How should we help cats correct their aggressive behavior due to anxiety or fear of people?

If the attack problems caused by this broad category of reasons are broken down, there are still many specific reasons.

But generally speaking, one category is the cause of disease.

Another category is that socialization training is not done well.

The socialization mentioned here not only refers to the wrong training mentioned in yesterday's article, but more likely to too little training, or no socialization training at all. As a result, the cat is naturally afraid of people, more sensitive, and does not like people. My dear, I love attacking people.

　01 Cause of disease

If your cat is usually fine, or was fine a few years ago, and suddenly doesn’t want you to touch it, has obvious defensive behavior, and may even attack you, then you need to consider whether it is caused by some disease. caused.

If your cat suffers from dental disease, ear disease, etc., it may attack you when you touch it.

Among elderly cats, arthritis and thyroid disease are two common problems, both of which can lead to aggressive behavior.

Therefore, if sudden aggressive behavior begins to occur frequently, please be sure to take your cat to the doctor for a check-up as soon as possible.

　02 Personality factors

After eliminating disease factors, you should consider that the cat may have a sensitive personality. Especially a cat family can basically eliminate the impact of a complex social environment.

What should we do in this situation?

Whether the cat is naturally sensitive or the socialization training is not in place, in short, we must find ways to build a relationship with the cat, break the ice with our practical actions, and ultimately influence it.

Here, as long as you follow certain methods and have a little patience, anyone can do it.

So don’t give a cat to someone else just because it has a “bad” personality, or even let it become a stray cat.

Correcting the behavioral problems of this type of cat is generally done in two steps, during which some auxiliary methods can be combined.

Step one: Erase the impression that “you are a threat” in the cat’s mind

For some cats, they may be scared when they see you, let alone if you touch them. Therefore, you must first eliminate the cat’s wariness towards you.

Methods include:

When passing by it, don't look at it and ignore its existence.

When it is not far away, pour the canned food it likes into the plate and then leave.

Since this is the disarming stage, don’t call it over, just put the cans away casually.

In short, one principle is:

You are good to it, but don’t rush to establish friendship and physical contact with it. Just be good to it.

The above operation may take a period of time, a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months.

Until one day when he comes over on his own initiative, or tentatively comes over to have some interaction with you, you can take out the cat teaser and interact with it a little bit.

After interacting for a few minutes, remember to give him something he likes to eat as a reward.

After all the above goals have been successfully achieved, the cat may still not want you to touch or hug it.

But it is no longer afraid of you and feels safe with you.

At this time we can proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Carry out "desensitization" step by step

In fact, the above steps are a desensitization process. What we are going to talk about next is related to direct contact.

In fact, the principle is very simple, that is:

If you bite after being touched three times by me, I will touch you once, then give you a reward, and then gradually strengthen it, gradually testing the bottom line, until finally, the cat is no longer sensitive to your touch.

Here, let’s take Gangdan’er as an example.

The steel egg is very sensitive and won’t let you touch it, let alone hold it.

You can touch the steel egg two or three times, but if you touch it four or five times, it won't be able to bear it anymore and will definitely fuck you.

The method at this time is to touch it once and then give it something delicious, whether it is freeze-dried or nutritious paste. In short, whatever it likes is a delicious snack.

After eating once, you can do this for about three times in a row.

The method is the same, touch it once and give something delicious. Then after a while, touch it again and give it something delicious.

The ultimate goal of training is to make the cat take the initiative to ask you for food, and after gradually increasing the number and frequency of touching it, it will no longer resist.

​You can continue to use this method to break through the limits of its touch.

After training like this for a period of time, it will gradually no longer resist you touching it.

The same method can also be used in the training of holding it. The specific training details can be divided according to the holding time. I will not go into further details here.

With a little patience, your cat will eventually become friendly.

During my more than ten years of breeding Persians and Exotics, I have encountered cats with all kinds of personalities. The methods based on the above principles have been tried and tested repeatedly.

A cat that gets along well with you may have a very important impact on your life.

I have seen stories of cats helping their owners overcome some difficulties. Of course, I have also seen situations where the owner is howling and crying, but the cat remains indifferent.

And all of this depends on the relationship between you and your cat.

If a cat recognizes you as his friend, he will pay attention to you all the time. Just like what is described in a movie, in another world, it will transform into a mythical beast and continue to accompany you.