What do I do now that I hate my cat ? – Dealing with a cat that you hate

You may have just now realized that ‘I hate my cat’ or might have been struggling with this thought for a long time. A lot of people go through the stressful situation of hating their cat but having to bear with it because they can’t seem to understand what to do about that. Some people turn to abuse their cats whenever they get annoyed at their actions while others simply keep gulping patience because they can’t bear the guilt of hurting them or leaving them. We know that relationships with cats aren’t that smooth always and totally understand what you are going through due to the conflicting emotions occurring in your head.

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Therefore, we are going to attempt at helping you out of this situation with two major approaches that are either you fix the relationship with your cat or end it altogether in a better way for the good of everyone.

Let’s begin with understanding the three major situations that have been observed to exist after taking into account a plethora of experiences of readers and accounts in which they ended up having their cats. Helping you understand the issues and fix them will be our major concern if you think that ‘I don’t want my cat anymore’. We believe that every dispute is resolvable and you may want to try it out because you took that cat in your home in the first place as you did love them.

You don’t like what your cat does and hate it

This is the reason behind the majority of people who think that ‘I hate my cat ‘simply because they don’t like what it does. Well, cats don’t care about the likes and dislikes of anyone and continue to do what they like which is not wrong on their part. They aren’t wired like that and you can’t expect them to act wisely or compare their EQ and IQ to yourselves.

Some of the super annoying things that any cat can do include:

Licking plastic bags
Piss on the couches
Scratch furniture
Knock things off the counter
Eat from your plate
Scratching around food
Messing with the litter box, etc

From the resolution point of view, these are simple behavioral issues with cats that can be fixed with proper care and training. You can use the following tips to make your cat stop with the annoyance they put up:

First and foremost, observe if there is any pattern to the things that your cat does and understand the reason behind the activities.
You must get your cat checked up by your vet for any health issue that may be the reason behind its activities.
Provide more stimulation to your cat with toys, play sessions, and training.
To restrain them from doing something, use verbal cues, and give them rewards for obedience.
Observe the environment and fix the elements that your cat doesn’t like specifically.
Make sure that the cat is well-fed.
Offer them alternatives to distract them from doing annoying things.
If they are doing something that is a part of their innate behavior, you can train them into doing it the right way.

You hate your cat because it doesn’t act as per your wish

This is very similar to the reason above but the things taken into consideration are the ones you wish your cat had been doing and end up with ‘I hate my cat’. Well, we can say that you might have started feeling this way because you are putting up the wrong expectation from the wrong pet. If you wish them to be as cozy as your neighbor’s cat is or as responsive and understanding as a dog, it would be slightly wrong because every cat is different and yours may just not have it to fulfill your expectations.

Nevertheless, expectations, when broken, do hurt and you’d endlessly want your cat to give you a cuddle until you finally start hating them that why don’t they! Anyway, this issue can be fixed with two things- patience and training. It will be a long process but you can train your cat into doing things like accepting petting, cuddles, playing, getting active, etc. and maintain patience throughout as any rough act will detach them from you further.

The changes might not come out very soon and might not even come at all, but chances of your pet cat becoming friendlier aren’t zero. If you are strong willed towards putting in the required efforts, your relationship with the cat can be fixed.

You hate the cat because you think it hates you too

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Now, this can either be a major misunderstanding or a simple truth and both of the aspects need to be thoroughly explored before taking any action. You may have started to anticipate that your cat doesn’t like you anymore because of the cold responses they give to your affection or initiatives. However, you need to know be sure because there is no language that you can both use to have had a heart-to-heart conversation.

For getting sure about your cat hates you, look for these signals:

If your cat has a puffed tail or a lowered tail stretched horizontally as a response to your being near them or any action that you did, it means that they are feeling threatened or intimidated by you.
If they are hiding away from you, it’s a sign that they don’t like the environment or your company.
If they keep walking away from you at every sight, this can be a chronic disinterest.
Hissing by the cat can be taken as a warning sign that they are very unhappy with you.
Biting when you pet them is the worst sign.
If they are nice to everyone else but you can be a sign of any personal grudge they may be held against you.

The last sign can be especially heartbreaking to take from the cat you loved but honestly if your cat has been giving these signals to you for a considerable time; then maybe you are right at thinking ‘I don’t want my cat anymore’.

The other side of the story says that your cat may just be showing some signs to you to express any kind of discomfort they may be going through due to the following reasons:

Health issues
Physical injury
Lack of stimulation
Environment change
Need for more attention and activity

Thus, your cat may be just acting out for the emotional or physical turbulence they are going through. What we will suggest is that you analyze the situation thoroughly, get help from a pet behaviorist or vet, and then only take the final step.

Things to do when you decide to give up on your cat

After you’ve exhausted every option available or just simply don’t have the patience to deal with your cat as you have a lot more concerning things on the list, you can choose to give up. However, this doesn’t free you from the responsibilities you signed up for in the first place, and on that note; you have to give up your cat responsible if you think that ‘I don’t want my cat anymore’. Take care of these things:

Contact the breeder or concerned person from who you got the cat and ask them for help regarding the relocation of the cat.
Look out for rescue groups that adopt pet animals. They prefer taking any breed of cat for different good purposes and your cat might be a resource for them. They might even find a suitable new house for the cat as they know other people who need cats for adoption.
Check with your friends and relatives if they are interested in your cat or if your cat has been nice to them.
You can try putting up advertisements, contact pet stores, groomers, visit pet websites, etc. for adoption.
Make sure to desex your cat before giving it away for adoption.
If nothing works, you can surrender your cat to any vet, shelter home, or local pound.
Never ever leave them in the wild just like that as that will be the most inhumane thing to do.

Conclusion

So if you are sure about the feeling that ‘I hate my cat’, here were the options for you to explore. Making or breaking the relationship with your cat is entirely in your hand but whatever you choose to do, make sure to do it responsibly and never leave kindness towards the cat.

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Luna Tran

My name is Luna and I am a great cat lover and a cat owner of three lovely cats. I have owned many cats till now and have dedicated many years to nurturing and caring cats. Through this blog, I am here to share my knowledge and experience about cats.