opportunity to engage the cat in the proper behaviour. This is vital for kittens that are learning what is acceptable in a new home.

To avoid the need for punishment it is advisable that, when the owner is not around to supervise and monitor, the cat is left in a room or area that has been cat-proofed and supplied with a litter tray, bedding area, toys for play, water and areas for scratching or climbing. This is particularly true in the case of young kittens or those that are particularly active and inquisitive.

Is it acceptable or even worthwhile to smack my cat?

One of the most frequently utilised and least successful forms of punishment is where the owner uses a smack or hit. Hitting a cat can lead to hand-shyness, fear of the owner, and potential injury for both the owner and the cat. The cat will continue to perform the undesirable behaviour in your absence since it learns that it can perform the behaviour without punishment when you are out of sight. Physical punishment is therefore ineffective, potentially dangerous, and totally unnecessary.

How should I react when my cat engages in rough play?

If you feel that your cat is getting too rough or even becoming aggressive during play with you then it is essential to ensure that there is adequate opportunity for him to engage in suitable and fulfilling feline play. Toys that can be chased, swatted, and batted should be provided and in order to prevent problems of frustration it is sensible to provide some toys which yield physical reward. These would include so called prawn or chicken parcels made with greaseproof paper and introduced to the cat via a piece of string or elastic which moves the parcel erratically and thereby maintains the cat’s interest.

"If you feel that your cat is getting too rough or even becoming aggressive during play with you then it is essential to ensure that there is adequate opportunity for him to engage in suitable and fulfilling feline play."

If you give any form of attention (including physical punishment) to a cat that is swatting, or attacking in play, the behaviour may inadvertently be rewarded and encouraged further. Whenever the cat begins to swat or play attack, immediately stop the play by freezing and then walking very slowly away as soon as the attack behaviour subsides.

Remember, physical punishment should never be used as it is generally ineffective, and could cause harm to your relationship with your cat, or to the cat itself. 

What about remote punishment?

The key to successful punishment is to associate an unpleasant consequence with the undesirable behaviour and not with a person. This is very difficult to achieve with cats and since the relationship between cats and people is a fragile one it is usually not advisable to run the risk of using any form of punitive interaction with them.

Unless the owner remains out of sight while administering punishment the cat may not only associate the punishment with them but also learn to cease the behaviour only when you are present. The concept of punishing the cat remotely, while you remain out of sight, is popular but it takes a great deal of preparation, time and forethought if it is going to stand any chance of being successful and minimise the risk of it damaging the relationship between cat and owner.

How does remote punishment work?

For remote techniques to be successful there are three key elements. First, you must monitor the cat so that you know when the problem begins even in your absence. For this a video camera may be necessary. The second element is that the punishment must be delivered while the inappropriate behaviour is occurring (and most importantly you remain out of sight) and thirdly you need to be able to deliver reward for an alternative and acceptable response (which can be difficult if you are hidden away to achieve the second element mentioned above).

I have read about booby- trapping the environment to punish cats – is this a good idea?

Booby-traps are a way of teaching the pet to avoid the area or the behaviour itself. The most commonly used devices are those that are unpleasant enough to deter the behaviour, and reset themselves, or remain active should the pet return to the area. Another, more simple approach to discourage a cat from entering an area where an undesirable behaviour, such as scratching or eliminating is likely to be performed, is to make the area less appealing (or completely unpleasant) for such behaviours. For example if the cat is scratching furniture, a large piece of material may be draped over the furniture to make it inaccessible and the cover could be made of a material which is not conducive to scratching behaviour. Likewise in the case of inappropriate elimination the area could be redefined for another incompatible function such as playing, eating or drinking.

The use of taste or scent deterrents has been written about in the literature as a method of aversion which is not connected to the owner. In order to be effective they need to be unpleasant enough to deter the behaviour and while products such as bitter apple, bitter lime or Tabasco sauce are often recommended, many cats quickly learn to accept the taste. A little water mixed with cayenne pepper, oil of eucalyptus, any non-toxic mentholated product may be more successful and these deterrents do have the advantage that they can be applied directly to the problem area without the need for the human to be seen to be involved. To be effective, the first exposure to a product must be as repulsive as is humanely possible, so that the cat is immediately repelled whenever it smells or tastes that product again and most importantly the cat must be rewarded for coming away from the object or area so that its alternative behaviour can result in a positive outcome for the cat. Once the cat has learned to avoid the smell or taste, a more dilute solution can be used to deter the cat from other areas, provided that there is sufficient positive reward available for the cat within the environment.

The use of physical booby traps which are designed to make areas or behaviours unpleasant is best avoided. Examples vary from the simple home made versions such as a small pyramid of empty tin cans or plastic containers which are balanced on the arm of the chair on top of a loose fabric cover so that it topples onto the cat when scratching begins to more sophisticated devices such as mousetrap trainers and shock mats. Motion-detecting sprinklers are also available to keep other cats or animals off property. Although some of that literature does state that such devices should only be used as a last resort and under expert guidance it is generally better to avoid their use altogether.