Feline behavior modification & cat behavior problems.
Feline behavior problems are a common complaint among cat owners and are also one of the biggest reasons cat owners decide to surrender their cat to a shelter. Fortunately, it is possible to solve many feline behavior problems. However, understanding normal cat behavior is essential. In fact, many (if not most) of the behaviors that we consider to be problematic are actually normal behaviors for a healthy cat.
Normal Feline Behavior Versus Cat Behavior Problems
What is the normal behavior of a healthy cat?
- Normal healthy cats sharpen their claws regularly. It is important for cat owners to remember that our cats do not scratch and damage our belongings to be vindictive. Cats use scratching behaviors to mark their territories. They also stretch their muscles while undertaking their scratching behaviors.
- Urine spraying is also a normal behavior for a cat. Spraying provides cats with another means of marking their territory. Though this behavior is more common in male cats, female cats also may spray. Again, cat owners need to realize that cats do not spray because they are being malicious. For your cat, spraying is a normal behavior, though obviously a problematic one.
- It is also perfectly normal for cats to resent other cats in their space. Cats by nature tend to be solitary creatures. In feral colonies, cats will form a close family group but in most cases this group will run off any interlopers or newcomers to the group. It should come as no surprise that when we place several cats in the confines of an average size house or apartment, there are likely to be conflicts that may end in cat fights and aggression towards one another. Again, this is a perfectly normal feline behavior. However, most cat owners do not enjoy seeing their cats engaged in violent behaviors toward each other.
These are just a few examples of normal cat behaviors that cat owners see as feline behavior problems. While it should be clear that these behaviors are not abnormal behaviors for a healthy cat, it is also clear that these same feline behaviors are not welcome in the average household. After all, none of us want our cats urinating all over our house and fighting constantly with one another or ruining our fine furniture with their claws. So, even though these behaviors do not present a problem for the cat, they do present a problem for most cat owners.
Using Feline Behavioral Modification to Correct Cat Behavior Problems
Fortunately, there are several changes we can make in our households to encourage our cats to exhibit more acceptable behaviors. Collectively, these changes are known as feline behavioral modification techniques. These techniques, as a whole, are also sometimes referred to as multimodal environmental modification, or MEMO.
At heart, feline behavior modification involves involves altering the cat’s physical environment in order to provide acceptable outlets for normal feline behaviors, provide mental stimulation and decrease stress for the cat. These modification techniques include making simple changes in the environment in order to make the most out of the available space in the household and they also attempt to provide a sense of security, relieve boredom and reduce the tension between cats in a multicat household.
Some of the changes that need to implemented deal with the proper management of litter boxes and other resources such as food and water. Others relate to providing alternative scratching solutions for our cats, providing ample hiding places and perches where our cats can relax and providing plenty of toys that mimic prey and stimulate your cat’s normal predatory instincts. We’ll be talking in more depth about changes we can make in our households in an upcoming blog post. So stay tuned.
For more information: Feline Behavior Modification Tips
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Sometimes, it’s us humans who need the behavior modification. I was watching a TV show a while back, and they were filming in this young lady’s house. She had the litter box almost on top of the food and water! I guess people see this at shelters (which have space considerations) and think it’s OK. It’s not!
catloversonly: You’re absolutely right. It’s definitely not okay. Placing the cat litter box next to the food and water would be like serving dinner to your family in the bathroom.
Great article, Lorie, and I look forward to more detail in upcoming blogs. I am so pleased that you communicate that these behaviors ie spraying or scratching furniture are not vindictive ones. I cringe when a cat sitting client of mine attributes his/her cat’s similar behavior to spite. Cats are not spiteful creatures!
Thanks so much.
found you on the Pet Bloggers Hop! so glad I did!
Cat Chat http://opcatchat.blogspot.com
Hi, Caren. I checked out your blog too. Very nice! I really like these blog hops. So many great blogs and bloggers, like yourself, to meet
I have a dog/cat problem I just can not seem to solve.
For about five years we have had two ferrel sibling sister cats. There were caught a few weeks apart. The first one caught, Samantha, has adjusted fairly well. The second, Oreo, is still a loner and does not warm up to anyone except lately to my wife.
January 2010 I brought home a puppy Irish Setter we named Scout. He is now 10 months old and fairly very busy around the house. Samantha has taken nicely to Scout but Oreo has not.
The problem is we live in a two floor house with Scout mostly staying downstairs and the two cats are upstairs. But the litter box is downstairs. We believe one of the cats sometimes can not get to the litter box because of Scout and occasionally urinates somewhere upstairs. On cloths or a bed. No feces, just urine. We believe it is Oreo. The litter box can not be upstairs as the second floor is our living area and as you know cat litter often is too messy and odor offensive. We tried that and it drove my wife crazy.
My wife is fed up with the problem and says the dog should go. I don’t blame her. Our kids have never been close to the cats since they have been here. They have fallen in love with Scout.
Is there any way to fix this without getting rid of someone…..???
Hi, Nick. I’m sorry to hear about the problems with your cat Oreo.
The first thing I would recommend is an examination by your veterinarian for Oreo to make certain this is a behavioral issue and not a medical problem. However, I think that the best answer to your problem is to provide a litter box that is easily accessible for both cats. It really is unfair to place the boxes in a location where the cats may not be able to access it because of the dog. With two cats in the household, you also need more than one litterbox.
As for the mess and odor caused by a litter box, cleaning the box frequently should help alleviate some of that. If frequent scooping is not possible for you, perhaps an automatic litterbox would be an option so that the urine and feces is cleared from the box shortly after it is deposited there.
I also think the litter box should be kept away from the food and water bowl of the cat. I think it is important to teach manners to your cat
I have a problem with my alpha cat “Charlie” no longer using a litter box to poop. This started 3-4 months ago, but only on rare occassions and is now a daily event. It is unrelated to bringing another pet into the house. I adopted Charlie and his sister six years ago. Three years ago I added Jesse, a 4-month old male; Charlie never liked him and became more aggressive with him as Jesse matured, but there were never any litter box issues. Three months ago, I added another 1-yr old male,Theo and Charlie actually likes to play with him and has not shown any signs of aggression with him. I first associated Charlie’s behavior with the arrival of Theo but my husband reminded me that Charlie started pooping on the floor, in another room, before we adopted Theo.
I keep 4 large litter boxes in the house, they are cleaned twice daily and are completely emptied and washed out every two weeks. I use expensive clumping litter. The food and water dishes are in separate rooms and what’s most puzzling to me is the fact the Charlie uses the litter boxes to urinate, but not to poop. I even took Charlie and a stool sample to the vet and Charlie got a clean bill of health . Can someone please help me in figuring this out ? Thanks, Lisa.
It’s not always easy to figure out the reasons for these types of problems, Lisa. Often, it requires a bit of detective work on your part. It’s possible that there is something about the litter box that Charlie doesn’t like. Perhaps he doesn’t care for the litter. Or for the box itself. Trying different types of litters may be worthwhile, particularly types with different textures. Stay away from the heavily perfumed ones. Make sure he’s not being disturbed by anything when he’s in the litter box, whether it be another cat, loud noises or other things that might frighten or annoy him. If you’re using a hooded litter box, try removing the hood. You might also consider trying a product called Feliway. It is sometimes helpful in controlling litter box issues.
I am having a problem with my cat, and not sure what to do. In our home it is myself, my 15yr old daughter, and my 8 year old cat I have raised from a kitten. I used to be in a 5 year relationship with someone and the cat would periodically hide and/or hiss but nothing serious. My boyfriend moved in about 8 months ago, and my cat is experiencing horrible mood swings. Sometimes she will let him pet her, and other times she hisses at him. He is not doing anything to provoke it but this keeps happening. He tries to ignore it but sometimes gets stern with her, and tells her to be quiet in a stern voice. I don’t think this is helping but nothing seems to help anyway. It has gotten to the point where she will sometimes growl, swat at him and has even started “charging” him. This has caused a strain in our relationship and i don’t know what to do. I try to tell him to be patient with her and just ignore her, but the same thing happens. She seems to be willing to let him pet her one minute, and he will walk away, literally come back in the room 3 minutes later and she will hiss at him! She is also starting to pee at times while hissing at him. I am the constant mediator but things are really coming to a head. I don’t want to get rid of her, she is my “baby” and with being 8 years old would be difficult to find a home. How can we deal with this?
Hi, Anita. Please stay tuned. I will be answering your question in a separate post in a few days.
Thanks, Laurie I could really use your help!
Hi Lorie – Help! I have two purebred Tonkinese, very intelligent and playful. Jay and Chloe are litter brother and sister, have grown up together and never been separated. They are 4 and 1/2 years old and 5 weeks ago, sseemingly out of nowhere, started fighting. I was in the room at the time, they were sitting on their favorite cat tree and window sill, watching the ducks on the pond (their favorite past time) when Chloe screamed and ran, and then as a result, Jay chased her and started attacking her. Later that day, I saw a big grey cat outside the window, so I think that’s what initially triggered the scare. The problem now is, it’s been happening every few days. Anytime Chloe runs, Jay chases, then she gets scared and turns on him agressively, then they fight. Later, he’s sorry, but she takes days to accept him again. He seems to be becoming more agressive each time and it’s escalating. Sunday night I came home to find a big chunk bitten out of her back leg, and her hiding from him terrified. Today’s Tuesday, her leg is healing, this morning she just started to accept him again, but she moved to quick, the chase started, and here we go all over again. I’m considering getting him physically checked out by my Vet. Do you think he may need some sort of sedative to help calm the agression?
Hi Paula. I’m sorry your “kids” aren’t getting along. I have the same problem periodically with two of my cats. In your case, with the other cat hanging around outside, I would wonder if there isn’t some misdirected aggression going on. You might try some motion activated alarms or similar to keep the stray cat away from the windows, etc. If there’s a way to block off the view from the windows, that might help also.
Feliway is another thing I would try. It helps with my cats. I use the diffuser – just plug it in and change the refill once a month.
Take a look at the Indoor Pet Initiative for more advice. In particular, make sure both of them have plenty of hiding places and perches. Also, if you haven’t already done so, think about additional feeding and water stations and litter boxes. We don’t want them squabbling over resources.
Good luck and please keep in touch. Let us know how things work out.
We have a 3 month old kitten that we’ve had since he was 4 weeks old. He started playfully biting our (my wife and I) hands and feet when he was smaller and we tried correcting it by grabbing his back skin and pulling him off. But now that he’s older he continues to bite but this time a lot harder and has started stalking our hands and feet while sitting down or laying in bed. He’s been neutered already and gotten his shots so we’re not worried about transmitting diseases or too much aggression. Is this normal? how can we correct it?
This is normal, but still inappropriate, kitten behavior. Your kitten simply needs to learn what is expected of him. I would not engage him in any play behavior using your hands or feet. Use interactive toys for him to chase or stalk when you play with him.
When he stalks your hands or feet, stop moving so that he loses interest. You can also carry a bottle filled with coins or marbles to shake when he stalks you, using the noise to distract him out of the activity.
Good luck in correcting this behavior for him!
Hi there! I came across this blog while doing some other research. I certainly could use some help…
I moved a little over a year ago-with a cat, dog, and child in tow. We moved about 10 hours away from where we were all from. Everyone adjusted fine to the new surroundings except my cat. I rescued Ginger when she was about 4 weeks old, and lived in one house until we moved. About a month after the move Ginger started to pee all around the house. She would poo in the box, but would pee elsewhere (often in very strange places-the bathtub, the kitchen sink, the kitchen table). We tried changing litter, changing boxes, having more boxes, using newspapaer rather than litter, removing existing pee spots, and all of the “over the counter drugs”-feliway, litter attract, etc.
After over two months of trying new things, and cleaning we went to the vet. It was behavioral, and he recommended prozac. After just a couple of treatments she began using the litter box all the time! Over this summer even with the medication, she began to pee all over the house again. I talked to the vet, and he suggested leaving her in one room for the majority of the day. (That way the urine is only in one place.) I tried this, and she whines and meows the entire time!
At this point I am unsure of how to proceed. My husband wants her to be an outside cat, but she has only been an indoor kitty. Is there any other medications that you could suggest? THanks, Mary
Hi Mary.
I’m sorry you’re having litter box issues with Ginger. That can be terribly frustrating and I certainly understand. But putting her outside is not the answer, in my opinion.
Keep focusing on making her litter box as attractive as possible. Even with the Prozac this remains important. Keep the litter box as clean as possible. Use unscented litter. Don’t cover the litter box. Provide more than one litter box and make sure they are located in quiet areas where Ginger won’t be disturbed or frightened when using them. Keep in mind also that changes in routine can cause stress for Ginger that may affect her litter box usage. Try to keep your routines as close to the same as possible and be patient with Ginger if changes are unavoidable.
Good luck to all of you. Let us know how you make out with Ginger.
Pet Friendly Travel, Weekend Pet News | Dancing Dog Blog: Thank you so much for the kind words.
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