Common Behavior Problems in Cats

Of cats surrendered almost 50% are surrender due to these behavior issues

House soiling

Destructive inside

Aggressive to people

Why do cats scratch furniture

Normal behavior (even if declawed), instinctive

Scratching the furniture treatment

Cover or remove furniture

Cover furniture with deterrent (Foil, sticky tape, etc.)

Limit access to furniture

Provide scratching posts and retrain to use

Trim claws or use caps

Prevention (teach kittens to use scratching posts)

Why do cats attack ankles?

Variation of predatory aggression, can be play

No outlet for prey drive

Encouraged with rough play

Treatment for cat biting ankles

Active play with toys

No rough play

Confinement at times

Why do cats bite while being pet?

Doesn’t want to be pet anymore

Falls asleep and thinks your hand is something after it

Petting causes static electricity

Why do cats tend to groom after an inhibited bite?

It is a displacement activity and or decreases static electricity build up

How to treat cat biting after being pet?

Stop petting before the bite if there are clear signs

Don’t pet the cat when its on your lap

Don’t let the cat on your lap

Why do cats bite to get food/attention?

Learned behavior

Treatment for cat biting to get attention/food

Ignore behavior

Mild punishment

How to treat cats that are rough during play

All play is with toys, no hands

Get another cat the same age

Mild punishment

How to treat a cat that needs too much attention

Schedule attention

Gradually reduce attention schedule

Do favorite things

How to treat pica in cats

Prevent access

Taste aversion (not very successful)

Why would a cat have anorexia?

Cannot smell food

Learned to associate negative things with food

Doesn’t have access to desired food

Treatment for anorexia

Access to good quality food (tempting toppers like tuna)

Typically medical intervention is needed

Why do cats overeat, get overweight

Neutering reduces caloric intake

Decreased exercise

Caloric dense food

Orphaned or malnourished

Treatment of overeating/obesity

Use reduced calorie food and or feed less/day

Make changes gradually

Minimize snacks

Why would you need to feed cats separately?

One eats slower than the rest

Special diets

Ways to feed cats separately

Separate into rooms

Microchip feeders

Why do cats prolong suck?

Occurs in cats that were weaned to early

Can be outgrown

When can prolonged sucking become an issue?

Occurs on human skin

Occurs on another animal (teat, prepuce, etc.)

Self-directed

How to treat prolonged sucking

Avoid access to sucked object

Taste aversion

Wool sucking

Sucking or chewing wool and wool like objects, predominantly oriental breeds and usually begins around 6 months

Treatment of wool sucking

Limit access to one object

Prevent access to objects that could become foreign body

Why do cats jump on counters

Food rewards

Naturally like elevated surfaces

Treatment of counter jumping

Remote punishment

Alternative high perches

Why do cats wake owners?

More active in early morning

Owners often feed cats when woken up

Treatment to cat waking owner

Ignore for increasing lengths of time over a space of a few weeks

Confine out of room

Do something else before feeding/giving attention

Why do cats knock things over?

Fills need to interact with things that move

Internal reward

No mice to chase, or interactive toys

May start with a desire for water in glass

Management of knocking things over

Block access to objects or room

Remove target objects

Use weight glasses or tape objects down

Remote punishment

Why does a cat over groom?

Medical causes (parasites, allergies, hormonal, etc.)

Boredom

Stress (bully cats)

Environmental or schedule changes

Psychogenic alopecia

Why is getting a kitten for an older cat typically not a good idea?

Mature cats are asocial while kitten are social

The older cat will not want to interact with the kitten as much as the kitten wants to interact

What are some things you can do if you have an adult cat and a kitten in the same household

Confine the kitten and give the older cat space

Get another kitten for them to play

Roughly 40% of adult cat introductions take > ___ month

1

Steps to introduce two adult cats

Short introduction at a distance, can see each other but cant physically interact

Each cat has a separate room and alternate access to the house

Brief times when both doors are open where cats can free roam

Reasons previously compatible cats may start fighting

Redirected aggression from seeing other cats outside

One recently returned from the vet

How to reintroduce two adult cats

Completely separate for a few months

Repeat introduction as if they have never met

How to treat one cat being stalked and bullied by another

Complete separation for a few months

Reintroduce

Calming pheromones

Drug therapy (buspirone for victim, fluoxetine for aggressor)