Most kids know about punishment. I do. I was punished when I was a kid. I was punished when I was naughty. I knew I had been naughty. I also knew that I was being punished because I had been naughty. Sometimes the punishment was hard. I was hit with a cane or a stick. It is different these days.
The reason why kids and grown ups are punished is to stop them being naughty or bad again. Punishment can work for people. When a person wants to do something bad he will remember that he was punished for doing something bad. The way to avoid being punished again is not to do it again. For kids and grown ups punishment can make people behave better.
But punishment for doing something wrong can only work if the thing for which the person is being punished really is bad and everyone agrees that it is bad. Punishment can only work if the person knows he is being punished for doing a bad thing.
For a cat it is different. Everything a cat does is neither good nor bad for the cat. It is just the way he behaves. He does not think, this is good or this is bad. So, if something that a cat does is bad it is because someone, a human, thinks it is bad. Not the cat.
So, if the cat does not know that he has done something bad and is then punished, he won’t understand why he is being punished. As I said, the only reason why punishment works is when the person connects his behavior with the punishment. For this reason alone punishing a cat is not a good idea.
Also, is it fair that we should punish a cat for doing something that a person does not like but the cat likes? How do you think you would feel if you did something good or OK and then your teacher punished you? You would be confused and upset. You would be frightened. You would not trust your teacher.
This can happen to a cat. When a person punishes a cat the cat might become unsure about the person and keep out of the way of the person. If that person is the cat’s owner it is not good. A person wants to be friendly with their cat. If a cat is frightened of their owner they cannot be friends.
If a person wants to stop their cat doing something that they don’t like the best way to do it is to encourage their cat to do something else. The way to do this is to give a reward to your cat for doing something different and which the person likes. This is the opposite to punishment. Your cat will then stop doing things you don’t like and still love you.
It is much nicer to reward your cat. It is better to praise your cat and hug your cat. It makes you feel better and your cat too. It helps your friendship grow. It makes your home feel better.
There is one last thing I will say about cat punishment. If a person likes everything that their cat does, there is no need to punish, ever. You have to admit that is the coolest way to deal with the problems of cat punishment. You will love your cat more. Your cat will love you more too.
Very wise and important words, cats should never be punished for acting like cats, there is nothing like the love and friendship of a trusting cat.
Thanks Barbara. I did it because kids are the future of cat welfare.
Absolutely true, it’s in their hands!
This simply worded article needs to be shared with a lot of adult people too who think it’s right to punish their cats.
No cat can be happy living in fear of being punished, because they don’t know why it is happening to them.
I was going to say – this is also for adults in many cases I would assume – sometimes people need things explained to them clearly just like for kids.