Instructions
Avoid screaming at or hitting your cat when it displays bad behavior. Disciplining it in this manner only scares your cat and makes it fear you. It damages your relationship with your cat.
Punish your cat in the moment. If you catch your cat after the fact and attempt to punish it, your cat will not understand why it is being punished and will perceive you as being mean. Act in the moment your cat is displaying the bad behavior.
Spray water on your cat to stop bad behavior. If you catch your cat scratching furniture, correct the behavior by showing it the new scratching post you purchased for it. Put catnip and some cat toys on the post to spark your cat's interest. If this is unsuccessful. and your cat keeps scratching the furniture, fill a spray bottle with water and spay water on your cat when you catch it in the act. Hide yourself so your cat cannot see you before spraying it. If it sees you spraying it, it will only continue the bad behavior when you are not in the room.
Walk away when your cat displays bad behavior, or place it in a time-out in a locked room. If your cat bites you, instantly ignore it. Avoid playing with it, because that sends the wrong message. Your cat will associate its behavior with being ignored and not talked to or petted, and it will stop the biting.
Reward your cat for good behavior. If your cat does what it is supposed to, give it a treat. This reinforces the good behavior and encourages your cat to continue it. Avoid rewarding bad behavior, because this confuses your cat.
Keep your cat out of forbidden areas. If your cat visits areas of the house that it isn't allowed in, place orange peel on the floor or use a commercial cat repellent to keep it away. Cats dislike the scent of orange peel. Place booby traps in the form of double-sided sticky tape on the floor as an alternative.
Consult your veterinarian if your cat is not responding well to behavior modifications. Your doctor may recommend medications, such as anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs, to treat your cat's undesirable behavior.
How to Handle a Naughty Cat
A cat can act up for many reasons: It may be bored. It may feel threatened by another cat. It may have a medical issue, or it may feel neglected. Regardless of what the reason is for your cat's naughty behavior, if you don't discipline it properly, the unwanted behavior can worsen. Take your cat to a veterinarian to ensure that a medical condition is not causing its naughty behavior. Once you know the issue is behavioral and not physiological, you can start correcting your cat's behavior.