Why Do Cats Behave Badly?

Bringing a new cat into your home may not be as smooth of a process as you might have thought it would be. Some cats are very stressed out by the change of their environment and may display numerous behavioral problems. You need to figure out what's causing these problems to occur and take the proper training action to eliminate it.

If your cat is unwilling to cooperate and does not seem to be able to respond to your training methods, you must figure out what it is that is truly pushing your cat to act this way. Below are some possibilities and common issues that many cats experience.

1. Stressful Situations: One of the first things that cats usually do when faced with a stressful condition is to react by changing and altering their behavior in a desperate attempt to cope with the situation. For example, many pet owners complain that their well-behaved cats will suddenly mark their territory inside the house after someone has visited or a new animal has been introduced into the home. This is obviously a way for the cat to calm himself and feel good knowing that no matter who or what has come through “his” territory, it is now marked and smells like his “turf”. To the cat, it ensures that he is safe and is still the master of his domain.

2. Being Bored: Cats are naturally adventurous and their entire life revolves around sleeping and getting into trouble. This is why so many cats enjoy and prefer to be outdoors. There is a limitless amount of opportunity to explore, seek prey, and investigate. When you leave your cat inside the house for a long period of time, he is bound to become extremely bored.

As you can imagine, the inside of the house is not quite as exciting as the great outdoors, especially once you've safe-proofed the area. What's a cat to do? The next best thing for him is to explore your house and play and dig into whatever he can find, such as your couch, your shoes, or maybe your bookshelf. In order to solve this problem you need to have an abundant amount of cat toys, rolling balls, and any assortment of fun stuff that your cat can occupy his time with. He will then spend more time with his toys and less time scratching your expensive couch.