Your cat is acting oddly. Maybe the cat was well trained to use the litter box, but now he or she is marking in the bedroom closet. Possibly he or she has started cleaning himself so much that he is missing fur and friends ask you if he has cancer or some other terrible illness.

If your cat's bad behavior is too much to take, you may be able to lessen or eliminate the problem with some simple behavior modification techniques. Use these techniques in conjunction with plentiful praise to make living with your cat a much less stressful experience.

There are many good cat training books available as well as magazine publications that offer advice on putting an end to undesirable cat actions. There are web sites dedicated to cats and cat psychology where one can find many articles on how to correct your cats behavior. You can find advice on all of the common misbehaviors and some uncommon one as well.

Scratching on furniture and drapes is one of the common misbehavior of cats, but this habit is instinctive and your cat may also enjoy doing this exercise which also helps in conditioning the claws. However, some suggest that when you see your cat scratch an object and cross the permissible limits, spray a little water from a water gun and give a sharp, "No!".

A cat will scratch on appropriate objects versus your furniture if they are provided. You can buy prefabricated scratching posts. If you are feeling creative, you can also build one yourself. Cats adore catnip, so rub the post to give it that scent. The scent will wear off over time, but he will get used to using the post. He will eventually learn that he should use the post instead of your furniture when he feels the need to scratch.

Another behavior that may annoy a cat owner is if their kitty keeps them up at night with rambunctious, wild antics. Cats are nocturnal and their instinct is telling them the best hunting time is night time. Some cat owners make the mistake of getting up and playing with their cat, thinking that if they wear him out, kitty will go to sleep. This doesn't work as it is training the cat to wake his owner up every night for a nighttime frolic.

Try to play with your cat as soon as possible after returning home in the evening. Hopefully, you will be able to switch his internal clock to begin play time earlier on his own, and leave you to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.

True cat lovers know the secret that a cat can be trained as well as a dog. Cat behaviors that you find annoying or problematic in your home can be addressed if you are willing to put in the time and effort. Just like a dog, a cat wants to please its owner and return the love for how well you take care of it. So to make your life with your cat more enjoyable without any of the problems, just spend a little time--with consistency--training your cat.

There has been a deviation seen in the behavior of cats in the recent times although earlier they used to behave well. Your cats behavior can be cured with gentle modifying techniques. Although sharpening its claws by shredding your upholstery may be an instinctive behavior, say "No" firmly and hit it with little water to stay it off. To stop the cat scratch, provide it with an alternative. But a ready made scratching post and attract your cat to rub it, soon the cat would begin using it instead of the furniture to rub. You need to put quality time and effort to understand your cat psychology.