Tag: cat behavior

The Finicky Cat Meme – More than just Food Choices?

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Daily Food Portion Cat
Gus looks at his daily food allotment. Treats count!

Cats are notorious for being picky about their food. Googling “finicky cat meme” brings up pages of cats turning down food after the owner has offered 3-4 different types. Morris the Cat was the focus of the 9Lives cat food advertising for years – he would only eat 9Lives. The pet food industry has capitalized on this image of a picky eater with many selections of food – textures, tastes, flavors.

Cats in the wild have far ranging tastes and will eat anything from bugs to bunny rabbits. So, what is this “finicky cat meme”?

In a previous post, we visited some facts about cats and how they are designed to eat – small stomachs digest mainly meat and cannot hold a lot at once. Hence the cat’s lifestyle – most of his waking hours are spent prowling and looking for prey.

You say, “OK, I get it – I need to feed 4+ meals a day and puzzle feeders can help.”

Is there more to the “finicky cat meme”? Look at the “Feline Facts” below.

 

Mom knows best…

Kittens learn food preferences from their mothers.

Cats have good taste…

Cats can “taste” amino acids and will head to food that will satisfy their needs (in general)

What does my cat taste?

Fresh is best…

Bitter receptors on your cat’s tongue and in her oral cavity alert her to the bitterness resulting from decaying meat. A solitary hunter cannot risk a bad meal – she will not be able to hunt if sick and will starve.

The Need to Feed…

Your cat requires protein every day.  Protein cannot be stored like fat, if your cat does not eat, his body will start to get protein from his muscles. Cats cannot fast more than 2-3 days.

 

The Pleasure of Dining Alone…

Although cats can live in groups, they are not social eaters and prefer to take their prey to a secluded place where they can eat in peace.

The Dining Experience…What’s on the Menu

 

 

How to feed the “finicky cat”…

  1. Offer a SELECTION of high protein foods – see what your feline gourmand prefers. (try 3 foods at a time -you can use one of those divided plates).
  2. CHOOSE FOODS WITH STRONG AROMA (e.g. fish), again playing on the cat’s well-developed sense of smell.
  3. OFFER WHAT YOUR CAT WILL EAT IN ONE SITTING. Once protein starts to deteriorate, the food may become bitter and she may not eat it.
  4. OFFER BOTH CANNED AND DRY FOODS – textures and size of food can be important; if your cat ate dry food as a kitten she may prefer dry food.
  5. Because taste receptors work best at 86 degrees F (30 degrees Celsius), refrigerator cold food may not be appealing. A little HEATING (careful with that microwave – a few seconds is often all you need) will release the aroma of the food and make it more appealing

The Dining Experience…Where to Feed Your Cat

 

Cats prefer to dine alone. Choose a place out of the way where your cat can view things while she eats – perhaps a corner near the kitchen. If you can, keep cats out of sight of each other when feeding.

The “Kitty Diner” – feeding and carrier training all at once!

This is a solution I arrived at having 4 cats and a small townhouse. The cats eat their canned food meals in their carriers. Because they are in their boxes eating, they are out of sight of each other and I can feed them in a relatively small area. The bonus is that they have a better attitude toward their cat carriers when we need to travel.

Cat eating in carrier

Unsightly carrier? Try a carrier cover. Pick something that coordinates with your decor. If you use fleece or felt, you don’t have to hem anything. You just cut a square and cut a slot for the handle, if you like. This also helps with vet visits since the cover makes the carrier dark like a wildcat’s den and your cat feels more secure.

Cat-Carrier-Cover

When to call in the veterinary team…
If your cat is losing weight
If you cat is vomiting frequently
If your cat has frequent diarrhea or you feel she may be constipated
If your cat has not eaten for 24-48 hours – So is she truly not eating? Is she producing poop?
If she is pooping, she is eating something – maybe not enough. Consult your vet if there is no poop in the litter box for several days

Food Does Not Motivate My Cat

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In my job as a veterinary technician, owners often tell me  “I can’t train my cat – food does not motivate my cat ”. ” My cat won’t eat his medication in a treat – he doesn’t like treats”.

Like people, cats are individuals – some are grazers and others will eat at any time. BUT… all domestic cats share common ancestry -Felis Libyca, the African Wildcat – and they have inherited a certain physiology.

The Behavior of Feeding

 

 

Cat on the Prowl
Marley looks for critters in the bushes

 

  • Cats have small stomachs and a short GI tract designed to digest meat.
  • They cannot wait until they get hungry to hunt – they will starve if they do.
  • Their lifestyle is one of being on the prowl most of their waking hours, looking for food
  • CATS ARE HARD-WIRED TO HUNT
  • “NEW PREY” IS A STRONG MOTIVATION

The free-roaming cat eats up to 8-10 meals daily.  The number of meals depends on the size of the meal – it will take a bit longer to digest a rabbit than a few bugs!

You say “Food does not motivate my cat”? What if we try to mimic the prowling feeding style of the wild cat?

Feeding 4+ Meals a Day

How much to feed?

Daily meals for a cat
A cat’s daily food ration – 2 meals of canned food with two puzzle feeder meals of dry food.

 

What your cat will eat in one sitting.

  • watch your cat – pick up and measure the food eaten when he leaves the bowl -OR-
  • offer a “2 mouse” meal of about 50 kcal

Feeding 4+ meals if you are not home during the day

  1. AM: meal feed: canned or dry food
  2. DAY: (2) food puzzles  with dry food
  3. PM meal feed: canned or dry food
  4. Snack at bedtime: Treats for training or play

How to Do It:

Use puzzle feeders/timed feeders

  • each puzzle has a “two mouse” meal
  • timed feeders with “two mouse” meals
  • some feeders can hold ice packs for canned food
  • “timed” puzzle feeders

 

Avoid leaving large amounts of food out.  While it is convenient just to top up the bowl, you don’t know how much your cat is eating.  Boredom can lead to self-soothing behaviors such as over-eating and over-grooming.

Food Security in Multi-Pet Households

My dog will eat the food puzzles

  • Food puzzles in boxes
  • Food puzzles in closets
  • Feed on counter or high places

My other cat will eat all the food 

  • Use a microchip feeder  Surefeeder
  • Feeding on different levels
  • Isolate cats when not at home
Move the puzzles and feeders around when you can. Once your cat is prowling to dine, he will be more interested in training treats and treats for medications.  Train and medicate BEFORE meals.  Find the treats he values or use his regular food as treats.

A timed puzzle feeder…

 

 

Find out more about food motivation and cats.

Training is a part of your cat’s day

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To train your cat to do a new skill, you will need to set aside a time and decide what you are training that day.  However, training should not always be something you do at a scheduled time with specific goals.

Training is a way of communicating with your cat, so training is a part of your  cat’s day.

My kitties wake up to a medication session. My oldest cat, Athena, is medicated twice daily. After having Zelda, the Maine Coon, dive in, snatch and swallow Athena’s medication, I decided to make training work for me.

Two Cats sit and stay

Medication Etiquette

  • I prepare the medication (getting the treat box and wrapping the pill in a treat)
  • Marley, Gus, and Zelda COME and SIT on the floor by the dining table.
  • Athena is directed to the dining table.
  • Marley, Gus and Zelda are then asked to STAY.
  • Athena is given her tablet which she eats most of the time. If not, I give Marley, Gus and Zelda a REWARD and repeat the STAY command
  • I take an extra minute to pill Athena.
  • Marley, Gus and Zelda are REWARDED for the stay.
  • Athena is REWARDED for taking her pill.
  • I give all cats the ALL DONE signal.

The medication etiquette uses 4 skills the cats have learned.

  • COME when called
  • SIT
  • STAY
  • ALL DONE

It is a real time-saver when medication has to be given and I need to get to work.

Other times training is a part of your cat’s day…

Off the table!

You can ask your cat to move from place to place with your finger or a target stick. Let’s say that your cat jumps up on the table when you don’t want her to. You ask her to jump down; she does and gets rewarded with a treat.

Cat waits for food

Sit and wait for dinner!

You can ask your cat to SIT and STAY when you are fixing his food. You may need  a few treats to keep the STAY going until his dinner is ready.

Behavior when you don’t want it

Sometimes, you turn around in a minute or so, and your cat is back up on the table waiting to jump down and get a treat. When training, we repeat skills several times to see if kitty has gotten the idea.  So, it is not all that surprising when kitty repeats his skills when not asked, hoping to cash in on more treats.

It may be better to ask him to jump down, treat, then have him sit and stay for the count of 5. Then, give him a treat and the all done signal to let him know the session is finished.

The all-done signal is very important – it means that you will walk away and there are no more treats for the moment.

All Done
The “all done” signal marks the end of a training session.
Of course, you must have reasonable expectations. For example, if kitty really likes seafood, it may just be better for everyone if you ask him to go a room and close the door while you fix the fish or shrimp!

Bringing a Wild Cat indoors

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Outdoor cat

Bringing a Wild Cat Indoors – A cat tale

This is a story about bringing a wild cat indoors. This is the story of Gus, a cat who was wild in a previous life.

Gus’s story starts in a neighborhood in Colorado Springs, CO. He is a young, intact male who wanders around hunting, fighting with other cats, and seeking mates. He is what we call a “community” cat – an outdoor, free-roaming cat who does not have a guardian.  He hunts mice and rabbits but also will eat food that some of the neighbors leave out for community cats.

Gus’s Timeline

  • Early March 2019: Gus is trapped with a live trap
  • March 5, 2019: Gus is neutered. He has a weak positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and needs to have an indoor home.
  • March 25, 2019: Gus starts taking fluoxetine, for anxiety and aggression due to anxiety.
  • Clicker and leash training begin in early June, 2019.
  • Gus is adopted on August 2, 2019. Owner continues clicker training and outdoor walks.
  • Gus is weaned off fluoxetine by late November, 2019.

Gus’s Caretaker at the vet clinic says…

“At first he was absolutely untouchable. I couldn’t enter his room without using a flattened cardboard carrier as a shield to protect my legs from his vicious attacks. As I moved through the doorway, Gus would try his hardest to escape by lunging, striking, and biting at me. Once I was inside, he would rapidly alternate between seeking affection and getting over stimulated. He would often rub up against my leg, become overwhelmed at the sensation, and then hiss, yowl or bite me in response.”

 

Medication and Behavior Modification

At first, fluoxetine just makes Gus sleepy and dopey.

Cat on behavior med

In a few weeks, he is allowed to roam freely around the veterinary clinic.  He is exposed to people coming in and out of the vet clinic.

Gus takes well to clicker training.  He begins to enjoy lunchtime walks several times a week.

Cat with Harness outdoors

Gus Today…

Gus is a member of a 4 cat household. He has been weaned off fluoxetine – his final dose was in late October, 2019. He is a little grumpier now that he is off fluoxetine. However, he is not aggressive toward his owners and visitors to the house.  He goes for once to twice daily walks on a harness with or without a leash.

Gus is different from his three house raised feline roommates – he does not sleep on the bed; he does not greet his owners with a face rub; he does not sit with his owners but prefers to nap in a back room.

Bringing a wild cat indoors is not always successful. What went right for Gus?

 

 

  1. Gus tolerated the behavior drug well. It reduced his fear and anxiety and made accepting his new surroundings easier. He got used to a variety of people at the vet clinic.
  2. Clicker training gave him a way of knowing what people would do. Leash training helped him grow accustomed to indoor life with some exposure to the outdoors he grew up in.
  3. Finally, Gus was a still a young cat when trapped. This gave him flexibility (social learning in cats continues up to 3-4 years of age). He also has a practical and unflappable nature which helps him with new experiences.

Train Your Cat to Accept Medication

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Cat Accepts pet piller

 

 

The easiest way to avoid the drama of giving your cat pills is to train your cat to accept medication. Establishing a daily “treat time” can be fun and rewarding for your cat. The idea here is to get your cat accustomed to accepting “fake pills” – treats that are wrapped in pill pockets, cheese, or liverwurst. When your cat needs medication, she is already used to accepting treat-wrapped things.

Getting Ready

  • choose the place and the time – try to go to the same place every day around the same time.
  • cats don’t tell time, so pay attention the household routine – maybe treat time should be after dinner time or before bed time.
  • Have everything ready when giving the “pill”. Have a chair or stool nearby to park treats and “prepared” pills on.  If you are giving a capsule, have some butter to lubricate the capsule.
You may want to train your cat to a particular mat or blanket that is used just for treat time!

Method 1 – Starting from Scratch

  • Lure your cat onto the mat or blanket using treats or a toy.
  • Once on the mat, reward with several treats and head rubs.
  • Work up to having your cat accept a “blank” pill in the stream of treats.
  • The next step is make a “fake” pill – break a treat into small pieces. Wrap one of these pieces in the pill treat, cheese, or liverwurst.
  • Put the doctored treat in the stream of the treats.

   Method 2 – Using Previously Trained Behaviors

 

 

 

If you have trained your cat to target and sit, it is easier to train your cat to accept medication.

  • Using your target stick (or chopstick or laser pointer), direct your cat to the “pilling” spot and reward her with a treat.
  • Ask your cat to sit and again offer a treat.
  • Offer your cat the “blank” pill followed by a treat
  • Work up to offering the fake pill.
  • End session with the all done signal and another treat.

Method 3 – Train Your cat to Accept Medication Using a Pet Piller

I find the piller particularly useful when you are faced with giving a capsule.

  • Start by offering a treat on the piller – you can start with having your cat lick some baby food or pureed treat off the piller.  This will get him used to having the piller in and around his mouth.
  • Offer hard treats using the piller; work up to using the plunger to put the treat in your cat’s mouth.
  • Accustom your cat to getting the treats off the piller with you behind him.
  • Give a stream of treats with the “fake” pill in it.
  • End the session with a reward and the all done signal.

Something to consider: If the medication you need to give is bitter, putting it in a capsule lubricated with some butter or petroleum jelly avoids risking your cat biting into a bitter pill.

It is a good idea to have your cat get used to you being behind him when offering the treat on the piller. This gives you more control when offering the pill and kitty will be more focused on the treat than on you giving the pill.

Giving Your Cat a Pill

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Where the Pills goes

 

Giving your cat a pill is not difficult if she will readily eat the pill in a treat. However, she may refuse to eat her medication in a treat if the medication is bitter or she does not feel well. Regardless, she needs her medication.

Other Techniques for Giving Your Cat a Pill

What about giving the tablet or contents of a capsule in his favorite food?

Pros

  • Not very stressful for your cat
  • Some medications, for example, the antibiotic doxycycline, are associated with inflammation and narrowing of the esophagus when given directly
  • It is often recommended to open the doxycycline capsule and mix the powder in tuna fish (or other strongly flavored food)

Cons

  • Many pills are bitter and may result in your cat refusing to eat his food
  • If you mix the crushed pill in his food, he may not get the full dose if he does not eat the entire portion
  • If your cat is on a restricted diet for, say, food allergies, avoid putting crushed pills in his food – you don’t want him to develop an aversion to the one kind of food he can eat
  • If you need to give medication in food, choose a different food than the one your cat usually eats.

  • Limit the amount of this “doctored” food to about a teaspoon, so that you can be sure your cat gets his full dose of medication

  • Make sure your cat is hungry when he is offered the medication in food – you may need to pick food up several hours before giving medication.

Giving Your Cat a Pill “by Hand”

Often, you will get a demonstration of how to pill your cat at your vet. The accepted technique is to hold your cat’s head like a baseball with your non-dominant hand, tilt his head back, gently open the lower jaw with your third finger, then pop the pill in as far back in the throat as possible with your index finger. Often, the vet team will recommend “massaging” your cat’s throat to help him swallow the pill.  IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO FOLLOW THE PILL WITH SOME FOOD, WATER OR TUNA JUICE.

This technique takes practice to master and a wily cat can still manage to gag and spit the pill back up! At the veterinary hospital giving a pill may seem to go smoothly – Please remember, the veterinary team pills cats frequently AND your cat is not in the comfort of his home.

Using a towel wrap when pilling

Does your cat like to snuggle? She may appreciate a towel wrap or a ThunderShirt when being medicated to make her feel more secure.  A towel wrap is also helpful if your cat paws at your hands when you are giving the pill.

Test your cat’s acceptance to these when NOT giving a pill. Your cat may struggle initially with towels or pressure wraps but should calm and STOP struggling. Count slowly to 5 – if she is still struggling at that time, these are not for her.

Giving Your Cat a Pill using a “Pet Piller”

A Pet Piller to give medication

Another technique to aid in giving oral medication to your cat is using a pill gun. A pill gun is a plastic tube with a plunger. The tip should be soft so that it does not cause any trauma to the throat when pilling.

Introduce your cat to the pill gun by letting her examine it and lick some baby food or other treat off the end. If she likes hard treats, see if she will take a treat from the pill gun.

  1. Lubricate the tablet or capsule with petroleum jelly or butter.
  2. Load the lubricated tablet into the pill gun.
  3. Have some snacks ready for rewarding your cat after the pill is given.
  4. Kneel down on the floor and gently snug your cat between your legs – this will keep him from backing up, away from the pill gun
  5. Hold kitty’s head gently and
    gently guide the piller into the side of Kitty’s mouth.
  6. Depress the plunger to release the pill.
  7. REWARD!

Contercondition Pet Piller

Offer Treats with the Pet Piller

Guiding the Piller into Kittys mouthGuide the Piller into the side of Kitty’s mouth

 

Pilling a Cat with Pet Piller

Work the Piller toward the back of the mouth and depress the plunger

 

Giving My Cat a Pill is Impossible!

If you are running into difficulties…Take a break and come back to giving the pill in 15 minutes or so.
Are there other treats you have not tried – “lickable treats” in tubes? Chicken baby food? Catnip or playtime?
Talk to your veterinary team – are there other forms of the medication?  Some medications are effective as transdermal gels that can be applied to the inside of your cat’s ear; other medications can compounded into flavored tablets or liquids or given by subcutaneous injection.

Make giving the pill a positive experience – have something good happen!

Medicating Your Cat – the basics

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At some time in your cat’s life, he will probably need to take some medication. Giving pills or injections to a cat can strike fear into the most stalwart cat guardian! The best way to proceed is to find out what works best for your cat – what will make taking the pill or getting the injection the most fun. 

Medicating your cat : The feline purrspective…

 

 

 

From the cat’s point of view, taking a pill is unnecessary and unpleasant. When you least expect it, your person levers your mouth open and shoves something down your throat. You feel like you are going to choke! You gag and spit that thing back up; then run and hide.

As cat guardians, we don’t wish to distress our cats but we do want them to take their medication. After all, we just spent money for an exam and possibly diagnostics to find out why our cat is not feeling well! We just want her to feel better. Medicating your cat can be feline friendly – pick a spot, pick a treat, and give the pill!

cat in prefeered spot
A favorite spot with a soft blanket.

Pick a Spot

Does you cat have a favorite spot, a preferred basket she sits in, a blanket she likes?

Make this spot pleasant – offer treats, attention, play time here.

 

What does your cat like?

Does you cat have particular treats that he values? Can we get something that is special – say some of the lickable treats, chicken baby food, crunchy hard treats? If your cat is not all that food-motivated, pick up food a few hours before giving medication. He will more inclined to eat the pill if he is hungry.

Establish a Routine

Offer your cat treats or head rubs when in her favorite spot.
Get her favorite spot ready and give the medication close to the same time every day.

You may think that surprising your cat and sneaking up on him to give pills would be a good way to pill him – after all, he is not expecting it! But…sneaking up on him can result in his being fearful and hiding from you – after all, you may be coming with the dreaded pill at any time! A routine lets him know the pill comes at particular time and once the pill is taken, it is over with.

Medicating Your Cat – taking a pill in a treat or a stream of treats

Your cat is in her favorite spot.  What next?

You can use a commercial treat such as “Pill Pockets” – these are soft, flavored treats with a modeling clay consistency – to disguise the pill. Break a small piece off the pill pocket and mold it around the pill. Alternatively, you could mold a piece of sliced cheese, a bit of liverwurst, or anchovy paste around the pill.  Some cats will eat the pill in a treat.

Your cat, being a solitary hunter, may be suspicious of this new food item. You may need to entice him to accept it. If your cat has treats he likes, you can start by offering a treat, followed by another, then a “blank” (the pill pocket without the pill), followed immediately by more preferred treats.  Wait a bit then offer the treats, the pill in the pill pocket, then more treats.

Give the medication around the same time every day in the favorite spot. You may find your cat will anticipate the activity and go to her spot and wait.

 

 

Be Creative!

Let’s say your cat likes laser pointers.  You may be able to guide him to a treat with the pointer, then the pill wrapped in the pill pocket, then another treat. Finish with a fun laser pointer session.

“My cat is not falling for these tricks and she needs her tablet! ” Each cat is an individual and each medication is different. In the next post, we will look at other ways of making your cat feel safe and secure, and giving a tablet or capsule using traditional pilling or a pet piller! 

When cats don’t get along – bullies and pariahs

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Cats staring

Do you have a cat that is picked on by your other cats? Everyone else seems to get along okay but this one cat seems to be singled out for torture.  He or she does not fight back, just tries to slink away and hide. You may have heard the term pariah used for such a cat – a pariah is an outcast, someone who is not part of the general social group.

Often, one or more cats will pick on the “pariah”. These feline bullies may..

  • stalk and track their victim
  • stare directly at their victim
  • attack her or him
  • prevent the pariah cat from using critical resources – litter boxes, food, sleeping places.
  • Bullies can exist within any multi-cat household – like human bullies, they tend to pick on the timid, old or sick that respond to threats.

Why should you intervene when cats don’t get along…

  1. The victim may develop a stress-related illness due to the constant threat presented by the bully.
  2. A out and out cat fight may result – fear and anxiety can lead to overt aggression on the part of the bully or the victim.
  3. Unlike the outdoor colony, the victim cannot vote with his or her feet and leave.

In an outdoor colony, “membership” is loosely “managed” by the group of core females. If a cat pushes the limits with bullying behavior, the core females may drive him or her off, if they perceive a threat to their kittens or resources.

Our indoor colonies rarely have a group of mother cats at the core – as the surrogate mother cat, the cat guardian must police the bullies and promote harmony in the group when cats don’t get along.

When cats don’t get along: the bully/pariah emergency

First Aid: Separation

  1. Separate the cats involved. You may need to redirect the bully (with a laser pointer, wand toy) to allow the other cat to escape or separate the cats physically and herd them away from each other
  2. Remember cats are socially flexible – they can live alone or in groups. Put your pariah cat in a room of his or her own with litter box, cat tree, food and water while you figure out what to do.  The pariah may need to remain in this room for several weeks.  Make sure to give him or her attention and play time!

Assess the Situation:

  1. Identify the social groups in the house : identify the bully(ies), the pariah(s) Social Groups of Cats
  2.  Evaluate resources – enough litter boxes, feeding stations, water sources? Are these separated so that all cats have access?
  3. Is there enough room for cats to avoid each other? Try to “think like a cat” and draw the paths a cat must take to get to his food, water and litter boxes.  These paths must give enough room for cats to pass each other comfortably. Beware of potential ambush spots – you may need to move some furniture.
Houseplan cat resources
A sketch of your home can help with locating resources, eg. litter boxes

 

Your cat is indoor-outdoor and is being bullied by a neighborhood cat…

  • keep your cat inside or accompany her when she goes outside
  • identify the aggressor cat and where he or she comes from
  • if possible, speak with the owner and find out when the bully cat goes out and see if a time-sharing arrangement can be worked out

 

Restoring Harmony…

Once you have gotten the cats separated, consider veterinary exams to determine if any of the cats are sick. Sickness can be frightening to healthy cats – their housemate may not smell right or behave quite right.
If all cats are healthy, make a plan to reintroduce cats slowly and gradually with some environmental modifications if needed. Introducing Cats: A Short Guide

Other Options if Aggression continues or become worse…

  1. Consider re-homing the victim.
  2. Under the direction of your veterinarian, give the victim and/or bully anti-anxiety medication and implement a behavior modification plan. If you decide to choose this route, make sure you are willing to work with your cats daily to desensitize them to each other. 

When Cats don’t get along: A Tale of Two Siamese Cats

Demian and Rupert were two neutered Siamese cat who had lived amicably for over a year. Rupert would bully Demian, stalking and attacking him; there were no injuries.  The tables turned one day and the victim became the aggressor – Demian stalked and attacked Rupert and backed him into a corner behind the toilet in the one bathroom in the 1 bedroom apartment.  Demian would not let Rupert move. After separating the two cats, Demian went to stay with a family member for about 10 days.  Fortunately, we were able to reintroduce the two cats afterwards.

How Cats Get Along – Timesharing

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How Cats Get Along – Timesharing

Sharing Resources

 

If there is plenty of food around, free-roaming cats often form groups called colonies. Within the colony, there are smaller social groups of 2 or more cats that prefer to spend time together. Cats belonging to a particular social group, will share food, water, latrine areas, sleeping and resting places.

Social Groups of Cats

Timesharing in the Cat Colony

Cats in different social groups tend to keep their distance from each other.  How cats get along is to “timeshare” or “take turns” using essential resources such as resting areas and feeding stations. When one  social group is done, another cat or group of cats will move in to use the resource.

Timesharing in the Multi-Cat Home

Like cats in a colony, cats in a multi-cat home timeshare resources. You may notice that different cats will occupy a particular favored resting place at different times. If you watch carefully, you may see a cat watching this place, waiting for the resident cat to vacate the space, before moving in to use the space.

 

Cats Timesharing Bed
Cats timesharing a resting place – one cat will use this bed if the other is not in it

If there are enough beds, litter boxes, etc. available, this system usually runs smoothly. But if too many cats want the same thing, bickering can occur and more dominant cats may push other cats away from these resources. How cats get along in an outdoor colony may be to vote with their feet and move on – indoor cats do not have this option.

Cat society does not have a rigid hierarchy – there is no alpha male or female. There are simply some cats that have more dominant personalities.  Unlike dogs, where a lower-ranking dog will surrender the prize to a higher-ranking dog, cats don’t have a hierarchy that dictates who gets what.

If a fight arises between cats over resources, the relationship between the cats involved may be damaged – they may not be able to tolerate each other after this. Needless to say, if the contested resource is a litter box, cats may be forced to find other places to eliminate and we, as caretakers, will not be happy.

In this video, 3 cats have worked out a way to avoid fighting over the nighttime treats. While not timesharing, the video shows resource sharing set up by cats.

Owner Managed Timesharing

If the cats are unable to timeshare resources on their own, we must set this up for them.

Setting up a Timesharing Plan

Diagram social groups cats
There are 3 social groups in this 4 cat household.

Identify social groups

Social Groups of Cats

House map cat resources
A simple sketch of your house can help with locating litter boxes.

Map out locations of the primary resources: feeding stations, litter boxes, resting places, scratching posts

The Cat Friendly Home: Litter Box Basics

Feeding stations for cats
Gus is much more relaxed when eating away from the other cats.

Are there enough feeding stations, litter boxes, beds, scratching posts? The rule of thumb is (#cats +1) or (#social groups + 1)

 

Are resources separated enough so that cats of different groups can access them?

 

Can access to these resources be blocked by another cat?

 

Is there enough room for cats from different social groups to pass each other “out of paw-swipe”?

If resources cannot be spaced appropriately and conflict continues, you may need to keep one social group in another part of the house, while the other is using the main area.  Have different social groups use critical areas in shifts. Slow, planned re-introduction may be possible between cats who “have fallen out” with each other. Introducing Cats: A Short Guide

Managing multiple cats in a confined, indoor space is a balancing act. We must ensure that all cats have access to essential resources and be able to use them without fear.

Carrier Training Your Cat

Posted on by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Carrier Training Your Cat

Cats tend to be homebodies. Most are not very fond of traveling. However, with some training and attention to their needs, trips to the vet and even cross-country do not need to be a traumatic experience.

Choosing A Carrier for Your Cat

There are lots of options out there. The traditional plastic box works well; it is secure and easy to clean. Make sure the top is easily removable – some carriers have more bolts (9+) than necessary. If you have one of these, you can often remove about 1/3 of the bolts even if your cat is heavy.

There are more and more styles of fabric carriers – if you are looking for one, choose one that has side panels that open up, or a top that zips open. Think: How will you get your cat out of the carrier?  How will you get him back in (if he is reluctant)?

Make sure the carrier is big enough. Cats are masters at squeezing themselves into small spaces but the carrier needs to be comfortable in case your cat must stay in it for a bit. Your cat should be able to stand up and turn around in her carrier.

Method #1- Feeding in the Carrier

 

Using method #1 for carrier training your cat, you will feed your cat in his carrier.

Place your cat’s food bowl near his carrier.  Over the next few days to a week, you will move the food closer to the carrier, then put it just inside the carrier, then finally put it in the back of the carrier.

Gus was trapped as a feral cat.  He was reluctant to enter the carrier, so we removed the lid for him.

Once Gus was comfortable eating in the bottom of his carrier, we placed the top on the carrier without the gate.

Once he was willing to eat in the carrier with the top on, we introduced the gate.

First, we had him eat with the gate open; the next step was to close the gate for a minute.  Some food on the gate helped him stay calm for this.

Feeding in Carrier Bottom

 

Cat eating in carrier

 

cat closed in carrier

Method #2 – Using Targeting

Carrier training your cat using method #2 is based on a clicker training technique called targeting.

  • you start by luring your cat to the back of bottom half of her carrier using the target stick.
  • once she will sit in the bottom half of the carrier calmly, place the top on the carrier. Have her enter following the target stick and then sit.
  • work up to having her stay for the count of 5
  • once she is calm with this, close the door and have her stay for the count of 5

Extra Credit:

Once your cat is comfortable in her carrier, lure her in with a snack or target stick, close the door and move her to another room. Upon arriving in the other room, open the door and reward her with a snack!

Make sure to take your time.  Cats are individuals and some learn faster than others. You may need to break up the training into smaller steps if your cat is reluctant to enter the carrier.  Gus, a former feral cat, is leery of things that may be traps – it took longer for him to accept the carrier than Zelda, who appears in the video above.

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