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If you think that training a cat is easy business, you're probably in for some major surprises. There's no end to the number of cat training problems you can experience, from a rebellious cat that purposely does the opposite of what you want to show off his independence to the ones that have too much energy to train.

Good News

Of course, many cat training problems aren't the fault of the cat himself but are the fault of the owner who may not even realize their own mistakes. The good news is that these problems can be addressed if the cat owner is willing to put in the time and effort to do so. A responsible cat owner will want to address these problems for the good of the cat's health and happiness as well. Let's see what some of those common cat training problems are and how to address them quickly and efficiently, as well as some mistakes to avoid.

Rewards And Praise

It might seem strange, but many cat training problems are really the fault of the owner not understanding how a cat thinks. They are very different from other animals, and yet many try to train them the same way you would train a dog. This can only lead to frustration and irritation on the part of the owner and the cat! For example, many cat training problems arise when an owner tries to scold a cat for something he did hours ago, and even minutes ago. Cats cannot connect past events with current scolding the way a dog might. You need to catch the cat in the act or find another way to address the issue.

A better approach when dealing with cat training problems than scolding is rewarding. If you're training your cat to use the litter box, reward and praise him lavishly when he does. If you want to train your cat to stay off the counters, take him down from there, wait a few minutes, and then give him attention when he's on the floor. By establishing a reward system, you avoid many cat training problems. It might be difficult on you because we often automatically tend to scold when a pet does something wrong, but cats are a unique type of creature that need to be understood and addressed accordingly. They're much more likely to respond to rewards you give than to scolding.

Simple Solutions

Other typical cat training problems usually have a simple solution. For instance, if your cat chews on the houseplants, put some chili powder on the bottom of the leaves and they'll soon enough avoid them. If they're always knocking things over from shelves, put some denture paste on the bottom of those things to keep them adhered to the shelves. For other cat training problems, be sure you also have taken your cat to the vet for a physical checkup. Problems using the litter box or ignoring you all of a sudden might be the result of some physical difficulties.

If you'd like more of my Cat Training Tips, check out my "Insider Tricks and Secrets to Training Your Cat".

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