If you love cats, you must understand cat moods too. Yes, cats have moods. Sometimes, they are happy. Sometimes, they feel despondent. They feel all kinds of emotions. As a cat owner, it’s your duty to understand and respect their moods.

Many cat owners are perplexed by certain cat moods. For example, some may find it hard to know whether their cat is calm or under stress. Here’s a way to know it.

Difference Between Calm Cat And Stressed Cat

Look at your cat in the eyes and squint. If she squints back, she’s calm. You’ll notice her fur lying flat. She may even come to you and rub against you. A calm kitty rolls over her back, stretches her legs, and rubs her head on the carpet. When you watch her doing this, you can say she’s in total tranquility. At this time, you might be tempted to rub her cute belly. But, most cats don’t like this.

When your cat is stressed out, she’ll seek a place to hide. You’ll notice her crawling under the sofa or bed. They prefer quiet and dark places at this time. The best thing you can do is leaving her alone. If possible, try to find out the cause of stress and remove it.

Knowing cat moods makes it easier for you to understand your pet. This also helps you bond better with your pet.

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When training your cat, an understanding of operant conditioning is helpful, so you are aware of what it is that you are actually doing.  Essentially, operant conditioning is the basis of all animal training and all behaviors of just about everything.  Operant Conditioning experimentation was pioneered by Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner. Us humans are even subject to the laws of operant conditioning.  We got to work because we are paid.  The behavior of going to work is reinforced because we receive money, so we keep going.  We touch a hotplate and get burned.  We have received pain which is a negative reaction so therefore we won’t repeat the behavior. There are 4 basic fundamental laws of operant conditioning that effect the strengthening or weakening of a behavior.

• Positive Reinforcement
• Negative Reinforcement
• Positive Punishment
• Negative Punishment

Positive & Negative

In the field of behavior psychology when it applies to training, the ‘Positive’ in the Positive Reinforcement and Positive Punishment refers to the application or addition of something on our part. We are adding something.  For example – giving a morsel of food (we are adding food) – give a pat (we are adding our affection) – we praise the cat (we are speaking, using our voice) – we give the cat a little tap (we are adding our hand) – we give a click with a clicker (we are adding a sound) Essentially, we are adding something to the cat’s enivonment. With the ‘Negative’ in the Negative Reinforcement and Negative Punishment, we are taking something away from the cat’s environment. – we remove the cat bowl (we area taking it away) – we remove the cat litter (we are taking it away) – we ignore the cat (we are taking away our attention.

Reinforcement & Punishment

This is a little more easy to understand.  Essentially if we add or remove a stimulus that increases or strengthens a behavior, that is reinforcement. – give the cat a treat for sitting (positive reinforcement) – we  begin removing the litter box so the cat will go in the toilet (negative reinforcement) If we add or remove a stimulus that reduces or weakens a behavior, that is punishment. – we tap the cat on the bottom for scratching the furniture (positive punishment) – we stop playing with our cat instantly as soon as it bites us (negative punishment) Once you understand these concepts,  it is really quite simple to begin training your cat, or in turn, reduce and eliminate undesirable behaviors.

Operant conditioning and reinforcers Skinner, long associated with Harvard, invented a device called the operant conditioning apparatus; its informal name is the Skinner box.   Read more…

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