Many cat house owners use the strategy of squirting their pets with water from a handheld spray bottle to discourage them from doing sure undesirable behaviors and actions. Many cat house owners additionally consider it is a good methodology to make use of in disciplining their feline. Whereas it might cease the motion you dislike at that second, your cat is extremely unlikely to affiliate the shock of the water with the stated exercise or conduct they had been doing. Due to this fact, your cat will most likely proceed to have interaction in it. In the meantime, spraying your cat with water as punishment to cease the undesired conduct is silently inflicting adverse results in your cat.
Is It Dangerous to Spray My Cat with Water?
Sure! Water spraying may fit instantaneously, making it seem an efficient deterrent. It offers house owners the false notion that this disciplinary motion works nicely at stopping your cat from scratching home goods, consuming vegetation, or ingesting out of the bathroom, for instance. The idea is straightforward: your cat does a foul or undesirable conduct, they usually obtain a right away adverse consequence (the water spray). Your cat then correlates the motion with the adverse consequence and can cease the conduct.
The reality is your cat doesn’t affiliate the punishment of water being sprayed at them with the exercise they had been partaking in. Quite, they affiliate it with you and your presence. They consider it’s you, not the conduct or exercise, that brought about the punishment, and long-term use of this system can have many adverse results in your cat whereas probably creating aggression towards you.
The 5 Causes Why Spraying Your Cat With Water Is Dangerous
Cats don’t reply nicely to adverse reinforcement strategies. Continued use of such a deterrent may cause one or all the following results in your cat.
1. It Causes Stress for Your Cat
The act of being shocked by a squirt of water out of nowhere shocks your cat. Cats are very delicate to emphasize triggers, like shifting houses, decorators in your own home, or bringing dwelling a brand new pet. Punishment strategies are additionally a stressor and create the identical fears, making them frightened. This subsequently initiates stress responses.
Your cat could disappear for brief or lengthy intervals of time till they consider the perceived menace is gone. Different behavioral points could start, reminiscent of urine spraying in the home or aggression in the direction of you. Stress, as in people, notably if skilled repeatedly, creates adverse issues and reactions within the physique, probably instigating well being circumstances reminiscent of feline decrease urinary tract illness.
2. Whisker Fatigue
Whiskers are a really particular type of hair. They’re extremely delicate and attuned. Cats use them as a sensor. They’ll sense air currents and modifications with their whiskers, decide the width of areas, and so forth.
Whiskers can develop into fatigued very simply if they’re interfered with, and that may probably apply to being lined in or sprayed with water. Whisker fatigue is debilitating for a cat, and, on this state of affairs, is fully preventable.
3. It Doesn’t Cease the Habits
This method and different adverse reinforcement strategies could have been used at one time, however they’re not thought-about a good suggestion. Cats don’t equate the water and the hate of being sprayed with the exercise. It results in extra concern and perpetuates a vicious cycle. Behavioral points are sometimes attributable to completely different causes, reminiscent of anxiousness or well being circumstances, and these considerations ought to be addressed along with your veterinarian and investigated. As soon as any underlying causes are corrected, so too is the undesirable conduct.
4. It Can Have an effect on Your Bond and Relationship With Your Cat
The house setting and the individuals in it ought to really feel protected and safe to your cat. Spraying them often with water and punishing them goes to disrupt this and have many results, reminiscent of not eager to be close to you or turning into aggressive with you.
5. It Can Trigger Your Cat to Keep away from All Water
Cats usually are not huge followers of water at the perfect of occasions, however when they’re recurrently punished with it, it creates an excellent bigger aversion to water. This may make them keep away from and concern all water, from being too scared to exit within the rain to even their very own ingesting bowl.
Conclusion
Spraying your cat with water is a technique that has lengthy been utilized by house owners, and most certainly in good religion. Many have thought it was the right strategy to make use of. As we are able to see, nevertheless, it’s removed from this.
A cat’s environment needs to be safe, safe, and calm, and this negative reinforcement technique seeks only to create fear, stress, and ream of significant penalties, together with your relationship with them. Behavioral issues, unwanted activities, and stress ought to be addressed utilizing optimistic reinforcement. In case you are not making progress in altering the state of affairs, search additional evaluation by your veterinarian or a cat behaviorist.
Featured Picture Credit score: Dora Zett, Shutterstock
