Another thing to keep in mind when training your cat or kitten, particularly when housetraining them, is that reprimands simply do not work. Many owners, when attempting to litter box train their cat, becoming frustrated because they are unable to catch the cat in the act of the crime in order to correct them. People will commonly show the cat the evidence and discipline the cat at that time, and sometimes even drag the cat back to the litter box and force him to dig in the litter. What the cat is learning is that being reached for by the owner is a bad experience and that the litter box is a torture chamber. It is usually difficult, if not impossible, to catch cats in the act because most cats have already learned that being caught is bad news. If you catch kitty in the act, he will only misbehave when you are not around. If you punish the cat later, he will not associate the reprimand with the crime. In either case, the misbehavior continues. Some cats misbehave just to get attention and the attention is enough of a reward to cause him to continue his bad ways.

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