Earlier this week I shared a little about my experiences attempting to change the behavior of our new kitten, Olivia. I thought you might be interested in more information about disciplining a cat. It’s not an easy task. Cats, as you know, have a very different mindset than a dog does. Ever hear of cattitude? I can imagine you nodding your head knowingly.
I wrote Monday about how I used a can full of pennies to discourage Olivia from jumping onto my “computer” desk—where I work, using an ergonomic keyboard. It wouldn’t be a problem if she simply jumped up here and sat next to me, but no, she was skittering across the keyboard on her way to the desktop, freaking me out and risking awful consequence. The pennies in the can seems to have worked for Olivia. I’m keeping them handy just in case she needs a refresher course down the road.
But I wondered if this technique was okay to use with a cat. The idea came from a dog trainer. In no way do I want to damage Olivia’s psyche or wonderful sense of confidence. So I did some research and came across this article about how to discipline a cat. Thankfully, it appears that what I did was okay. It certainly worked (so far) with Olivia. Among the list of deterrents recommended to use with cats was a can 
filled with something that makes noise. Experts also suggest using scents the cat dislikes—orange is one possibility. There actually are products on the market you can spray to discourage cats from a certain area. Also suggested are water sprays, aluminum foil and double-sided tape.
But let’s be positive here—praise goes a long way in changing behavior for some cats. I use a lot of praise with Olivia and truthfully, she seems to respond to that. When she obeys one of the rules or responds to a “NO,” she gets lots of praise and, when appropriate, petting. The main no-no is using any sort of physical discipline tactics with a cat, unless it’s simply to remove the cat from a situation and, perhaps, give her a time out in another room. In my experience, with other cats, isolation just makes them all the more determined to do the naughty thing. It’s as if they spend the entire time-out planning their next attack on the furniture or whatever.
I’d like to hear how you handle a naughty cat–which includes activities the cat may want to engage in that’s down right dangerous for her. Meanwhile, here’s a link I found useful and informative. https://www.thesprucepets.com/how-to-discourage-bad-behavior-551821
