Yup, this can be true in many households. It is not true in mine because I accept that my cat has the right to behave naturally and that her behavior will, on occasion, clash with mine. What is so difficult about that?
Cat behavior that is considered problematic cannot also be behavior that is natural for the cat - surely? If that is the case in a household, the person who lives in the house should not, should definitely not, keep a cat. That is obvious.
And it is this obvious point that a lot of people miss. Many people try and shoehorn their cat into fitting into their way of life at the expense of the cat.
It is far easier to modify one's expectations and accept that our cat's natural cat behavior will on occasion get in the way of our day to day living.
We can't expect to have control over every aspect of a cat's behavior. And if we accept a cat's behavior as I suggest but the cat behaves too frequently in a way that we consider incompatible with our behavior, it is the same problem. Don't keep a cat. Only people who understand and respect cats (and animals) should keep them.
There are many examples of normal cat behavior that some people might consider as "inappropriate" or "unacceptable". A lot of people don't like cats jumping on to kitchen counters. They consider it unhygienic. For the cat, the counter is just another high platform. Cats like to jump up to platforms. The way to deal with that is to gently lift him or her down. Your cat might be looking for food, so give him some.
Punishment is unsuitable.
Another form of behavior that is considered incompatible with us is cat scratching, a totally normal form of cat behavior. Many people in the USA resolve this perceived cat behavior problem by removing the source of the problem - literally! They have the cat's toes hacked off.
Oh, its called "
declawing". Er...no, it's not. It is amputation times ten.
Please read this, all the people who disagree with me!
