And, I’ve even talked with a couple of people who said their cats thought the squirted bottle was a GAME, so they would do things just to get sprayed! (So much for the myth that cats hate water, eh?) I’ve also talked with many people who have had similar experiences, where the squirt bottle didn’t do anything to correct the behavior. I didn’t have the intention of being mean, of course – my intention was simply to keep her from getting on the counter! But she didn’t know that, she was just getting squirted down by a big old meanie. The spray bottle was completely useless at that point, and all I was doing was 1) showing her that I was mean, and 2) soaking her. But the behavior continued, and pretty soon, she simply stared me down while I was squirting her and her tiny little face was just like “BRING IT” (she was a tortie and had tortitude, so this was totally in line with her purrsonality). It worked the first few times I squirted her – she got down immediately and ran away. Many years ago, before I knew what I know now, I used a squirt bottle on a cat I had who was constantly jumping up on our kitchen counters. So the behavior continues…when you’re not around.Īnd frankly, squirt or spray bottles may not even be that effective. But when you’re not around, there’s no consequence. See what I’m getting at? Your cat won’t necessarily make the connection between his behavior and the squirt bottle, other than he gets squirted when he does those things AND you’re around. Or, your cat might stop hopping up on the kitchen counters…until you’re not around. Or, your cat might stop chewing the plants…until you’re not around. Your cat might stop scratching the couch…only to start scratching on another piece of furniture when you’re not around. You know all of those stories where a fairy or genie or leprechaun grants three wishes, but the way those wishes are granted usually means something awful happens to the wisher? You can get similar results when you use a squirt bottle with your cat. Well, folks who encourage the use of the spray bottle do have one thing right – using a spray bottle may indeed change your cat’s behavior, although not in the way you want it to. With everything we now know about cats, learning, and behavior, we need to update this antiquated mode of trying to teach cats to stop one behavior and do something different! Even shelters and those who should know better are still recommending the use of spray bottles or squirt guns. Why, oh why, is spraying cats with water still a thing? In looking around online and talking with people, I find that – over and over again – people are drawn to using a squirt bottle to either discipline or punish cats for unwanted behavior.
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