Urine Spraying

 By Smoochie the Cat (and assistant, Dr Signe A Dayhoff)

Before talking about spraying, I want to take just a moment to be “political.” Okay, I know cats aren’t political but when I heard on TV how many hundreds of millions of dollars candidates of both parties running for the Presidency are spending on election ads, I really got my fur in a twist. When I think of how much good could be done with those millions of millions for starving cats, dogs, and humans who all need shelter and food, it made me want to dump on the TV screen. I don’t understand how humans can waste such a humongous resource when so many need help now. At moments like this, I’m especially glad I’m a cat and not a human.

URINE SPRAYING is used to mark territory. The reason cats spray rather than leave a puddle of urine behind is that spraying gets the urine’s pheromone scent at nose level where cat are most likely to detect it. However, the pheromones produced by facial glands also mark territory but have a calming effect. That’s why Feliway, a product designed to calm cats And dissuade them from spraying, is made of a synthetic facial gland pheromone. The idea behind it is that cats won’t spray where they detect the facial pheromone. It can take a month of twice-daily spraying of Feliway to convince a cat not to spray in a particular location. But if the cat has been spraying that spot already, you need to thoroughly clean it before applying Feliway.

Cats have very sensitive noses. Pam Johnson-Bennett has a list of the reasons cats may spray even after you’ve gone the Feliway route: sexual maturity, temperament of the cat, appearance of a strange cat in the yard, addition of new member to the family (human, dog, or cat), unfamiliar cat scent on human’s clothing, tension or aggression between companion animals, too many cats in the home, renovation or remodeling of home, new carpet or furniture, moving to a new home, unfamiliar visitors, and changes in their human’s schedule. Eliminating spraying is difficult. You have to understand your cat’s psychology behind its behavior. You have to understand the environment and how your cat responds to it. Always remember: You cat is not being an evil little demon taunting and harrassing you with spraying … unless, of course, you have been insensitive (or worse) to it and its needs. Then it’s letting you know in one way it knows it can get your attention that something is wrong. Most often your cat is simply responding to how it sees its world and responding to it as best as Nature allows. You are the one who has to figure out the problem and find the best, non-punishing way to deal with it. Your cat will be happier as a result.

Copyright (c) 2012 Signe A. Dayhoff, Ph.D. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Dr. Dayhoff is a Social Psychologist, human cognitive-behaviorist, and applied feline behaviorist, specializing in increasing cat-human communication and respectful and loving relationships. http://www.LoveYourCatsInnerTiger.com/

The Concert of Tiny Bells by Christine Price

Written and copyrighted by Christine Price

I’m a volunteer at my local Santa Cruz SPCA in their Cat TLC Program. Every year in the spring “Kitten Season” arrives, and staff and volunteers rally forces and valiantly prepare to greet the hundreds of unwanted kittens who will arrive at the Shelter’s door.

It can be an achingly disheartening time. We watch the adoption rate for our adult cats take a plunge because most people want kittens. And we watch many precious kittens, just beginning their lives, get passed over, again and again, because they happen to be older, sick, shy or “homely.”

The hard truth is that there are simply not enough homes to go around and space at the Shelter is finite.

One day during the height of this difficult season I noticed a small, solitary kitten looking very glum inside her kennel.

She needed some attention and, perhaps, a toy to play with.

I went to our usually full toy basket and found it empty–or empty, at least of those wonderful little balls with bells inside, the toy loved by kittens worldwide! To remedy this I headed over to a pet supply store and purchased every single package of balls with bells that they had in stock.

Returning to the Shelter I set about distributing a brand new toy to each kennel housing a kitten, through the four rooms of our cat building. It took me about twenty minutes to complete my task, and it was only upon pausing that I heard it.

Throughout the kennel, from each room and every direction, came the musical sound of a myriad of tiny bells. punctuated here and there by percussive bangs. The toys were being played with, and the cumulative effect was a concert to rival the Boston Pops! The adult cats also heard the music and perked up to listen.

I stood very still for several minutes, my eyes closed, simply enjoying the concert of bells. And I was reminded anew of how contagious joy can be and of how a small, simple act can have such impact.

Indoor Enrichment for Cats

By Dr. Jean Hofve

Cats are smart, and they naturally know everything they need to know about being a cat. However, they do not know about things like cars, dogs, infectious diseases, and other outdoor hazards. Like young children, cats need to be protected from dangers they can’t anticipate or handle. That’s why Little Big Cat recommends that cats be kept indoors, and not allowed to roam loose outside.  (See our article “Indoors or Outdoors” for more information.)

Now, many people think that this is cruel. They say that Nature intended for cats to wander (and hunt, and fight!), and this is true. But Nature is also cruel in its own way, and free-roaming outdoor cats tend to die young. In this modern society, we all have to make many accommodations in order to live safe, healthy lives…and this goes for our cats, too.

While keeping cats indoors it is the safest choice, can create its own problems. A reader recently asked about converting a former free-roamer to an indoor lifestyle…and in a recent newsletter, I told you about “OCD” (obsessive-compulsive disorder) in indoor cats. So how can we keep our cats not only safe, but also physically, mentally, and emotionally fulfilled? It’s vital to create an indoor environment that provides mental and physical stimulation as well as social interaction, to ensure our cats’ overall health and happiness.

That’s where “Environmental Enrichment” comes in. This term originally described the need to provide something besides a barren wire crate for highly intelligent primates housed in experimental laboratories, but it’s equally applicable to any confined animal, including stabled horses, zoo animals and, nowadays, pets that are housed primarly indoors. The Ohio State University is a pioneer of indoor enrichment for cats in particular; and they have recently expanded the concept to include dogs that spend most of their time inside.

Indoor enrichment has many facets that address the many needs and natural behaviors of cats. Besides the fundamental necessities of food, water, bed, and litterbox, cats need to satisfy their sense of territory, social impulses, and perhaps most importantly, their hunter instincts.

Territory.  For a cat, territory encompasses not only the square footage of your home, but the vertical dimension as well. Many cats like to climb; a high vantage point makes them feel safe. Cat furniture that provides shelves and climbing opportunities doubles as a visual and scent marker for the cat to scratch (and protects furniture from the same behavioral drives). Window shelves also allow the cat to watch the great outdoors without being exposed to its dangers.

Safe Access.  A secure outdoor enclosure is a good way to give your cat access to fresh air and sunshine without the dangers of roaming free. Click here to read about outdoor safety for indoor cats.

Hunting.  Cats live to hunt. It is a hard-wired instinct that must be satisfied for our cats to be mentally healthy. The playful stalking and pouncing that so delights us in kittens is actually preparing them for survival as adults. Indoor cats don’t need to hunt to eat, but they still need to express those instincts.

Indoor Enrichment Tools

• Play and treat balls (SlimCat, Deli Dome)
• Cat grass
• Play Therapy
• Other exercise (prey facsimiles, rotate toys, walks)
• Clicker training
• Cat furniture
• Climbing frames (KatWallks, Crazy Cat Wall)
• Bird feeders, fish tanks, cat videos
• Outdoor enclosures (Habicats, Catios)

3 Stress Clues and 5 Stress Busting Tips To Help Your Animals Breeze Through The Holidays

Holidays, vacations, and any change in routine are typically stressful times for most of us, and seriously stresses out your animals.  But, they don’t have to be if you know what to do to minimize the stress.

Taking the right steps to de-stress your animal helps you de-stress too, because it helps you plan in ways that are more manageable, creates more certainty, and helps you be less emotionally imbalanced.

Remember that your animal mirrors you – so if you’re stressed, frustrated, anxious, nervous or worried in any way, that’s the message they get and that’s what they’ll act out (mirror back) for you.

Instability is not your animal’s friend!

Your job is to make their environment as stable and calming as possible, and to prepare them properly in advance for changes in routine.  Monitor them carefully during the events.

That doesn’t mean that they can’t experience change in routine or be completely protected from anything new or different.

It simply means that they need to know:

• What to expect
• When things will happen, who’s involved
• What you need from them/how you want them to behave
• How long you’ll be gone
• Whether they’ll be in a kennel or boarded while you’re gone and that you’re coming back and when
• Whether they’ll be coming with you and what to expect
• And, they need a way to tell you what they want and if they have questions or concerns.

So you can see how important it is to help your animals de-stress through the holidays when going on vacations, moving or when you go on trips together.

There are many Stress Clues.  Here are the three most common ones:

1.  Excessive panting or heavy breathing. This can also look like running around uncontrollably, being restless, hyperactive, bouncing off the walls and acting unpredictably… Pay attention to the signs and don’t ignore them!  They aren’t happy – they are stressed and need your help.  Be consciously aware and calmly and confidently create a time out where they can calm down, then leave them alone.

2.  Holding their breath and being rigid, tense, a worried expression, or they go into a hiding mode.  If that’s the case, then give them a safe zone.  That could be their kennel, or simply shut them into a room where they can calm down on their own.  They have become hyper-stimulated and need a chance for their sympathetic nervous system to reboot.  Some animals are easily over stimulated, so notice where their tolerance levels are and try not to exceed that.

3.  Acting out with really bad behavior.  Usually when they get to this stress clue, they’ve already blown through Stress Clue 1 and 2, and are over the top before you’ve noticed or paid attention and taken appropriate action.  What you can do about it at this point is simply remove them from the area and take them back to their safe, quiet zone.

What can you do if you see any of these Stress Signs? 

1.    Keep their routine stable in as many ways as you can.  Feeding routines should be at the same time of day with their same foods, keep to their same sleep schedule, if they’re being boarded – take their favorite toys or treats and be sure they have things of their own with yours and their scents on them (scent is critically important to animals).

2.  Discharge energy – they need exercise!  If they start getting fussy, irritable, depressed or start acting out, they need play therapy (for cats) or a great walk or run for the dogs.  Exercise, discipline (rules, limitations, boundaries – include and continue training and reward for good behavior keeps their world more stable) and then affection, in that order.

3.  No look – No touch – No eye contact… until they calm down and are ready to connect calmly with others on your terms.  For animals that get too excited or over stimulated, practice (and tell your guests or other people you’re in contact with) to ignore them until they settle down.

4.  Be calm, confident and assertive – no matter what happens.  If they are acting out with bad behavior, don’t yell, don’t call their name and don’t chase them.  Use your correcting voice and your body language to distract or redirect them until you can better control them. Then simply remove them from the area until they’ve calmed down, and you can have your chat together.

5.  Tell them what you want them to do!  They need a job and they need to know what’s expected of them, and how you want them to behave.  So tell them!

First, after they’ve calmed down and can listen to you again, talk to them about their behavior.  Image what they did that was bad and feel how upset that made you.

Then, feeling your emotions about what happened.  Doing this properly is critical because they can feel them too.  Emotions let your animal know why it is important to you.

Next, image what the consequence of their bad behavior is or could have been, showing them the worst case scenario.  That helps them put the story into context so it makes more sense.

Finally, tell them the story about what you wanted them to do in that situation, how you would feel if they did that, and how happy that would make you feel.  This way you address the bad behavior, but you also offer the positive suggestion for what you really want to have happen.

Want more?  There are 3 simple steps to communicating in my free Quickstart to Animal Communication home study course.  And the world’s first Animal Communication Made Easy System™ and Virtual Retreat takes you much deeper into heart centered connection and understanding.

Your cat, your dog, your horse or your bird depends on you to care for them.  And a big part of your doing that successfully is in knowing how to understand them and communicate with them on a daily basis.

Plus, communicating with your animals is really fun, too.  When properly prepared, they can give you all kinds of feedback about your family and friends, alert you to any potential trouble brewing, and partner up with you to have the best time possible.

Focusing on creating a more stable environment helps your animals be calm, peaceful, happier and healthier during the holiday – and will help you enjoy them more too.

Val Heart - The Real Dr Doolittle, Val is internationally known as an expert animal communicator, teacher, author & master healer specializing in resolving behavior, training, performance, and health problems, and assisting with end of life situations.  Learn Animal Communication in One Weekend™ Virtual Retreat   contactval@valheart.com   http://www.valheart.com/acsretreatl.html

© Copyright Val Heart & Friends LLC. All Rights Reserved.  Reprint rights by request only.

Cat on Boat Plays With Dolphins

This is an amazing video! Enjoy!

Animal Crackers

You are into animals – hehe!!! Have you seen this video? Hilarious

How Do You Tell Playing From Fighting?

By Smoochie the Cat and Dr. Signe Dayhoff

I’ve polled my fellow felines and the consensus is that there are telltale signs that suggest one or the other.

If we’re playing, there won’t be any ongoing growling, yowling, or screaming. We may hiss once, possible twice, but that will be it. We won’t continue hissing.

If we’re playing, no one will purposely be hurt. That is, unless there is an accident, there will be no scratching or biting and fur flying everywhere.

If we’re playing, we will take turns being on the offensive and defensive. If we’re fighting, one of us will staying on the offensive and the other, alas, will be on the defensive. Playing is a matter of turn-taking, like human speakers in a conversation.

If we’re playing, we’ll resume our normal behavior after the tussle. If we’re fighting, you can see that we’re avoiding one another and appearing afraid and standoffish.

When you’re not sure what is going on, especially between two cats who don’t normally interact with one another, you might try to distract them in a positive way.

Since they might be playing and getting to know each other, you don’t want to do anything negative, like splashing them with water or using an air horn. If they are creating a budding friendship, you don’t want to interfere with it.

So you can create a positive sound, something they associate with having a yummy or play with you. If a jingle bell suggests catnip, you could make a loud jingling sound. If opening a can of cat food or tuna it to grab their attention.

Whatever you do, do not try to physically separate them. If they are fighting, you and/or they could be harmed as well as add to their aggression level if they are fighting.

In a fighting situation, your splashing them with water or making a loud noise can be helpful.

Just look for the signs to be more sure they are really fighting and not playing.

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Dr. Dayhoff is a Social Psychologist, cognitive-behaviorist, and cat behavior translator specializing in increasing cat-human communication and understanding, respectful, accepting, trusting, and loving relationships. http://www.loveyourcatsinnertiger.com

Reprinted with permission
Copyright (c) 2011 Signe A. Dayhoff, Ph.D.All rights reserved.

Pets Can Teach Children How to Nurture and Care

Gail Melson, author of Why the Wild Things Are:  Animals in the Lives of Children has been watching animals and children for some time.  She estimates that of every ten children, four grow up in a home that includes domestic animals.  She has determined that as many as 90 percent of all youngsters live with a pet at some point during their childhood. (http://tinyurl.com/3olb3sj)

Living with pets and caring for them can teach both boys and girls great lessons.

Young girls are usually encouraged to play with dolls and play house.  Girls learn to care and often actively begin tending to others in the home before the age of eight.  Girls will play dress-up with their animals, dolls and siblings.  Later, girls may become babysitters in their home or neighborhood. The social and caregiving skills learned in these activities are useful to girls throughout their lives.

“Nurturing animals is especially important for boys,” Melson says.  Young boys are usually not encouraged similarly and may miss out on the opportunity to learn caregiving skills.  Balls, cars and sports typically occupy the interest of young boys.  Boys can care for pets in their home without fear of criticism or reproach; they are merely caring for their dog, cat, hamster or other animal.  Actually providing the care becomes the only issue and boys are able to feel comfortable with nurturing.  Taking care of an animal is not gender specific and both boys and girls can always remain equally involved.

“Nurturing isn’t a quality that suddenly appears in adulthood when we need it,” Dr. Melson advises. “And you don’t learn to nurture because you were nurtured as a child.  People need a way to practice being caregivers when they’re young.”  Household pets provide frequent opportunities for young boys and girls to develop nurturing habits.  Caregiving for animals teaches them responsibility for seeing that the family dog or cat receives fresh water and food at certain times throughout the day.

Children can provide simple care from a very young age and fill greater needs as their abilities allow.  Caring for the family pets can also help children expand their sense of self awareness and develop an awareness about other people, time or space.  Children will also to develop their ability to anticipate needs.

Helping your child to become responsible for pets in your home needs to occur on a step-by-step basis.  The process must be implemented according to your child’s cognitive abilities and physical abilities.  Remember that each child is different and has different levels of capabilities when you begin talking to them about caring for your household pets.

When your child is the responsible party for providing care for a pet in your home, always remember that you’ll still need to keep your eye on the water dishes, food bowls, walks and potty trips.  You may find it necessary to provide gentle reminders for your child.  Creating happy notes and making simple awards like stickers, stars or allowing extra playtime will make the transition more fun for your child.  Involving the whole family to encourage your child will increase his or her success and enjoyment.

YouTube Video: Kitty With a Watermelon Addiction

Who doesn’t love a sweet slice of watermelon during the dog (and cat) days of summer? Cooper the cat certainly is a fan of the fruit, even cutting in line in front of his canine companions to get his fair share!

Is Your Cat a Bully? By Smoochie the Cat (and Dr. Signe A. Dayhoff)

Cats can bully other cats. They can bully dogs. And they can bully humans. From what I’ve observed here (scientifically, of course) my feline companions who bully don’t do it because of size. Size doesn’t really seem to matter.

They do it because of ATTITUDE.

These cats are all about control. But they don’t want to control just another cat once in awhile. No. Cats who bully want to control any and all situations all the time. Rambo here was an “excellent” example until Dr. Signe worked with him.

Is one of your cats a bully? Does it stare down other cats? Does it push other cats out of the way for food or attention, sending it running? Does it demand meals when it wants them? Or does it nip your hands or ankles when it perceives it hasn’t as yet received enough attention?

What you do about a bully cat? In most cases, correction or “punishment” doesn’t do anything for you or change the cat’s behavior. So what can you do to change its behavior for the better?

You use what the cat highly values. It’s what we all value. That’s ATTENTION!

A bully cat needs more exercise and stimulation. This means you need to find ways to get the cat in action. Lots of play not only keeps the cat distracted from bullying but also tires the cat out.

When you’re not going to be there, separating them can keep negative behavior to a minimum. This holds true for when you come into the house after having been away or at any other high-energy time, like dinner or presence of other humans.

If the bully cat goes primarily after one animal, make sure both are exhausted before they are allowed to be together. Once they are in a low-energy state, you can re-introduce them. You want to provide the bully cat and its victims with ways they can get the opportunity to interact calmly as equal-status roommates.

When you’re there and the bully is out, you need to monitor its behavior. If you see it lowering its head as if staring, arching its back, and starting to wiggle its rear end, act quickly to distract the bully cat with a toy, treat, or chin scritching.

You don’t want to yell, scream, or scold because that can make the bully cat’s arousal even greater. Once you have it distracted, give it lots of other attention. Being rewarded for not bullying is very effective over time.

Remember that cats, like humans, cannot be aggressive AND happy at the same time.

When the bully cat targets you, do not give in to its demands because giving in will tell it that this behavior works to get it what it wants so it will continue it.

Instead, put the cat in another room, like a “time out” for a child. Then when it comes out, and before it can start bullying you again, play with it, pet it, or give it a treat.

By the way, making sure the bully cat’s nails are kept trimmed will also reduce blood loss.

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Copyright (c) 2011 Signe A. Dayhoff, Ph.D.
All rights reserved.

Dr. Dayhoff is a Social Psychologist, cognitive-behaviorist, and cat behavior translator specializing in increasing cat-human communication and understanding, respectful, accepting, trusting, and loving relationships. http://www.loveyourcatsinnertiger.com/

CATCH the “Become Cat Smart Blog” for more useful tips. http://www.becomecatsmart.com/blog/