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Anonymous
god you're a terrible person, the way you're talking, I'm just hoping your are just frustrated and don't really mean what you say, simply because you are going around things the wrong way
you see the cat is associating YOU with the water squirting, not the couch scratching. That's why she hisses and is mean, because in her mind YOU are being mean to HER.
God cats are intelligent, but not intelligent enough to understand complicated consequence, (as in administered discipline as consequence to an act) they have the intelligence similiar to a young toddler. When you were a toddler did your mother smack you for wetting the bed? Because this is pretty much how you are treating your cat :(
Dogs, and other animals (even SOME cats) understand a very simple form of dicipline, as in 'doing this' equals 'smack!' equals 'hurt', BUT most animals will simply wonder why you are hurting them. And wouldn't you get anxious and defensive if you believed your 'parent' was hurting you for no reason??
And as another person has said, declawing is essentially removing the tips of the cats fingertips. If the cat eventually trusts you (which will take time and effort, and changing of ways) their nails are easily clipped with normal, everyday human nail clippers, nothing special.
Cats don't only scratch because their nails are long, but also because it feels good to them. Why not get her a scratching post rubbed down with some catnip, and scratch it with your hands to show her that she scratches the POST and not the couch. If she starts to scratch the couch you just pick her up and take her to the post without any fuss. (Again, like a toddler and like toilet training)
You will have to have a lot of patience, it is not worth an animal being put to death because of being misguided. When in doubt ask yourself how would you teach a young toddler, as that is a cat's mental capacity, nothing more.
It's us humans who make life so complicated
good luck xx
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