Your cat’s behavior can be overwhelming when it comes to your peace of mind.
If your favorite feline seems troubled, consult a veterinarian. Your vet can perform physical and behavioral assessments to help your cat behave better.
So, why is my cat so badly behaved?
Cats can have a hard time adjusting to a new home environment or a new addition to the family. Many cats become stressed or agitated by loud noises, sudden movements, and unfamiliar faces and voices. Your cat may act out by scratching or knocking things over or by urinating or defecating outside of the litter box.
Minimize stress-inducing situations as much as possible, and try to remain calm around your cat. Try positive reinforcement training techniques to help your cat feel more at ease.
Let’s dive into this problem.
Contents
Why Is My Cat So Badly Behaved?
Your cat is acting inappropriately and is in need of some help to change his behavior.
Cats often exhibit negative behavior to new people in the home, including children and pets, and sometimes to a favorite person in the household.
This might be due to a change in daily routine, like a new pet in the house.
Spraying
Spraying is often misconstrued as male cat spraying urine to mark territory, when it may be a sign of a medical issues such as diabetes and kidney problems.
Spraying is not the cats choice, it can be caused by metabolic problems or hormonal imbalances that can be treated or monitored medically by a vet.
It is not complete urination and has a much stronger odor than urine and is often used to “mark” their territory and to “announce” their presence to the area.
In reality, your cat will continue urinating and spraying in the house until the medical problem is being treated.
Spraying, like other negative behavior, is a symptom of a larger issue and can be indicative of medical problems such as diabetes and kidney diseases.
It may be induced by a behavioral problem such as stress, so it is important to investigate all possible causes.
The greatest technique to stop spraying is to neuter the cat early.
Furniture Scratching
Cats often scratch furniture as an outlet for their anxiety or as a method of marking their territory.
If you have a scratching post available for your cat, he is more likely to use it and will stop clawing up your furniture.
As a result, it’s critical to have good cat scratcher furniture installed in your house so that your cat will not feel the need to use your furniture as scratching posts.
Consider getting a scratching post that is placed away from places where you do not want cat scratching, such as your couch and chairs.
If our cats don’t know any cats around the neighbourhood, they will stay inside most part of the time.
Cats that utilize a scratching post will have less need to scratch your furniture and carpet instead.
Covering the part of the furniture they prefer to scratch with aluminum foil or double-sided tape will also be helpful.
This will prevent them finding out which area of the house they are allowed to mark as a territory.
Fighting and Aggression
Although your cat is simply practicing catching and fighting, this behavior can be extremely annoying for you, and you could end up tearing out your hair in frustration.
The easiest method to stop this tendency is to give your cat exercise by playing with her every day.
Cat-cat hostility is natural for all cats; however, cats that are domesticated and accustomed to humans often show signs of aggression towards people who are seemingly unfamiliar to them.
It’s critical to provide your cat with toys that she can play with and keep her active.
Give the cats one-on-one attention and do not let them fight with each other.
Separate litter pans and food and water bowls to prevent them from marking their territory on the same spot.
Territorial conflicts are still common even among domesticated cats living in familiar environments for years.
If this occurs, the cats may need to co-exist in the same house, but only in the second floor or basement rooms to prevent their fights from spreading to the rest of your home.
Refusing to Use the Litter Box
There are techniques to alter your cat’s behavior if he refuses to use the litter box, so it’s not something to worry about immediately as long as your cat is otherwise healthy and active.
Some cats may refuse to use certain boxes or specific locations of the box.
Remove filthy litter once a day and replace it as soon as possible.
If your cat still refuses to use its litter box, contact your veterinarian for advice on what to do next because it may be a behavioral problem.
Clean the afflicted area using an antiseptic solution to get rid of the bacteria that can aggravate the cat’s skin condition.
It’s conceivable that litter box may become dirty again because of your cat’s refusal to use it.
An elderly cat may not enjoy the effort of running or jumping to height of the litter box.
Your cat may have a urinary tract problem that’s causing frequent urination or incontinence.
Biting
Cats may bite when stressed or territorial, and this can cause injury to the human and other cat.
This emphasizes the need of never leaving your cat alone in the house if you work long hours to prevent your feline friend’s loneliness.
If your cat isn’t acting out of self-defense, his biting could be a sign of stress or anxiety.
Stop playing with your cat and ignore his aggressive behaviors, as this only excites him more and can lead to more biting.
Instead, let your cat play by himself for an hour or so and then resume playing with him when he calms down.
Why Isn’t My Cat Using the Litter Box?
Cats will refuse to use the litter box if it’s dirty or soiled with food/feces, so clean the entire box regularly to prevent this problem.
Identifying which of these reasons is causing their reluctance to use the litter box can help you find a solution so your beloved feline friend can get back to doing his thing again.
If your cat refuses to use his or her litter box, it may be a sign of an underlying medical condition that needs treatment, such as a bladder infection or an obstruction in your cat’s intestines.
Cats want a clean area to relieve themselves, so a dirty litter box may cause your cat to go elsewhere.
One litter box per cat is sufficient as long as it’s not too far away from the cat’s sleeping area.
You should have four boxes in your home for each cat plus one extra box located on the basement floor if you have three cats in your house. This is a rule that you need to add one extra littler box for your cat.
This eliminates litter box competition, and your feline friends won’t feel forced to take matters into their own hands and mark the area.
If you are unable to clean out the litter box every day, use unscented litter or litter with an odor-controlling additive to help mask the smell.
If you have adequate litter boxes and they are clean, but your cat is still refusing to use them, then you need to consider why this is happening.
Sometimes, you need to consult your vet about this problem.
Also Read: Why Does My Cat Guard Me?
Conclusion
Overall, it’s best to seek advice from a veterinarian or a behavior specialist if your cat’s behavior is causing you concern.
Your vet can diagnose medical conditions that may be contributing to your cat’s behavior.
A behaviorist can evaluate your cat’s behavior and suggest ways to modify undesirable behaviors.
So, attempt to identify the core reason of why your cat is misbehaving and deal with it appropriately.
