There are many people out there that believe cats are irritable and aggressive. Cat owners know that cats have a very loving, affectionate, and loyal side, even though the other side is independent, and at times a little 'wild'. Their wild side often includes the cat being a little aggressive, making their loving owners the prey in their hunting games. So how are you supposed to deal with this type of aggressive behavior? Well, here are 5 quick tips on dealing with your overly excited pet friend.

1. Understand your Cat

Before you can deal with any problem you need to first understand it. No animal acts a certain way without a reason. The first thing that you need to understand about your cat is that it is a hunter. You may feed them canned food, give them plenty of love and spend hours playing with them, but their instinct is to hunt and kill. Even the most domestic of cats will still try to hunt whenever they can. So you need to understand that there will be times when your pet does turn into a slightly more aggressive, moody character.

Now, that you know about the instinct to hunt, you will need to start noticing when they are in hunt mode and avoid them. Cats have schedules so notice what time of day they tend to be in this state most often. This will help you from being the prey in their hunting games. Then, you can just wait until your cat has settled down and turned back into the loving, affectionate, house cat you love to play with. However, if your cat seems to be getting more aggressive or is aggressive all the time then could be steming from something more serious and needs to be attended to promply. Your cat may be suffering from serious stress from recent changes in their lives or even illness. Have them checked by a vet as soon as you can to rule out any health issues.

2. Be Patient

If there has been a change in circumstance and your cat is feeling threatened then it is important to be patient. You should never force your cat into a situation no matter how much you think it might help. That will only make the problem worse. Instead you need to be extremely patient and allow your cat to take things at their own speed. If you do not force your cat into anything then they should not turn on you.

3. No Biting Ever

When your cat is small, it may seem harmless enough to let them nip you. However, if you want to eliminate the risk of biting, you should never allow your pet to even slightly nip you. If you are playing with them and they bite you, scream 'OUCH' and that should shock your cat. They will then think twice about biting you in future. However this will not solve the problem instantly, you will have to be persistent.

4. Persistence

As well as being patient, you also need to be persistent in your training. This means repeating yourself and ensuring that your cat knows exactly what you expect from them. For example, you cannot tell your cat off one day for behaving a certain way and then let them get away with it the day after. That will only confuse your cat and you will never stop the aggression problem.

5. Socialize Your Cat

Ideally, socialization should begin as soon as you bring your cat home. It should be done at an early age and you should introduce them to as many people and different animals as possible. If for example, you introduce your cat to dogs at an early age, there is less chance of them developing a fear of them as they grow up.