Staring straight at you whilst shoving something breakable off a ledge is the only sort of thing that typically warrants a spritz, imo. It’s not a good method to change behaviour (hissing is best for that, since that’s how they reprimand one another), but for blatant disrespect, a spritz will work – so long as it’s an in-kind reaction to shock, and so long as good behaviour is a bit over-rewarded afterwards (as if to say let’s do this good thing instead). It can be effective to get their attention, though.
The overwhelming majority of cats aren’t actually dicks, they usually have a reason for acting out, even if it isn’t obvious to us. It’s best not to be adversarial with them unless necessary, because they have a large emotional repertoire, including vindictiveness.
Staring straight at you whilst shoving something breakable off a ledge is the only sort of thing that typically warrants a spritz, imo. It’s not a good method to change behaviour (hissing is best for that, since that’s how they reprimand one another), but for blatant disrespect, a spritz will work – so long as it’s an in-kind reaction to shock, and so long as good behaviour is a bit over-rewarded afterwards (as if to say let’s do this good thing instead). It can be effective to get their attention, though.
The overwhelming majority of cats aren’t actually dicks, they usually have a reason for acting out, even if it isn’t obvious to us. It’s best not to be adversarial with them unless necessary, because they have a large emotional repertoire, including vindictiveness.