Shaking a cat

[baelfire]

Hi,

i was wondering if u pick up a cat and you shake it like saying no when they do something wrong, can it cause brain damage or personality changes? I know you should never do this, but i didn't know and overreacted. And just wanted to know so i can be more informed

[merby]

My cats love our big screen t.v.!  Everytime they would jump on the tv stand I would "calmly" tell them no and "gently" go get them off of it.  Maybe I am lucky or just have 3 good listeners but all I have to do if they are about to jump on it now is say their name in a certain tone(Maxx, no) and they stop. See, you can make cats listen without being mean.

[bedtimestory]

I agree with Soror. Never treat an animal in a violent way. There are lots of  disciplinary methods you can use without even touching them. If you shaked him once then I don't think it will cause major problems with the cat's personality but just don't keep doing it. Next time try to think that, after all, maybe he just wanted attention from you or it didn't realize that maybe what it was doing was wrong. Remember cats are very sensitive. They get scared very easily and they can turn aggressive when they see/feel/experience abuse in some way. Just go and hug that creature. I'm sure your kitty loves you very much. Just teach him you're the alpha, not him/her, but do so in a way that your cat doesn't look at you and sees a threat.

One thing you can do is you can get some bitter apple spray and spread it on the place you don't want him/her to be. Cats hate that smell. What exactly did your cat do?

[Soror]

Do not use this as a disciplinary method.

If the cat is youngish, especially a kitten, yes, it can irrevocably change the animals personality, and rarely in a beneficial way.  Animals treated this way often become violent and withdrawn, and they suffer brain damage like a human child would.

As a rule, never, ever use a disciplinary method on an animal that makes them fear you...it doesn't ******* work.  Instead, cause them to be afraid of something they cannot see that isn't you.  Get a soda can and put a handful of pennies in it and tape over the top, when the cat does something you don't want him to do, shake the can very briefly.

Make sure to stop after a few seconds.  Cat will react to the strange, loud noise by ceasing whatever it was doing - this will lead to conditioning the animal against the behavior without causing the animal to fear you.