Tips for Managing Your Cat’s Stress in the Waiting Room

Posted on February 26, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Cat in carrier in waiting room — Your cat will do better in the waiting room if her carrier is covered and on a higher surface.

Your cat is in his carrier and the ride to the vet clinic went well. He went into his carrier for some treats without a whole lot of fuss. You played some of the cat specific music on the ride and your kitty was actually quiet for a change.

You pull into the clinic parking lot and pick a spot to park. What’s next? The dreaded waiting room!

managing your cat’s stress in the waiting room

You enter and check in at the front desk. You put your cat in his carrier on the floor and immediately a small dog and child run up to the carrier. You are thanking your lucky stars that you covered that carrier. After checking in, you look for a place to sit and wait. The place is packed with barking dogs and some terrified looking cats in carriers. You find a seat and squeeze in to wait.

your cat’s stress in the waiting room

The Cat – Both Predator and Prey

The waiting room at a veterinary hospital can be a terrifying experience for your cat. By nature, cats are hunters but they are also hunted by larger animals, from coyotes and mountain lions to domestic dogs. Now your cat is shut in his carrier, with potential predators around.

The Cat – Both Solitary and Social

The waiting room may also have some other cats waiting. They may be frozen in fear or hissing and growling.
Cats are by nature solitary hunters but they will come together in social groups called colonies if there is enough food available. The core of the colony is the mother cat and her daughters, sisters, and their offspring. Consequently, cats are social with their immediate families, although not necessarily with other cats.

The Cat – the Language of Smell and Scent

Cats communicate in large part by smell. The waiting room is most likely full of unfamiliar scents and smells. There are the scents of strange cats and canine “predators”, in addition to the odors of humans, cleaners and disinfectants.

The Cat – Unfamiliar Sounds

Cats have one of the broadest range of hearing of any land animal – they hear the high-pitched sounds of mice (that we can’t hear) but also lower pitched sounds, like that of the human male voice. Returning to the waiting room, your cat may be hearing not only the barking dogs and hissing cats but also the sounds produced by the clinic office equipment. These unfamiliar sounds can be stressful for your cat.

tips for managing your cat’s stress in the waiting room

Cover the carrier so that your cat will not see other animals or people.
Place the carrier on a higher surface off the floor – on a chair, on your lap. Being higher up helps your cat feel safe, less vulnerable to predators.
Play cat specific music – this music can be downloaded to your phone and played at a very low volume. Your cat can hear sounds that are almost inaudible to people. Place the phone in your cat’s carrier and allow her to hear some familiar, soothing music.
Spray the carrier cover with pheromone spray (“Feliway” Classic, Comfort Zone Calming) prior to leaving for the vet clinic. Pheromone sprays can send your cat a message of safety and territory.
Bypass the waiting room: Ask the clinic staff if you can wait in your car until an exam room is open. Explain that you are trying to keep your cat’s stress levels down.

Choosing a cat-friendly practice can alleviate the concerns we have listed above. A Cat Friendly Practice will have a strategy to keep your cat from seeing, smelling and hearing other animals that can make your cat fearful and anxious.

waiting area just for cats
cat-only appointment times
allowing you to wait for an open exam room in your car

Managing your cat’s stress in the waiting room is another step toward having a good veterinary appointment. Because you have prepared your cat for travel to the clinic and given her ways to cope with the stress in the waiting room, she will not be so anxious during her exam. Our next step is to demystify the veterinary examination for our cats. Thank you for being an active participant in your cat’s health care!

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The Vet Visit: Help Your Cat Cope with the Stress of the Car Ride

Posted on February 19, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Cats tend to be homebodies – your cat’s ideal day may include eating breakfast, then finding a sunny window to nap in. Midday is time for a stretch and a snack; if the weather is nice, he may want to spend some time in his catio. Unlike dogs, few cats become ecstatic at the prospect of a car ride, hanging their heads out of the window.

Once your cat accepts his carrier, the next step to getting him to the vet is the car ride. The car ride introduces additional stressors for your cat to experience. Here are some tips to help your cat cope with the stress of the car ride.

Help your cat cope with the stress of the car ride

Unfamiliar Smells and Scents

Include your cat’s familiar bedding in her carrier to offset the unfamiliar smells of the car with the reassurance of her own, individual scent. Spraying the carrier with feline facial pheromones (Feliway Classic, Comfort Zone Calming) also sends a message of security and territory to the traveling cat. Make sure to spray the carrier 15-20 minutes before your cat enters it so that the alcohol in the spray dissipates.

Lack of Resources

Delays due to accidents or road construction are part of car travel. Make sure to provide your cat some resources on the way. A non-slip absorbent pad for accidents is part of a well-equipped carrier. On long car rides, you may want to consider putting some ice cubes in a bowl that will gradually melt, provide water to drink and less mess in case of spills.

Motion

Some pets may be prone to motion sickness – this may be in part due to anxiety. Carrier/travel training can alleviate some of this. Travel medications for anxiety and nausea will be addressed in a later post in this series.

Unfamiliar Noises

Horns honking, engine noise, and sounds of passing vehicles are part of the car travel experience. Try offsetting these unfamiliar noises with some cat-specific music (https://www.musicforcats.com/).

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin composed music that would calm cats. In 2019, this cat music was tested in the veterinary clinic at Louisiana State University. Stress and handling scores were lower for cats exposed to the “cat music” than the scores of cats exposed to silence or classical music. (see Cat Music:Just for Cats).

Unfamiliar Sights

Flashing lights and large vehicles going by your car can startle and frighten your cat. Consider covering your cat’s carrier to shield him from unfamiliar sights.

Help your cat cope with the stress of the car ride: Practice rides

Of course, there is nothing like actually having some positive travel experience. When teenagers first get their drivers’ permit, there is some anxiety and excitement on those first few drives that goes away as they gain experience driving.

Some short “practice drives” with positive reinforcement can help your cat cope with the stress of the car ride. If your cat is clicker-trained, the clicker can be used to trigger some positive emotions – your cat associates the sound of the click with something good such as treats.

First, let’s get your cat used to the car.

Have your cat enter his carrier. Click and treat.
Carry the carrier to the car and put it inside.
After a few minutes, take the carrier back into the house and let kitty out. Click and treat.

Once your cat is comfortable sitting in his carrier in the car, get ready to do some driving.

Have your cat enter his carrier. Click and treat.
Carry the carrier to the car and put it inside.
Start the engine and let the car idle for a few minutes. Play music if you plan to use it.
Go for a drive around the block.
Return home and turn car off.
Take the carrier back into the house and let kitty out. Click and treat.

Your cat now has some travel experience under his belt. Car travel should now be a little less scary. Every so often, take kitty for a spin around the block or to a park nearby if he will ride in a backpack or stroller. Try to allow him some positive experiences where the car drive does not end up at the vet. (For information about your cat’s safety and carrier placement in the car, visit https://www.centerforpetsafety.org/).

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Making Vet Visits Better for Your Cat (and You!)

Posted on February 5, 2023February 5, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Working at a cat hospital, I have become sensitized to my patients’ distress. Many cats are terrified coming to the veterinary clinic. The experience is not only stressful for the cat but it can be stressful for you, the cat owner. Perhaps you feel embarrassed when your cat misbehaves or maybe you just dread the ordeal of getting your cat into his carrier. These are a few of the reasons why we don’t see as many cats at a veterinary clinic as dogs, although cats outnumber dogs as pets.

The net result of this stress and anxiety is that you may delay medical care for your cat because getting to the vet is so stressful.

What can we do to reduce the fear and anxiety of the vet visit for us and our kitties?

This is the first of a series of posts about making vet visits better for your cat. We will start by looking at how your cat feels about the vet clinic.

making vet visits better for your cat (and you!)

from the feline perspective

You know something’s up – your carrier is out. You hide under the bed but your human pulls you out and proceeds to squeeze you into the dreaded box.

You swing along in the air and then are loaded into a larger box that moves and smells funny.

You finally stop moving and swing through the air some more and arrive at another house where you smell lots of other animals. Oh no, not this place again! You can smell other cats – most of these cats too are afraid. As you move through the fog of smells, you arrive in a small room with a metal table.

A strange human opens your carrier door and tries to coax you to come out – you’re not sure what is out there but now your carrier seems like a good place to stay.

Suddenly, your world tilts and you slide out of the carrier onto the cold, hard table.

You hiss your displeasure. Another strange human proceeds to look into your eyes, put a hard plastic thing in your ears, and presses a cold metal disc against your chest.

Then, the strange human pokes you with a needle and you are finally allowed to escape back into the dreaded carrier – at least, it has taken you back home before.

The veterinary visit can make the most mellow cat anxious.

Does your cat…

Turn into a frozen lump on the exam table?
Or does he become a Tasmanian devil, hissing and striking at the veterinary staff?
Or will he frantically eat the treats offered in an effort to soothe himself?

How can we ask our cats to accept handling and medical exams?

Making vet visits better for your cat (and you!)

Sedation is one way to relieve anxiety and fear. But sedation works better when your cat is used to being handled. (For more about sedation, see https://www.felinepurrspective.com/medication-before-your-cats-vet-visit/).

In this series of posts, we are going train our cats to accept the handling that goes along with the veterinary exam. We will break the vet visit down into parts and work on making your cat comfortable with each part. We will use a technique known as “clicker training” to communicate safety and familiarity to your cat. Your cat voluntarily accepts handling in exchange for something he likes. In this way, your cat becomes an active participant in his health care.

THE VET VISIT IN PIECES

Getting kitty into the cat carrier
The car ride
The waiting room
The exam room/vet exam
Other procedures
Homeward bound

From getting your cat into her carrier to the return trip to home, training can help reduce situational anxiety by making handling and traveling positive, familiar experiences.

However, don’t expect your cat to go through his entire repertoire of behaviors in a distracting environment with strange people such as the veterinary clinic. Unless you train your cat in such an environment, he may behave as if he has never done any of these things before. However, because he is used to being handled, appropriate handling should not elicit defensive behavior.

A frightened cat fighting for his life is very intimidating to handle. However, the past 2 decades has seen the advent of stress-free handling techniques designed to address the frightened cat. If you have concerns about how your cat is handled at the veterinary practice, consider taking your cat to a Cat Friendly practice, where staff is trained in feline handling techniques.

Making vet visits better for your cat is challenging, even if your cat is calm, relaxed and food motivated. We will start next week with carrier training.

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Strategies for Counter-Surfing Cats

Posted on October 23, 2022October 23, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

After adopting a feral cat 3 years ago, I am still struggling with cats on the counter. Gus spent most of his wild life dumpster diving, and hunting mice and bugs for food. He certainly would have availed himself of any food a good samaritan left out for the community cats. Understandably, the kitchen counter is a cornucopia of food as far as he is concerned.

Counter-surfing cats – Why do they do it?

Cats are looking for food.
Cats are curious and keen observers of other species and their activities.
Cats like high places and may feel safer on the counter, out of reach of the family dog and children.

Strategies for Counter-Surfing Cats

The Foodie Cat

Have food on the counters only when you are preparing it.
If you need to leave during food prep, be sure and secure the food in a cabinet or unused oven.
Train your cat to a mat.

The Curious Cat

Offer your cat a place where she can monitor counter activities.
Train her to stay at that place while you are at the counter.

The Trapped Cat

Offer your cat a place where he can get away from the children and/or dog.
If he still prefers the counter, train him to stay in the place you offered.

Mat Training

Mat (aka station) training is popular with dog trainers. Ideally, when you tell your dog to go to the mat, he goes there and waits on the mat until you tell him he can leave. Mat training can be very handy because the “place” the dog must go to can move around – it is wherever the mat is.

Cats can also be mat trained. Here is how it works.

Choose a mat for your cat to sit on.

Encourage the cat to go to the mat by, say, throwing a treat on it.

Reward the cat once she interacts with the mat.

If she gets off the mat before you tell her to, encourage her to return to the mat.

“Shape” the behavior by having her stay on the mat for increasingly longer periods of time.

Establish a cue to let her know she can leave the mat.

Counter Control – Other Aids

Aversives – things cats don’t like

A non-toxic citrus spray on the counter (cats don’t like citrus)
An upside-down carpet runner (with the “spikes” facing up)

Punishment

Water guns are a traditional solution to deter counter-surfing cats…for these to really work you must spray the cat as she is jumping on the counter.
Motion-activated spray systems (SSSCAT) may discourage counter-surfing cats as long as the device works…but these devices can startle and frighten some cats.
See “How Does Clicker Training Your Cat Work?”

Counter-Surfing Cats – a Hard Case

Having been a feral cat, food is Gus’s major priority in life. He inevitably jumps on the counter if there is any suggestion of food preparation. He is always willing to get down from the counter when I point my finger to the floor but he returns to the countertop in a few minutes. He is undeterred by water guns, citrus sprays, and upside down carpet runners.

Gus easily mastered the idea of station training – sitting and staying on the mat is not problem until you start food preparation. He is fine as long as the treats keep coming. However, if I fall behind dispensing treats (when breading cutlets or some other involved culinary task), he returns to the counter again. I feel he cannot “dial back” his emotions enough to recall his training.

Solutions

If the cooking is so complicated that I can’t pay attention to Gus, I will put him in his “safe place” (the master bedroom) with his resources and some food.
If things are not too hectic, I will give him a lickimat with some baby food on it. This seems to keep him happy and contented for 15- 20 minutes.

Counter-surfing cats are often looking for food, a good place to monitor activity in the house, or a way to escape the family dog or a busy toddler. Decide where you want your cat to be and see if you can train her to go to a mat in this place. If all else fails, put your cat in her “safe place” while you fix meals, work on projects, or entertain guests.

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Picking Up Your Cat

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Imagine being suddenly snatched up by a giant from your favorite chair. You are lifted up into the air, your legs flailing as you try to maintain your balance. Scary, huh?

Some of the more exciting scenes in fantasy movies include the hero or heroine being snatched up and taken away. In the Wizard of Oz, a troop of flying monkeys swoop down and grab up Dorothy and her dog, Toto, taking them to the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West. A giant ape carries Ann Darrow up the Empire State Building in the movie “King Kong”, as the audience shrieks and squeals.

Picking up your cat can be frightening for him. He often has little warning before he is airborne. He feels helpless and scared. But, you say, I pick my cat up all the time and he does not seem to mind. In certain circumstances though, he might redirect his fear as aggression and bite or scratch you, if you try to pick him up, say, to move him away from the vacuum cleaner.

Okay, so maybe you can coax him to go where you need him to by using treats or a target stick. But there still will be times when picking up your cat is necessary – for example, you may need get him out of the way of a car. What can you do?

Picking Up Your Cat Step-by-Step

The “Pick Up” behavior was a by-product of training Gus, a feral cat caught in a live trap when he was three years old.

When you picked Gus up, he often would thrash and flail in your arms, biting and scratching. He responds well to clicker training so I wondered if I could teach him to be picked up, in the same way he learned to sit and target.

We broke the behavior of being picked up into the following steps.

Kneel next to him on the floor and touch him where I would if I were going to pick him up. Give the verbal cue “UP”, then, click and treat.
Slide my arms around him like I was going to pick him up. Give the verbal cue “UP”, then, click and treat.
The next step was to actually to start to pick him up briefly, lifting him off the ground, with the cue “UP”. Click then treat.
Finally, I would pick him up off the ground for a few seconds while saying “UP”. I would click when he was off the ground, then treat him when I placed him back on the ground.
I “shaped” the behavior by picking him up and holding him longer and longer, always rewarding him afterwards.

Unlike most of the time we train our cats, “UP” does not require the cat to actively choose to do something. It involves a passive response. The click marks that the cat is being lifted up and will be rewarded in the near future. But, the “click” can also make your cat feel good.

Like Pavlov’s dogs, who salivated when they heard a bell, the “click” is a classically conditioned response. Once the click has been consistently associated with food or another reward, it ultimately triggers the same pleasurable emotions as the reward.

The “Pick Up” command was so successful that I taught all my cats this. Gus still squirms sometimes when the hold is taking him somewhere he does not fancy going… but, the biting has stopped! And he is rewarded for his patience with treats or head rubs when we arrive at our destination.

Although your cat is not in control of the situation when being picked up, if he hears the cue and the click, he knows what is going to happen, and can anticipate something good which should reduce his fear and anxiety.

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Dealing with Anxiety and Misbehavior in Your Cat

Posted on August 21, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Sometimes when your cat behaves “badly”, you are able to address what triggers the misbehavior and life goes back to “normal”: you add a new litter box and the house-soiling stops; you start taking your “bully” cat for walks on a leash and everyone settles back down again. Problem solved!

Other times, you feel you’ve taken care of what triggers the misbehavior but your cat continues to, say, pee in the bathtub. And in still other instances, you can’t eliminate the stressors triggering the behavior, and the behavior persists. For example, you just don’t have the finances to get a bigger house but you don’t want to re-home any of the cats.

Anxiety and misbehavior in your cat

When your cat is stressed, he can become anxious and fearful. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and helps the cat respond to perceived danger. One way your cat may let you know she is anxious and fearful, is by “misbehaving”. She may avoid her litter box and or hide and strike out at you when you try to pick her up.

Your vet might recommend a behavior modification plan and an anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) medication to deal with the anxiety and misbehavior in your cat. Behavior modification aims to give the cat a way to cope with the stress that is giving rise to the “misbehavior”. Anxiolytics reduce your cat’s anxiety and put him in a positive emotional state, making him more receptive to behavior modification.

Fluoxetine: Rx for anxiety

Let’s take a look at Fluoxetine, a medication that is frequently prescribed by veterinarians to treat anxiety.

In human circles, fluoxetine is more commonly known by the brand name Prozac. It is a “selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor” (SSRI).
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that carries “messages” between neurons. Neurotransmitters are typically reabsorbed in the neuron once the “messaging” is done but SSRI’s keep serotonin from being reabsorbed, resulting in more serotonin being available to carry messages between neurons. Serotonin is thought to regulate mood, digestion, and sleep among other metabolic processes (see SSRIs mayoclinic.org).

Your cat should be calmer and less anxious when taking fluoxetine.

House-soiling and aggression toward people are two of the more common behavioral problems in cats. Let’s take a quick look at two cases where fluoxetine and behavior modification helped manage feline anxiety and misbehavior.

Susie, a 13 year old female cat

Problem Behavior: House-soiling in variety of locations with chronic diarrhea

When Susie was 11 years old, her feline house-mate passed away and her owner adopted a younger cat. Susie began pooping outside the box. After most of a year, the owner felt the cats got along OK but house-soiling and diarrhea continued. The owner found Susie “aloof” and difficult to handle. Susie was surrendered to a veterinary clinic when she was 13 years old.

A Plan for Susie

Medical plan: treat the diarrhea

Behavioral plan:

Desensitize Susie to interacting with people
Gradually introduce Susie to the other cats in the clinic

Susie’s Timeline:

Susie is surrendered to the vet clinic in mid-May 2021. She is fearful and reluctant to interact with people and other cats and is placed in a “room of her own”.
In early July, Susie begins taking a steroid medication and also starts fluoxetine. The diarrhea starts to resolve in the next few weeks.
By early September, Susie is becoming less fearful and is interested in coming out of her room. She starts to accept being handled by the clinic staff. She is not pooping outside the litter box as much.
In November, Susie starts having supervised visitations with staff and other cats outside her room.
By next March, Susie is able to be out unsupervised in the clinic during working hours. House-soiling is better – she poops right next to the litter box and not in random locations.

Susie had a long history of house-soiling. Treatment of her medical problem and reducing her anxiety has improved her quality of life. She remains on a low dose of fluoxetine which helps her cope with the stress of interacting with strange people and cats that come to the vet clinic.

Gus, 3 year old male feral cat

Problem Behavior: Aggression toward people

Gus was an intact male cat that was trapped in a live trap. He is positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and was not eligible to be released after being neutered.

Behavior modification plan for Gus:

Desensitization to people
Clicker training for appropriate social behaviors toward people

Gus’s Timeline:

Early March 2019: Gus is trapped with a live trap
March 5: Gus is neutered. Gus is fearful, fighting and biting when handled.
Late March: Gus starts taking fluoxetine, to reduce anxiety and misbehavior. He takes the daily fluoxetine tablet in a treat. At first the drug makes him sleepy but this passes in a few weeks and he is exposed to a variety of people.
Clicker and leash training begin in early June. He learns simple commands to sit, follow a target on a stick, wear a harness and allow humans to pick him up.
Gus is adopted in early August. Owner continues clicker training and outdoor walks.
Gus is weaned off fluoxetine by the end of November, after 7 months of drug therapy. He tolerates people and no longer tries to bite them.

Anxiolytics combined with behavior modification can help you deal with anxiety and misbehavior in your cat. In some cases, a cat can be weaned off the medication while in others, continuing to give a low dose helps when the stressors causing the misbehavior cannot be eliminated.

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Training your cat to a harness and leash

Posted on May 22, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

cat gets harness and treat — Gus enjoys a treat while being harnessed

Training your cat to a harness and leash can come in handy even if you don’t plan to take him adventuring.

Training your cat to a harness and leash: Benefits

Enrichment for your cat
Extra security if you are traveling
Useful for introducing your cat to other animals

ENRICHMENT: With one of the broadest hearing ranges of any land mammal, a keen and discriminating sense of smell, and vision that tracks fast moving prey, the great outdoors is stimulating for a cat. Even if your kitty has a catio, leash time is special time, allowing him or her a chance to investigate new places and to spend time with you.

SECURITY WHILE TRAVELING: If you are traveling, having a leash and harness on your cat gives you some extra security during flight layovers, customs checks, or taking a break when driving. You can have an “extra hand” while changing soiled pads in the carrier or allowing your cat to stretch her legs.

INTRODUCING OTHER ANIMALS: Once you have passed the scent swapping stage and feel the animals are ready for the next step, you can have the them “meet” with a barrier in between. Having your cat on leash and harness can give you more control over encouraging calm behavior around the new arrival. If your cat wants to “rush” the barrier, gentle pressure on the leash can slow this down and avoid a hostile encounter. The leash can help us model the appropriate behavior of a slow, non-aggressive approach to the newcomer.

Training your cat to a harness and leash

I often hear that “my cats acts as if she were paralyzed when I put a harness on her – she just flops downs and won’t move”. There are a number of videos on the internet of cats being dragged along by the leash while laying down.

A Better Way

Zelda walking indoors on her leash.

Like any new item, introduce the harness and leash separately. Pick a highly valued treat and train when your cat is likely to want to eat.
Let your cat sniff the harness and offer him a treat.
Reward him for letting the harness sit on his back or for putting his paws through the arm holes.
Secure the harness, reward and remove.
Allow your cat to become accustomed to the harness being on for increasingly longer periods of time. Distract him with treats and toys. If he knows how to target, use the targeting stick to encourage him to move forward while wearing the harness.
Once comfortable with the harness, add the leash. Work with kitty inside at first, with the leash attached but not being held. It is a good idea to have your cat get used to dragging the leash behind so if you drop it mistakenly, the dragging leash won’t frighten her. You can use treats, a target stick or a toy on a wand to encourage her to move forward.
Pick up the leash and go for a walk! Start indoors and do some laps around the house.

Walking outdoors

Walking outside may not be for all cats. Cats who have spent most of their lives indoors may find the great outdoors overwhelming and frightening. It may never be their “cup of tea”.

To give this the best chance of success, start slowly. If you are just going to the backyard, start with brief trips outside in a carrier that is covered (have her harnessed and leashed). Leave the door open and let your cat smell and hear the outside. Let her come out on her own, if she wants to. Gradually work up to allowing her to meander around the yard with you at her side.

If you are planning on venturing further, it is wise to have a “mobile safe place” – a stroller or backpack. Introduce these items gradually but let your cat guide you – I have had cats that jumped right into the stroller and quickly learned that the stroller meant shade and safety.

Walking a cat vs walking a dog.

Cats do not have the stamina of dogs. Cats have evolved to move stealthily and quietly, with short intense bursts of activity: running and pouncing. They do not have the stiff-legged gait of horses and dogs, who can walk and trot for long periods of time – cats will get tired and will need some way of being transported.
Cats will want to run and hide when danger presents itself. The backpack or stroller will keep your cat safe and comfortable when on a walk.
Is your cat walking you? Walking your cat is often you going where she wants to go. If you feel you need to direct her path, target training can help.

An essential skill for the “adventure” cat is recall – train your cat to come when called. This can be invaluable if the worst happens and he somehow gets away. He most likely will hide and not respond at first – give him some time to calm down and let his training kick in. Keep calling him or giving him his recall cue.

Training your cat to a harness and leash can come in handy when traveling or introducing new pets. It also can strengthen your bond with your cat as you both enjoy the flowers in the garden together!

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Socializing kittens: why kitten kindergarten

Posted on March 13, 2022May 4, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

It’s fun to watch a litter of kittens chasing and pouncing on each other. Are you thinking of bringing some of that cuteness and energy to live at your house?

Kittens that have been handled in a positive way by a variety of people during their sensitive period (2-7 weeks) are tolerant of people and usually make good pets. However, socialization continues past the 7 week mark.

Kittens older than 7 weeks in a wild cat colony would be spending time with their litter mates, mother, other female cats (babysitters) and maybe some indulgent males. They will be learning the body language of older cats and how to communicate with them.

When we adopt a kitten at 8-10 weeks, we interrupt the socialization process. There is some evidence that kittens who stay with their mothers and siblings until 12 weeks of age are more friendly with other cats and humans.

Rescue organizations already struggling to maintain facilities will incur more costs keeping kittens later. Is there a way to continue socializing kittens once they have joined their adopting household?

Resident Animals

Socializing kittens can continue if kittens join a household with well-socialized older cats and other pets, e.g. dogs. A word of caution here: It can be risky to introduce small kittens to adult cats and dogs.

Kittens practice fighting postures such as the arch and sidestep when they play with littermates. As kittens reach 12 weeks or so, the arch and sidestep are seen less frequently – possibly the kittens are starting to identify these postures as aggressive, as part of a cat fight. An older cat who has little experience with kittens, may interpret this activity as aggressive and react defensively, possibly injuring the kitten.

If you are in this situation, slow, gradual introduction is best until you know how the cats or dog are going to behave.

A barrier between the kitten(s) and older cat(s) or dog for the early visitations is a must.
A helper is also essential.

Cats: You may want to consider using carriers or harness and leash when you reach supervised visitations (IF the cats are COMFORTABLE in their carriers and are COMFORTABLE with harness/leash).

Dogs: When you reach supervised visitations, make sure your dog has a comfortable harness to wear, is leash-trained, and is reliable with “down”, “stay”, “leave it” and a pay attention cue. If he gets too excited, you must be able to lead him out of the visitation area.

socializing kittens: making good memories

Kitten kindergarten is a program aimed at socializing kittens 8-12 weeks old. Kitten kindergarten tries to continue the socialization that began earlier during the sensitive period by offering exposure to a variety of humans and well-behaved adult cats and dogs. We hope to leave our kittens with some good memories that they can draw on later in life when confronted with human and animal visitors to their household.

Kitten kindergartens – Where?

in the spring
veterinary clinics
rescue organizations
typically runs weekly for 4 weeks

Who can come?

kittens 8-12 weeks of age
kittens older than 12 weeks may not be as accepting of interaction with other cats
the information and training still applies to older cats
if your cat is older, it may be worth seeing if you can attend virtually or without a cat.

Pre-Requisites for kindergarten

at least one FVRCP vaccine 5-7 days prior to the first class
dewormed
a negative FeLV/FIV test

The syllabus in kitten kindergarten can vary depending on who is offering the course, whether it is a veterinary clinic or rescue group. It typically will address cat handling, cat care (grooming, nail trims), and basic training, including harness and carrier training.

The goal of kitten kindergarten is not just socializing kittens – owner education is a big part of this program. Make sure to take advantage of the expertise of the class moderators and ask questions!

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Cats eating from a food puzzle: contrafreeloading?

Posted on February 6, 2022February 13, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Why slide a block aside to uncover food when there is food freely available in a bowl nearby? Psychologists call the behavior “contrafreeloading” – it refers to animals (and people) preferring to work for food when there is freely available food.

This behavior sounds counter-intuitive – after all, you would expect an animal to choose the option that requires the least effort. But psychologists and behaviorists propose that contrafreeloading is a manifestation of the SEEKING system – one of the seven basic emotional systems proposed by Jaak Panksepp, the father of “affective neuroscience”. Affective neuroscience studies how the brain produces emotional responses.

The SEEKING system is thought to be the strongest of the primary emotional systems. It’s what gets animals out looking for food, looking for a mate, looking for other resources.

When the SEEKING system is activated

the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel pleasure.
It is the rewarding feeling you get when you are looking for something and find it.
Once you’ve found the object of your desire, the brain shuts off the dopamine and other emotions are activated.

So the action of SEEKING can be more enjoyable than finding what you’re looking for. Think about those travel advertisements that tell you that “getting there is half the fun”!

Dogs, mice, rats, birds, monkeys and even humans have been found to engage in “contrafreeloading”.

cats eating from a food puzzle: contrafreeloading?

A recent study by Mikel Delgado and colleagues enrolled 20 domestic cats to observe this behavior. They investigated the behavior of cats eating from a food puzzle versus eating food from a tray. Cats eating from a food puzzle have to manipulate the puzzle to get the food out.

The cats were first trained to the puzzle by having increasing amounts of their food in the puzzle and decreasing freely available food on a tray.

At first, only 25% of their food was in the puzzle.
Once they started to eat some food from the puzzle, the amount in the puzzle was increased to 50%, then to 75%.
Three cats refused to eat any food from the puzzle and were dismissed from the study.
Cats were exposed to the equipment for 4-12 days before testing.

Cats underwent 2-4 trials a day, no less than 2 hours apart. The puzzle and the food tray were placed next to each other, and were the same distance from the cat. The cat’s daily food ration was divided equally between trials. In each trial, the food was divided up equally between the puzzle and the food bowl.

Cats are freeloaders!

Half of the cats ate less than 10% of their food from the puzzle. All of the cats ate most of their food from the tray – no cats were strong “contrafreeloaders”. Eight cats were definitely “freeloaders” – the rest seemed willing to do some contrafreeloading. Although a number of cats approached and sniffed the puzzle first, all the cats ate from the tray first.

Cats seem to be one of the few species that does not seem to be inclined to work for their food in a captive environment. But cats have been known to STOP EATING to hunt prey – that certainly involves working for food!

why are cats freeloaders?

Cats eating from a food puzzle are engaging in “foraging” behavior.

Cats are solitary predators

They must conserve their energy for the energy burst needed when hunting
They are not above scavenging a free meal
Maybe it makes sense to a cat to eat some of the “free food” first before putting energy into foraging?

Is hunting more “fun”?

Is the SEEKING system stronger for cats when they hunt compared to when they forage?
Do their brains release more dopamine when they are stalking, pouncing and chasing?
Do their brains release less dopamine when they are foraging?

cats eating from a food puzzle

Does this mean you should not bother offering your cat food puzzles for enrichment? No – food puzzles help reduce boredom and engage cats mentally. Indoor cats in particular may benefit from using food puzzles.

training your cat to use a food puzzle

Start by offering 25% of the meal in the food puzzle and 75% in a bowl or tray.
When your cat is eating some of the food in the puzzle, increase the amount of food in the puzzle to 50% and decrease the amount in the bowl to 50%.
Increase the amount of food in the puzzle to 75%; decrease the amount in the bowl to 25%
When your cat is eating most of his meal in the puzzle, offer him the puzzle only.

A demonstration can help your cat learn. Cats are able to mimic the actions of humans and they are able to adapt human actions to their own bodies.

selecting a food puzzle

Cats using a puzzle feeder — Two cats using the Catit Food Tree.

There are many food puzzles you can make or purchase. Start your cat with a “beginner” puzzle and see what he likes to do. My ex-feral cat, Gus, easily mastered the Catit “Food Tree” but it was almost a year or so before he was willing to try a flat panel puzzle where he had to move pieces to uncover the food.

You may want to make some puzzles first to find out your cat’s preferences before purchasing one. Visit foodpuzzlesforcats.com!

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Do As I Do: Can cats learn from us?

Posted on December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

About a week ago, we had invited family members to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Appetizers had been set out to snack on prior to the main meal. There was a cheese and cracker plate, with an open box of crackers on it, where folks could serve themselves, taking a cracker and a slice of cheese.

As we were eating dinner, I happened to look over to the counter with the cheese plate. Gus had gotten up on the counter, and was helping himself to a cracker. He very carefully selected a single cracker with his mouth without disturbing the other crackers, the plate or the box. He then carefully backed away to nibble on his prize.

What struck me was that he only took one cracker, he did not paw at the box or knock it on the floor. Had he been watching us? Can cats learn from us?

Trial and Error Learning

A cat presented with a treat ball containing treats for the first time will examine and smell the ball thoroughly, then perhaps nudge it with her nose while continuing to smell the ball. If some treats come out, the cat may then try nudging the ball again or try pawing at it. With each trial, the cat will refine her method of obtaining treats.

Social Learning – Can cats learn from us?

Cats can also learn by watching other cats do things – kittens watch their mother attentively as she manipulates prey and chooses things to eat. Their later success as hunters and the food preferences they develop reflects this instruction.

For the cat, other species are worth watching too – for example, humans, dogs and raccoons may give some invaluable lessons in manipulating doors to reach food or desirable places.

A cat will learn to use a microchip feeder or food puzzle faster if a patient owner sits by with treats and demonstrates the feeder or puzzle operation, speeding up the trial and error process.

“Do As I Do”

“Do As I Do” is a fairly new training method for dogs developed by Claudia Fugazza at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. In the “Do As I Do” method, an owner will demonstrate a behavior to her dog and then ask him to repeat it.

Can a cat “Do As I Do”?

In 2019, Dr. Fugazza decided to test this kind social learning in a cat. Her subject was an 11-year-old female cat, called Ebisu. Ebisu lived with her owner, Fumi Higaki, in Ichinomia, Japan. Fumi Higaki is a professional dog trainer, experienced in the “Do As I Do” method for training dogs.

Training Ebisu was a two-step process:

First, Ebisu learned that the “Do It!” command meant that she should copy what her owner had done. The owner used three behaviors that Ebisu already knew to train the “Do It” command. For example, the owner would twirl around, then give Ebisu the “Do it!” command and also give Ebisu the verbal cure to twirl around.
Next, the owner demonstrated three other behaviors that Ebisu was familiar with and gave her the “Do It!” command without the verbal cues. Once Ebisu successfully imitated her owner, she was ready to learn some new behaviors by copying her owner.

Ebisu successfully learned two new behaviors through imitating her owner:

Sliding a lid on a container to open it – Ebisu succeeded on the first try!
Placing her forearms on a book.

At this point, Ebisu was judged ready to be tested and two new behaviors were assessed in 18 test trials:

Placing her paw on a box
Rubbing her face on a box

During these trials, Ebisu mimicked her owner 80% of the time. Fumi would put her hand on the box (or rub her face on the box). She would then tell Ebisu to “Do It!”, and Ebisu would put her paw on the box (or rub her face on the box).

So what do we learn from this?

Cats are able to mimic the actions of a human.
They are able to adapt human actions to their own bodies – for example, the human touches a box with her hand and the cat touches the box with a front paw.

So, it is worthwhile for us to demonstrate the operation of food puzzles, automatic feeders, cat doors…to help our cats learn how to use these devices. It should speed up the learning process!

Back to “cracker snatcher” Gus…can cats learn from us?

I really don’t know if Gus learned to pick out a single cracker by watching people but it’s fun to think that he did. And, not having opposable thumbs, he was not able to pick out the cracker with a paw but instead extracted it with his mouth, adapting the action so that he could perform it successfully!

Here is Gus with the box of crackers. Enjoy the video!

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