Common Behavioral Problems in Cats and How to Fix Them.
Posted: Wed May 01, 2024 2:09 am
The main complaints that cat owners have about their pet behavior are scratching, climbing and predatory play. This is natural behavior of a normal and happy cat. Changing to suit yourself makes the cat unhappy. On the other hand to the pet owners they can cause damage to valuable items in the house.
Scratching:
This is a self reinforcing behavior which will not go away by ignoring it. Cats do scratch to remove dead cells from their claws.
To solve it: take note of where the cat loves to scratch vertical or horizontal place and build or buy a scratching object then block access to the place which the cat has been scratching.
climbing:
Naturally cats climb to find resting places and find the best point of view of territory. Removing their ability to climb will make them unhappy.
To stop them from scratching other items provide shelves and walk ways they can use for climbing, make the surfaces appealing and reward them when they use these surfaces this is called positive reinforcement. Don't forget to block cat's access to undesirable climbing surfaces.
Another complaint is attention seeking behavior.
This involves anything the cat intentionally does so as to get human attention. The behavior isn't limited to just seeking attention but also jumping on counter tops, cord chewing or anything to get attention from a human. Any interaction with a human even if it's a scolding it considered positive attention obtained by the cat.
To solve this problem: Offer an alternative before the cat resorts to unpleasant habits. Provide something to chew on before it chews a cord, like food puzzle to keep it busy. Then of course reward for positive behavior like when you successfully guide it to another location.
Other undesirable cat behaviors:
These can include but not limited to aggression toward other cats in the house, too much predatory play and inappropriate elimination. Some of these behaviors may need management throughout the cat's life.
The inappropriate elimination behavior may be a way to communicate stress or fear because cats can communicate through their scents. It's also possible that there could be an underlying medical condition so a medical exam is warranted. It's also depends on type of elimination, it could be urine or poop. Both have different causes and solutions differ. Cat could be pooping in the little box because it doesn't like the new litter substrate. So if the cat doesn't poop in the box because of the litter substrate solving the little puzzle is not hard with this point in mind.
In the case that the cat is urinating out of the liter it could be a sexual marking. Cats mark by urinating on a vertical or horizontal surface. This behavior can be caused by anxiety because of an object, social issues with other cats or changes in routine. To solve the problem find the root cause of behavior because it will continue if you don't. Using enzymatic cleaners will eliminate the urine scent for cat and owner.
Aggression toward other cats:
Cats can be solitary depending on early exposure during socialization. Aggression could start when a new cat is brought into the house where the adult cat is already living. To solve this you could adapt two kittens. They will develop a strong social bond and consider increasing space to decrease tension, provide more food, water and litter boxes. You could also introduce the new cats scent first using one of it's articles to the old household members or use barriers between the cats till no aggression is displayed. Don't forget to reinforce positive behavior or no aggression.
Excessive Predatory Behavior:
Because of high predatory drives cats generally show undesirable characteristic like excessive play, over arousal during play, biting, hunting and dragging their prey into the house. It's normal behavior for cats to hunt so give them an outlet for their predatory behavior. Consider providing regular and enough play times for the cat. This will satisfy it's predatory behavior and also you can provide appropriate outlets (toy) like feathers and mice this will help promote healthy exercise and social behavior. Don't let the cat associate play with human feet encourage them to play away from you.
Scratching:
This is a self reinforcing behavior which will not go away by ignoring it. Cats do scratch to remove dead cells from their claws.
To solve it: take note of where the cat loves to scratch vertical or horizontal place and build or buy a scratching object then block access to the place which the cat has been scratching.
climbing:
Naturally cats climb to find resting places and find the best point of view of territory. Removing their ability to climb will make them unhappy.
To stop them from scratching other items provide shelves and walk ways they can use for climbing, make the surfaces appealing and reward them when they use these surfaces this is called positive reinforcement. Don't forget to block cat's access to undesirable climbing surfaces.
Another complaint is attention seeking behavior.
This involves anything the cat intentionally does so as to get human attention. The behavior isn't limited to just seeking attention but also jumping on counter tops, cord chewing or anything to get attention from a human. Any interaction with a human even if it's a scolding it considered positive attention obtained by the cat.
To solve this problem: Offer an alternative before the cat resorts to unpleasant habits. Provide something to chew on before it chews a cord, like food puzzle to keep it busy. Then of course reward for positive behavior like when you successfully guide it to another location.
Other undesirable cat behaviors:
These can include but not limited to aggression toward other cats in the house, too much predatory play and inappropriate elimination. Some of these behaviors may need management throughout the cat's life.
The inappropriate elimination behavior may be a way to communicate stress or fear because cats can communicate through their scents. It's also possible that there could be an underlying medical condition so a medical exam is warranted. It's also depends on type of elimination, it could be urine or poop. Both have different causes and solutions differ. Cat could be pooping in the little box because it doesn't like the new litter substrate. So if the cat doesn't poop in the box because of the litter substrate solving the little puzzle is not hard with this point in mind.
In the case that the cat is urinating out of the liter it could be a sexual marking. Cats mark by urinating on a vertical or horizontal surface. This behavior can be caused by anxiety because of an object, social issues with other cats or changes in routine. To solve the problem find the root cause of behavior because it will continue if you don't. Using enzymatic cleaners will eliminate the urine scent for cat and owner.
Aggression toward other cats:
Cats can be solitary depending on early exposure during socialization. Aggression could start when a new cat is brought into the house where the adult cat is already living. To solve this you could adapt two kittens. They will develop a strong social bond and consider increasing space to decrease tension, provide more food, water and litter boxes. You could also introduce the new cats scent first using one of it's articles to the old household members or use barriers between the cats till no aggression is displayed. Don't forget to reinforce positive behavior or no aggression.
Excessive Predatory Behavior:
Because of high predatory drives cats generally show undesirable characteristic like excessive play, over arousal during play, biting, hunting and dragging their prey into the house. It's normal behavior for cats to hunt so give them an outlet for their predatory behavior. Consider providing regular and enough play times for the cat. This will satisfy it's predatory behavior and also you can provide appropriate outlets (toy) like feathers and mice this will help promote healthy exercise and social behavior. Don't let the cat associate play with human feet encourage them to play away from you.