Training and disciplining are essential for cats, but sometimes the results are not satisfactory. This may be due to problems in communicating with the cat. To train a cat, you first need to understand it and know what it is thinking. Only then is successful training possible. However, because cats are not as outgoing as dogs and rarely actively seek affection or show enthusiasm, cat owners often encounter difficulties when communicating with them. They don’t know if what they are doing is right, don’t know if the cat understands their meaning, and even more don’t know if the cat truly cares about them. Thus, communicating with cats is not easy and requires patience, gradual guidance, and of course, the right methods.

　　一. Build Trust, Avoid Domestic Violence

　　As an owner, what you need to master and be skilled at is maintaining effective communication with your cat, providing the help it needs, letting it feel your love, and gently reminding and correcting it when it does something wrong. All communication must be friendly, including scolding. Maintaining proper limits is key. For example, you only need to let it know that you don’t like what it’s doing. You should stop and scold it promptly during the action, keeping it brief and never resorting to violence. One difference between cats and dogs is that the saying "Spare the rod and spoil the child" may apply to some dogs but for cats, physical punishment causes them to lose trust in humans out of fear and leads to personality changes. For self-protection, they may respond with even more aggressive behavior.

　　When we ourselves make mistakes and are unaware, we hope to be understood and treated kindly. Even more so for sensitive cats, becoming someone they can trust and rely on is the first step we need to take. Only upon establishing trust is communication and training possible.

　　Cat body language is another aspect we need to understand. Cats convey their feelings through their posture. Usually, you can rely on your intuition to judge a cat’s feelings and needs. A cat’s satisfied posture is easiest to recognize because it will fully relax and squint its eyes. When relaxed, a cat will stretch out its limbs and gently wave its paws. At this time, you can approach to gently scratch it, and it will lie on its back letting you continue. Sometimes cats will knead and purr when pleased. This is because they used to knead to express the need to extract milk while nursing.

　　二. Combine Rewards and Punishments, Standardize Your Language First

　　So, should you treat cats kindly or even give treats to forgive them when they make mistakes? Absolutely not. Kindness means no violence and no physical punishment, but it does not mean rewarding or praising every wrongdoing. Correcting without going too far is essential. Spoiling cats isn’t good either unless you want your cat to be the boss and obey it blindly. Otherwise, when a cat misbehaves, please scold and correct it promptly.

　　It’s best to choose scolding words that are easy to pronounce and remember, such as "No" or "Don’t." Family members should unify the words used to scold cats; don’t have one person say "Don’t," another "No way," another say "Look what you did!" while Dad says "Stop"... This confuses the cat: "What’s happening? What do they want to say?" Pick one or two words and raise your voice properly; the cat will quickly understand your meaning and stop the wrong behavior.

　　After wrongdoing, patiently educate your cat. It’s not that you criticize today and allow it tomorrow. You should be consistent and patient with your attitude at all times. If you give up halfway, your previous efforts will be wasted. The cat may become arrogant thinking "I’ll be forgiven soon." Physical punishment is absolutely forbidden. Randomly hitting the cat will make it fearful of the owner and develop inferiority. Because a cat’s body is much smaller, hitting it could injure it. Finally, praise your cat generously when it behaves well. While cats cannot understand human words, they clearly distinguish between the tone of reprimand and praise. When praised, they feel happy, which improves the effect of training.

　　三. When Cats Have Emotions, First Look at Yourself

　　Come home and don’t see your cat for a while? Look around and find it hiding in the wardrobe or under the bed, refusing to come out, and it meows at you displeased? What is your first reaction? Rush to inspect if it did something wrong? Did it break a vase or scratch the sofa?

　　If it were a dog, hiding and whining when you come home may mean it did something wrong. But this doesn’t necessarily apply to cats. When a cat hides or shows displeasure upon seeing you, the problem is often with you. Don’t rush to defend yourself. This “problem” may seem trivial to humans but is significant to sensitive cats. For example, if you invite a group of friends home, the noise and unfamiliar scents may make the cat uncomfortable and resistant, causing it to hide. Or if you just had your hair done and the cat runs away scared, it’s likely not your new hairstyle but the scent of the hair products bothering the cat. Although dogs do drug detection and search & rescue, a cat’s sense of smell is equally sharp. It can quickly detect strange, pungent, or unpleasant odors and respond by hiding, running away, or protesting.

　　If you notice abnormal behavior in your cat after excluding health issues, find the cause of the behavior. Simply scolding or correcting has no effect because "to untie the knot, one must find the person who tied it."​

　　If the cat is really disobedient, the owner must not indulge it without principles, which only makes the cat more unruly. Owners should train cats from a young age to develop good living habits and attitudes towards people. Guide and discipline the cat to complete the training content, and provide care and attention. Let the cat see you as the master and obey you.