How To Think Like A Cat

The peeing isn’t vindictive – that is beyond the thinking of a cat – she is simply doing something to make herself feel better. It’s not about you. Relieving herself on an object makes it smell like her. It’s comforting. She is upset and does something that makes her feel better. It’s that simple. Get it out of your head that your cat is plotting against you. They have no concept of doing things out of spite.

This is why punishment would never have worked. It is only in our minds that the cat did anything wrong. To her, punishment would simply be her humans being mean for no reason at all. That’s a great way to make your cat afraid of you.

See? The green netting does NOT work. I pee on the cushions to make myself feel better. It’s got nothing to do with you folks. Not everything is about you, you know.

And the article says further:

Just don’t let yourself extrapolate that into thinking they know about effects that aren’t visible or are off into the future. They don’t understand that their actions might affect your future feelings. Their ability to plan doesn’t go that far. Yes, that means cats aren’t planning world domination. They aren’t capable of it.