How to Get Along With Your Cat

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

Do you find it difficult to get along with your cat? If you do, then keep reading!

Steps

1
Feed your cat something good, like seafood flavored cat food.
2
Give it a treat. Older cats usually like softer treats, while younger cats like harder ones.
3
Pat it every day.
4
Treat your cat well and never abuse it. Instead of hitting or pushing your cat away if it does something wrong, point to them and firmly say, "no", or spray some water onto them with a spray bottle. Your cat may not like it if you pick them up while they are upset or tired; some cats may not even want you to pick them up at all, so be careful if you try to.
5
Give it clean, fresh water and food. Wash the bowls out every day. You wouldn't want to eat from the same plate everyday, so why should a cat?
6
Give it love. Even buy it cat toys for Christmas.
7
If you have a job or something else you have to do that prevents you from visiting your cat for a few hours, get an automatic water bowl for them and leave some toys for it (e.g. mice, golf balls, tin foil crumpled into a ball, paper balls, etc). If you have a big windowsill with a cushion, draw back the curtains, and your cat can relax and watch the birds.
8
Give it a bed, or if you really want to make your cat happy, you could even give your cat their own room!
9
If you can, take it for walks.
10
Give it milk on occasion. Milk can be a nice treat for a cat, but do not give it milk all the time, because it is not good for them. After your cat has weaned, it will most likely become lactose intolerant. Try to give your cat a little bit of cow's milk to see if it causes diarrhea. If your cat is okay after that, then you may give them a bowl of milk every once in a while as a treat. While grown cats do not need milk, you can purchase lactose free cat milk from a supermarket or pet store to give them.
11
Clean the litter box at least once a week. You can also buy a product called LitterMaid®, which cleans the litter for you instead of you having to do it.
12
Get a cat scratch tree. Some younger cats like "Kitty Condos". It helps their claws to stay a certain length, and it feels good to them. If your cat tends to scratch up your furniture, a scratching post will be a great help. Make sure that if you catch them clawing on the furniture to direct them to the scratching post instead. They will soon learn to scratch on the post instead of the furniture.

Community Q&A

Question

My cat attacks at random, even when he's being sweet. He's purring and trying to snuggle with you one second, and the next he's biting your arm. Why?

Community Answer

He might just be playful. Try saying "no!" loudly when he bites you. Also, being pet causes some cats to get overstimulated, and they end up lashing out in response. Watch for behavior changes when you're snuggling with your cat, like a swishing tail or widening of the eyes. If you see these things, stop what you're doing and just ignore him. But if he's biting you hard/with the intention of hurting you, take him to the vet to make sure nothing's medically wrong.
Question

My cat is grumpy, and she doesn't like very many things. She doesn't scratch her scratching post, and she hides under beds a lot. What should I do?

Community Answer

Try treats, and if she doesn't want to be around people, don't make her. The best way to get along with cats is to let them have their space. Then when she is ready for you to pet her, be very gentle and don't aggravate her. As for the scratching posts, try putting catnip on them, though she may not react to it.

Warnings

Some cats like paper/plastic bags/etc., so make sure to take it away if you catch your cat chewing up some paper or a bag. If it is a magazine, the dyes in it could harm your cat.

Thanks!
Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0
Do not overfill the food bowl. This can be unhealthy for your cat.

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Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0
Always remember, do not give treats everyday. A treat everyday to a cat is like eating a king size Hershey bar everyday.

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Helpful 6 Not Helpful 1
If you abuse your cat, it will not like you, and will probably be scared that you will hit it, which wouldn't really help with the "getting along" part.

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Helpful 7 Not Helpful 2
Old cats should not have kitty condos. Those are tall, cat scratch tree with a cushion on top, and if an old cat makes an attempt to jump, they could hurt themselves.

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Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
Mix water and milk together to prevent your cat from having diarrhea.

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Helpful 6 Not Helpful 4
To some cats, the cat food brand "Alley Cats" isn't good, because it makes them pee blood, even if it's spayed or neutered. Check with your vet before using it.

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Helpful 3 Not Helpful 2

Things You'll Need

cat
cat food
treats
toys
litter box
food bowls
1 cup milk
1/2 cups water

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References

www.petco.com
www.petsmart.com
purina.com
http://www.cat-world.com.au/can-cats-drink-milk

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 17 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 16,587 times.

7 votes - 86%

Co-authors: 17

Updated: May 6, 2021

Views: 16,587

Categories: Communicating with Cats