Understanding more about your cat’s basic nature will often help you solve cat behavior problems. Domestic cats are descendants of wild relatives and therefore many instinctive traits carry over as part of their nature. This can become quite frustrating when you are trying to raise a well-behaved domestic cat!

Consider that cats are hunters by nature. In the wild, most of the smaller cat species subside on hunting small rodents. They are typically solitary, nocturnal animals that catch their own food to feed only themselves. Therefore, stalking and pouncing on small prey is a common behavior of cats in the wild.

Cat behavior training is most effective when you keep three things in mind. First, cats respond best when you offer them rewards. Second, cats generally do not respond well to punishment. Third, cats like routine not change. If you remember these three things, you will have much greater success with your cat behavior training!

First off, good cat behavior must be rewarded. How do you do this? By making sure that good behaviors are fun and pleasurable for your cat.

It is easier to get two young animals to live in harmony as they will grow up together, however with a bit of time and patience (it may take up to 6-7 weeks) a young kitten or puppy can be introduced to an older pet.

Your old pet should be exposed to as many new situations, visitors and pets as possible. This will help them to adapt to any new pets in the house.

If you are getting your new pet from a shelter then you should ask the staff about its behaviour towards other animals; does it have a history of aggression toward other animals?

Cats naturally look for a place that they can dig and bury their waste. Of course, you want the place they find to be the litter box! That said, there are several tips to follow when training cats to use the litter box and ensure that it is the only place they’ll want to go.

Make sure you place the litter box in a separate room from their eating or sleeping area. Cats are clean animals and typically associate their litter box with a dirty area. If the litter box is near the eating or sleeping area, they may naturally want to find a bathroom place that is farther away.