Petfinder.com forums :: View topic - Cat Training and Care! Starting June 14th! [ ]

This month we are very excited to welcome Jacque Schultz from the ASPCA! Jacque will be happy to answer any of your questions related to basic training and care for cats.

Jacque Schultz is Senior Director of Community Initiatives at the ASPCA where she has been on staff for over twenty years. She began her career as an animal behavior counselor and eventually led the behavior and training department. A certified pet dog trainer, she taught a variety of dog obedience classes for 14 years. Her current work includes serving as grants officer for the ASPCA Equine Fund and consultant to the ASPCA Partnership Program. Jacque is an award-winning author of dozens of articles on dog and cat behavior and breed profiles as well as co-authoring The ASPCA Complete Guide to Dogs and two new books in the ASPCA Kids series: Having Fun with Your Dog and Amazing Pet Tricks. Jacque has presented workshops on animal behavior, pit bull issues, shelter enrichment and breed identification at national, regional, and state animal welfare conferences.

Welcome Jacque!!

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:09 am Post subject: Cat jumping on other cats

Hi Jacque,

Thanks so much for being here! I have three cats, two girls spayed females (age 7 and 12) and one neutered male (12). For as long as I can remember, my boy cat's been a bit of a bully to my older female. He often tries to engage her in play but she's not interested. Then, every once in a while, he'll jump on her, bite her neck and hold her down until she growls, swats and bites back. My two older ones have generally been able to work this out on their own but he did once bite her hard enough to pull hair out and drew blood. At the time I separated them for a month and then did a slow, supervised re-introduction which seemed to help the issue, but never resolved it completely.

Since my new female (the seven year old) entered the picture nearly two years ago my male has tried to jump on her and bite her as well, but he seems to target her a lot more frequently than my other female. Worse still, she'll growl and scream, but doesn't really fight back. My partner who's had the 7 year old female since kittenhood obviously favors her and gets extremely frustrated whenever this happens. I'm frustrated too and wish I could trust them together, but at this point I must separate the females from my male every time we can't be present. So far we've tried pheromones, putting a bell on my boy cat, verbal corrections, creating positive associations with all three by treating them together to tasty treats and more but nothing's worked. Help!

Jacque's Answer:

This is a tough problem and it sounds like you have already done much that would be generally recommended to help alleviate the situation.

It's not clear to me whether your male is responding in a socially controlling manner or in a sexual manner as both can have a male aggressor bite the neck and press down on the upper body of his "victim." I wonder if he might be re-directed onto a long tubular plush toy that you could drag on a cord when he's in a frisky mood or perhaps anxious -- another possible reason for this type of behavior. Another thing to consider is location. Does this happen all over the house or only in special areas your male might perceive as his territory? Some cats can be very protective of certain areas at certain prime times of the day.

If you have determined this behavior goes on when no one is home, the female cats should continue to be separated from the male. He should be kept in a smaller space and they should be allowed run of the rest of the house. According to Dr. Karen Overall in CLINICAL BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE FOR SMALL ANIMALS, the cats should only be together when they can be carefully monitored. At the first sign of aggression, the aggressor should be startled out of his focus on the female. A blast from a can of compressed air, a water pistol squirt or sharp hand clap might suffice. If they can then remain harmoniously in the same room thereafter, break out the food treats.

You don't mention how often this happens and only mentioned one incident of hair loss and blood, so it is hard for me to judge how serious (in terms of physical injury) the situation is. You also describe his behavior as trying to get the female to play with him and without seeing it, I'm not sure exactly what that might mean or if play is the actual intent. Most twelve-year-old cats aren't particularly playful with other cats -- however there are always exceptions to every generality. At this stage, if this is a frequent problem or even an infrequent one that is causing stress between you and your partner, I would recommend you bring in a certified applied animal behaviorist to observe the situation, take a complete history (which may take an hour or more) and design an individualized behavior protocol for you to work on with your cats. A list of CAABs can be found at www.animalbehavior.org.

Good luck!

Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 11:33 am Post subject: Cats vs. Pool Table

A few years ago I bought my husband a pool table. Later we adopted a cat and had to train him that he was not allowed to jump on it. We were successful in training him to not jump on tables and the kitchen counters but for some reason he can not stay off the pool table. He still has his claws so we are concerned about claws leaving marks in the cloth, not to mention we really don't want his fur all over it. We can't put any kind of spray up there or any type of liquid for fear of staining the table.

about a year ago we adopted another cat, He has decided that the leather pool table pockets are a good scratch post. We have several scratch posts and items around the house. He's seriously cut into two of the pockets now... twice I've walked in and he's gotten a claw caught and can't get it out on his own.

They know it's wrong since they've started doing it while we're not looking and if we start to approach the room they quickly get away from it. We've scolded, shunned, swatted and yelled but nothing seems to keep these rascals away from our pool table and it's kind of an expensive item!

We've had to resort to blocking the room off from them when we leave the house or go to bed. We can't permenentally block it off because one of their litter boxes is in the room.

Please help us, we're seriously frustrated with this one bad habit that we have been unable to break them of.

Thanks,
Rebecca

Jacque's Answer:

Rebecca,

The mantra of most animals is "if it feels good, do it!" To get your cats to stay away from the pool table, you have to remove any desirable traits it has and play up or build in some unpleasant features. What is so desirable about a pool table? Height, warm surface, spacious, sturdy, pockets to play with are a few of its delights. How could you make it less desirable? Booby trap the top, use a motion sensor on surface that might startle the cat when he jumps atop it, place large sheets of cardboard on top and cover with Sticky Paws or double-sided masking tape, so the surface is tacky instead of warmly inviting. Any of these could work and if you leave them in place long enough (2 weeks-2 months depending on the cat), the cats could find other more welcoming places for resting and their kitty games. Or you could just manage the situation by having a cover custom-made for your pool table, something like a bottom sheet made out of a thick vinyl that would encompass and protect the entire table. Management is almost always easier than trying to teach a cat to avoid something he's taken a liking to.

Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:33 am Post subject:

How do I get my 5 month old neutered cat to use the litter box? He'll go to the bathroom all around it and sometimes even urinates on my bed! I scoop the litter regularly and tried moving the litter box to different areas of the house, nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?

Jacque's Answer:

Most kittens learn good litterbox habits by observing their mothers use a litterbox. If your kitten was an orphan or removed from the mother too early, he may not have gotten the message. When you have a cat that is eliminating all over the place, you will probably need to use a confinement method for several weeks or more to get him using the box religiously. For this, you will ideally need a dog crate or cattery cage that you will set up over the spot where you want his litterbox to be more or less permanently. Choose the kind of box you think he will prefer and set it up in the cage. For litter, I recommend the fine grain clumping litter, as that has been acknowledged as a favorite amongst most cats. Make sure the box is size-appropriate, although this is probably not an issue for a 5 month old unless you have a very small box and an unusually large kitten. Set up a sleeping and dining area at the other end of the cage. A cattery cage should have resting platforms that can serve as a bed.

The kitten can come out of the cage to play with you, be groomed, or be cuddled. All other times, he is confined. If you catch him in the act of eliminating in the box, gently praise and offer a favorite food reward as soon as he's through. After the first week, if he has only been eliminating in the box , allow him out under your supervision for some free time for an hour of so after eliminating and then return him to the cage. You may want to confine him to just one-two rooms during these sessions, so he doesn't disappear into another space and eliminate. If he can't be watched, put him back in the cattery. Build up the length of time out of the cattery over a week or so. You know you have accomplished your goal when you see him run back into the cattery to eliminate. Dissemble the cattery but leave the box in the same position and slowly open the rest of the house up to the kitten over th next week or so. Make sure there are plenty of litterboxes throughout the home. At least one per floor is best. For more information on elimination problems, visit the ASPCA Virtual Pet Behaviorist at www.aspcabehavior.org.

Before you begin this process, it is a good idea to get a vet check-up to rule out any physical or health problems because all the behavior modification in the world can't fix a health issue.

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