Problem Behaviour

Cats

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Originally written 1991 & updated through 1997 by Cindy Tittle Moore. Maintained by the Fanciers website as of July 1999.

You cannot discipline cats as you would dogs. Dogs form social hierarchies that you can take advantage of by placing yourself at the top. Cats form social groups only by necessity and the arrangement is based on respecting territory, not by respecting the "top dog". Many mistakes made with cats are due to thinking that they will react like dogs.

Do not ever hit a cat or use any sort of physical punishment.

You will only teach your cat to fear you.

• You can train your cat not to perform inappropriate behaviour by training your cat to perform other behaviour alternative to or incompatible with the inappropriate behaviour.

• Since cats hate to be surprised, you can use water bottles, clapping, hissing, and other sudden noises (such as snapping, "No!") to stop unwanted behaviour. However, be aware that these tactics will not work when you are not present. In addition, immediacy is key: even seconds late may render it ineffective. You must do it as soon as the cat starts the behaviour.

• The face-push has been described by various readers. This consists of pushing the palm of your hand into the cat's face. This is best used when discouraging something like biting. Don't hit the cat, simply push its face back gently. You might accompany it with a "no!"

• Making certain behaviours impossible is another tactic. Think "childproofing": keep food in containers; keep breakable and/or dangerous objects out of reach; make sure heavy objects, e.g. bookshelves, are stable. Look for childproofing gadgets and hints and think how you can apply them to preventing cat problems. Even when the analogy isn't perfect, physically preventing problems is still a good guide. e.g., defrosting meat? Put it in the (unheated) stove, not out on the counter.

It is always best to train your cat away from undesirable behaviour as soon as possible, as young as possible. You will have the most success training your cat when it is young on what is acceptable to scratch and what is not. Never tolerate it when it is "cute" since it will not always remain so.

Cats are frequently fascinated with houseplants. However, you may not appreciate the attention, which can range from chewing on the plant leaves to digging or peeing in the plant soil.

For chewing, try spraying Bitter Apple or Bitter Orange (there are formulations specifically for use on plants) on the leaves. Dusting cayenne pepper on them may also help. You may wish to grow some grass or catnip for them as an alternative; plants do provide them with needed nutrients (the absence of which may be causing their grazing).

For digging or urinating, cover the dirt with aluminium foil or gravel. If the plant needs it, add some vinegar to the soil to counteract the ammonia in the urine.

A New Baby

Cats can become jealous upon the arrival of a new baby. Reassure the cat that you still love it by paying it plenty of attention. In the exhaustion and turmoil of a new baby, the cat is often neglected, and this will add to its resentment.

There is a myth that cats will kill babies. The superstition is that they'll "steal" the baby's breath; the latter day explanation is that they will lie on babies and suffocate them. While cats may like the baby's warmth and may curl up next to it, it will not often lie on the baby and in any case will move when the baby begins to flail its arms and legs. Most cats are trustworthy around babies after getting over any jealousy, especially if it is trained not to use people as toys; however babies should never be left unsupervised around any animal.

Spraying

Some cats start spraying in the house. You will want to first rule out any medical causes, such as FUS or cystitis. Sometimes it is useful to distinguish between spraying (which winds up on walls) and urinating (which is generally on the floor). Spraying is more often a behaviour problem and urination is more often a medical problem. It is best to check with a vet first. If the problem is medical, then you will need to simply clean up the odour after the problem is treated, otherwise you will need to try some of the behaviour modification outlined below (and you'll still need to clean up the odour).

You must remove the odour from items that the cat sprayed on to prevent the cat from using the same spot again later. The ammonia smell tells the cat that this is an elimination spot, so never use ammonia to try and "remove" the odour! See (Removing Urine Odour).

Cats sometimes spray to mark their territory so sometimes an area for your cat that other animals cannot go to will help. Keeping the litter box immaculate will help in other cases.

Sometimes cats pick small throw rugs with non-skid backing to urinate on. This is caused by an odour from the backing that somehow tells the cat to urinate there (probably an ammonia-like smell). Cat-repellent sprays or washing the rug may help; you might just have to get rid of that rug.