How to stop my cat from misbehaving, eating food, and ripping trash?

Question

My cat, Cassie, is a wonderful sweet feline, but for the last month or so she has been misbehaving and doing things she's already been trained not to do. Stuff like getting on counters or the table. But it's starting to get worse. What I mean is she's starting to eat real food behind our backs, getting on the counters at night when we can't scold her and this morning I found a trash bag ripped into and partially torn pieces of papertowel and food. What can I do to help her stop this behavior? Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 6 lbs

Anna M., DVM · Accepted Answer

Uh-oh, naughty Cassie! This is tricky. In general, when we're trying to shape our pets' behavior, of course we want to reward behaviors we like and either ignore, punish, or redirect behaviors we don't like. We want our pets to learn that "good" behavior gets rewarded, and "bad" behavior does not. The tricky part here is that Cassie has started misbehaving - but every time she succeeds in stealing food, or playing with something she shouldn't, if it's a good experience for her, she is essentially "rewarding" herself. We need to stop her ability to reward herself - and I'll be honest with you, it's challenging! My advise is that Cassie not be unsupervised around *anything* that she might get into, until these behaviors stop. This is easier said than done! But, again, every time she does these behaviors and has a great time doing them, she is solidifying the behavior. We cannot punish animals after the fact - we have to respond to them in that moment or they do not make the association. So, she cannot be allowed to get into real food without someone there to intervene. Again, I realize this is not easy advice - but unfortunately behavior issues generally require time, energy, diligence, and patience to correct. So, if you have a room in the house where there is nothing Cassie can get into, I would place her there when you are not home or are unable to watch her. Otherwise, make sure she is in the same room as you so you can catch her "in the act" when she is getting into something she shouldn't. You could also invest in a large cat playpen such as this one: https://www.chewy.com/midwest-collapsible-cat-playpen/dp/45740?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=MidWest&utm_term=&gclid=CKHwxcaC9dQCFQONaQodFwwFog&gclsrc=aw.ds ...where Cassie can spend her time unsupervised (overnight, etc). Make sure to place safe toys, cat treats, etc where she is confined so she still has things to do. She can then "earn" more unsupervised freedom around the house as you work on these behaviors. If you're still running into trouble, I would recommend chatting with your vet. They will likely have recommendations for trainers or behaviorists in your area who could consult with you. I know this is not an easy fix - but I hope it helps!

How to stop my cat from misbehaving, eating food, and ripping trash?

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