Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (37 page)

If it seems too dangerous to let your cat roam outdoors, there are a couple of safer ways to give your cat a taste of nature. The first is to build a fully enclosed pen (called a cattery), which could be constructed to connect with a window that opens onto your backyard. (Avoid the use of preservative-treated wood, which can make cats sick.) The other option, which works for a few cats (especially the Siamese-type breeds), is to take your cat for an occasional walk on a leash and harness.

If you do allow your cat to wander outside at times, here are some guidelines:

• Spay or neuter your cat. This will reduce fights and spraying and address the pet overpopulation problem as well.
  
• Confine your cat at any sign of disease. It’s especially important to keep your cat indoors and separate from other cats if it has a contagious disease.
  
• Teach your cat to come when called. Repeat her name often when you are playing together or feeding her. Ring a bell or whistle just before feeding her dinner. Call her frequently, offering a tidbit of her favorite food. Praise her and give her lots of affection when she responds. Soon she will associate pleasant things with coming when she’s called, and she may begin to associate the bell or whistle with feeding time.
  
• Be sure your cat is wearing a collar and identification tag with your name and phone number on it. Soft leather or nylon collars are the most comfortable. To avoid the danger that she’ll get her collar caught on something, fit your cat with the special quick-release type that automatically opens with sufficient pressure on the collar. Attach a bell to the collar to warn birds—the birds will thank you!
  
• It is safest for your cat to keep her in after the evening feeding. Cats are more apt to get into fights or get hit by cars at night.
  
• Invite your neighbors to let you know if your cat is causing problems for them. If you get such reports, take responsibility for your cat’s behavior and do what’s needed to rectify the situation.
  
• Be prepared to break up occasional cat fights. If you catch two felines staring each other down, a loud clap of the hands will usually cause one or both to back off. If the fur is already flying, splash water on the combatants.
  

CAT BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

What’s called good behavior in a cat varies greatly from household to household. If you allow your cat to sleep on your neck, wake you up at 4:00 a.m. for breakfast, and walk on the countertops, that’s pretty much your business. It won’t affect your neighbors.

It could, however, take its toll on you and your home. Most cat behavior problems veterinarians see involve inappropriate urination and defecation (for example, spraying or not using the litter box). Others involve aggression, usually toward other cats, but sometimes even to family members, excessive fearfulness or fussiness, and scratching furniture. Let’s look at some of these.

Bear in mind how life looks from your cat’s point of view. Like humans and dogs, most cats enjoy affection and attention, but their primary focus in life really revolves around having a comfortable, safe environment with food and a sunny place to sleep. Cats want to secure these things for themselves, and since you’re the source of food, that means you, too.

In nature, most cats are loners and must fend for themselves in adult life. They must keep constant tabs on their world and make sure other cats don’t intrude on their hunting range, which can only provide limited support of carnivores. They spend much of their lives watching and waiting, dozing, but keeping an eye out for passing prey (or predators). Cats need to know their territory well and all that’s going on there. They like predictability. And they like cleanliness (smells are dead giveaways to prey).

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Some of the most troublesome cat problems can be resolved if you take on a feline attitude. For example, when cats urinate and defecate outside the litter box, it can mean
they are unhappy about something in the environment. It’s a cat’s way of expressing agitation, not a personal message to you. Inappropriate elimination may mean the litter box is not clean enough or the particular litter that’s used is not to their liking. Some longhaired cats get upset because the dirty litter gets in their fur. Sometimes the cat is just reacting to a change of litter box location, which is best done in a gradual manner. Certain cats just seem to want a more vertical surface, a problem that may be solved by propping a second litter box on its side, inside the main horizontal one. One of my clients has solved this problem by setting up a piece of plexiglass at one side of the litter box (any rigid washable material would do). She then drapes a small terrycloth towel over it, which her cat seems to prefer to urinate on, and washes it frequently.

The other major cause of urinating or having bowel movements outside a box is that there may be something wrong physically. The cat can sense there is something not right and doesn’t want to put the urine or stool where other cats can smell it and realize they are not well. Once the problem is corrected, the behavior returns to normal. It is always a good idea to look closely at the urine to see if there is a hint of blood or perhaps some gritty, gravelly stuff in it. Yes, you have to use your fingers to feel it. To see blood in urine, put a white paper on the bottom of the litter pan and just a little litter over it. You may be able to see the pinkish tinge contrasting with the white paper by shaking the litter aside. Inappropriate elimination may signal chronic health problems, such as allergies.

If there are bowel movements outside the box, look to see if the stool is normally formed or has mucus or blood around it. Some stools are hard at the beginning and soft at the end, which is not quite normal. Any of these things can indicate intestinal irritation, possibly from worms, allergies, infection, or immune problems.

If your cat is spraying (the way cats mark territory), it can mean that he is disturbed by recent adjustments in his life and surroundings—a new person in the household, a more anxious attitude from you because of stress, or a move to a new home. A very common cause of agitation can be the presence of a new cat, even if it’s just in the neighborhood.

Once a cat has sprayed in a particular spot, he tends to keep doing it. Thoroughly cleaning the area will help, but often cats can smell the urine scent through any scrubbing you might do. It may help to finish off by applying mint tea or something that smells minty, as cats generally don’t like that smell. Another thing you can do is to tape aluminum foil over the area for a while. That will prevent smelling the old urine and if they do spray again, it tends to splash the urine back at them.

Many other problems are a matter of proper training, and you can apply similar principles to those discussed for dogs. If you don’t want your cat to jump on your counter,
scratch your couch, get on your lap when you’re at a table or a desk, bat at you when she’s hungry, or wake you early in the morning, you can usually head off these problems if you nip them in the bud. It’s best to decide on your limits from the beginning, then enforce them consistently. Say “No” and gently but firmly push her away, shove her off, or put her out for a while. Never yell at, scold, or strike your cat; it will frighten her and she will avoid you or your touch. If a situation seems to require serious discouragement, try a spray bottle. Cats can become afraid of the spray bottle, but not generally the one who holds it. Draping plastic over a couch or chair leg for a time will reduce its appeal, especially if you place a scratching post nearby.

“TRAINING” CATS

Act when she first starts the behavior, and, if you’re consistent, the behavior will not build. If you let things slide, it can be very difficult to retrain a cat out of a bad habit. Unlike dogs, cats don’t get as involved with you and your enthusiasm and praise, which makes cats much less interested in the training game.

It also helps to remember that both cats and dogs are gamblers. Research shows that if they are positively rewarded for a behavior as few as one time in 20 tries, they may continue the behavior. They’re willing to gamble on the reward despite the long odds. This is what you’re up against in trying to get a cat to change its behavior. If you don’t want kitty on the counter, but every once in a while when she gets up there she finds food, that jackpot will motivate her to try again at least another 15 or 20 times. On the other hand, negative consequences (being pushed away, told “No,” squirted, finding an uncomfortable piece of plastic) often have to be much more consistent to condition a cat.

Because of this, your training efforts are even better spent in making sure your animal is never rewarded for undesirable behaviors. Keep food off the countertop. Don’t pick your cat up to remove her from the counter, admonishing her sweetly and scratching her affectionately in the process. Avoid the temptation to say “Yes” now and then when you really should say “No.”

Another effective technique is to channel your animal’s behavior into a rewarding direction. Give her a treat whenever she earns it. Or consistently greet her with affection when she jumps on your lap in appropriate times and places, like when you’re stretched out in your easy chair in the evening. Provide her with an appealing scratching post (see below) and some toys for pouncing. Most cats behave much better if you create suitable outlets for their energy.

Sometimes a cat trains itself into a bad habit and the “untraining” job falls to you. Be ready to call on any tool available to you—psychology and physiology included—to get the job done. One common problem that can take months to untrain is the cat who wakes you early in the morning to be
fed. If you respond, the cat is likely to waken you earlier and earlier. The next thing you know, it’s happening in the middle of the night.

You can thwart this problem early on if you start a new habit of feeding your cat later in the morning and you stick to it. Her body clock, however, is still used to the early habit, and even if you stop feeding your cat until later, she’ll be restless and anxious from hunger. To reverse the trend, you’ll have to move the feeding time, gradually later and later, over a period of weeks or even months, until you reach the time that works best for you.

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A common training problem with cats is teaching them not to scratch your carpets, drapes, and furniture. The best solution is to “reward” your cat for appropriate behavior by providing a scratching post that surpasses anything else. Pet stores carry scratching posts or you can order an excellent one by mail. The best ones are covered in natural sisal rope, which many cats enjoy scratching. Rub a little powdered catnip into it occasionally to make it irresistible.

To make your own post, nail an untreated 4 × 4 (2 to 3 feet tall) to a base of half-inch plywood about 16 inches square. Then wrap the post with sisal rope or a piece of carpeting turned inside out to expose the rough side (posts with soft coverings are not sufficiently attractive to most cats). For maximum stability, lean the post up against the corner of a room or tilt it on its side. Make sure the post is secure. If it falls over and frightens your kitty even once, it may be enough to make her avoid the post altogether.

If your cat needs instructions on the use of a scratching post, simply lay it sideways and place her on top of the post. Scratch the post yourself with one hand and use the other to firmly stroke her neck and back (that will stimulate the urge to scratch). Don’t try to push your cat’s feet against the post, as cats will resist force. If your pet is still inclined to scratch at the furniture or drapes at times, move the drapes or the chair slightly and put the post in that spot. Move the post gradually and put the furniture back when the cat is actually using the post instead. You may need to cover a corner of the couch or roll up the drapes temporarily until your cat makes the transition. It’s often good to position the scratching post near the spot where your cat sleeps, since many cats like to stretch and scratch on waking from a nap.

Declawing your cat is
not
a suitable solution to scratching problems. It is a painful and difficult operation that many veterinarians refuse to do. In fact, it’s the equivalent of removing the first joint of all your fingers. It can impair a cat’s balance, weaken it (from muscular disuse), and cause a cat to feel nervous and defenseless. The resulting stress can lower your pet’s immunity to disease and make it more likely to be a biter.

It is helpful to trim your cat’s claws. Because they are shaped like a scythe, their very
tip is the part that does the most damage. A cat will slide that curved tip behind a loop of upholstery fabric and pull its foot straight back—snapping the loop. If the cat makes a practice of this, your sofa will soon look like it needs a shave.

The nail tip is also the part that so easily punctures the skin. It can be removed with ordinary nail clippers. (Be sure to clip only the
very tip
, or you might hurt the cat.) Wait until your cat is relaxed, perhaps taking a nap in your lap. To extend a claw for clipping, press your index finger on the bottom of her foot while pressing with your thumb just behind the base of the nail at the top of the foot. Press
gently
. The claw will slide from its sheath so that you can get at it with the clippers you’re holding in your other hand. You may get to cut only two or three claws in a single sitting, but you can try again later.

Here’s another piece of advice about claws. Never let a cat or kitten scratch your bare hands—even in play. If you do, the animal will think it’s okay to bite and scratch you and won’t understand that he can hurt you. So when playing games like “pounce on the prey,” use a toy or a piece of cord. Save your hands for stroking and holding.