Cat Behavioral Problem

My very first consultation for a cat behavioral problem, about seven years ago, involved 3 indoor-only, Russian Blue cats living in the same household with their owner.  The owner, Vicki, was a delightful single, middle-aged woman who loved her cats.  She had owned all three cats since they were kittens and they were all between the ages of 10 and 13.

When I spoke with Vicki for the first time, it was by phone and she was very distraught and didn’t know what to do about one of her Russian Blues, a female, Violet, who had been urinating everywhere but her litter box, for 13 years.  She had tried everything over the years, and one vet after another, and still had most of her good furniture covered in plastic.  She had never heard of a feline behavior consultant until her veterinarian referred her to me.

I asked if Violet had been checked out by a vet to make sure her health was normal.  She said that Violet had checked out fine and her blood work showed there were no signs of a urinary tract infection or kidney or liver problems either.  Vicki said that she had never reprimanded any of her cats or Violet when she was caught urinating in a place other than her box.  She never even talked to her cats in a raised voice or even a harsh “no” when catching Violet in the act.  I congratulated her for this and said that there are many other ways to apply negative reinforcers (remote reinforcers) that don’t need to come directly from her, at least from the cat’s perspective.  There are also ways to promote desirable behaviors, one of them being “clicker training”.  I stressed how important it was to keep a positive and peaceful relationship with her cats.  Any stress in the environment could lead to undesirable behaviors being exhibited.

I talked with Vicki on the phone for 1 ½ hours and obtained a thorough history about each cat in the household, how they related to her as well as each other, the layout of her home, and a little about Vicki’s normal daily schedule and what an average “day in the life” of her cats entailed. There were two males and Violet, the only female. The owner explained that Violet had always been the shyest of all three cats and was not as outgoing as the two males. The males could actually be a little rambunctious at times. Violet felt safest on the back of the couch up and out of the way of the male cats. All the cats (or rather, the two male cats only!) shared an uncovered litter box in one of the back bedrooms. There was a long narrow hallway that led down to that bedroom. The cats were all fed and watered in the kitchen that was at the other end of the long hallway. Though the cats liked to look out the windows, there were no outside cats or dogs that could be seen from the windows and Vicki mentioned that she had never seen a stray cat in the yard either. (cont'd "Lying in Wait" 2)

Go to Page:

Lying in Wait 1:  Cat Behavioral Problem

Lying in Wait 2:  Feline Behavior

Lying in Wait 3:  Bad Cat Behavior

Lying in Wait 4:  Aggressive Cat Behavior

Contact The Cat Behavior Clinic to arrange for cat behavior consulting for your cat (or cats!).