Cat and behavioral problems
Scratching on furniture, attacking ankles, being aggressive: activities that cats love, but we don’t. Most behavioral problems can be corrected with the right approach, but let the vet first examine whether there is a medical problem if there are behavioral changes.
You first look if there’s stress before you tackle a behavior problem. If so, then reduce that stress level. Buy a climbing or scratching post and toys that on which your cat can enjoy its natural predatory behavior. If the problems persist and if you think that stress plays a role, ask the vet for a synthetic facial pheromone treatment, which ensures that your cat will become calmer and will react less stressed to people and to other cats.
Frequent causes of stress
Most behavior problems because of stress occur when the livelihoods are threatened, i.e. the territory (especially your house) and your attention. A new cat, a baby, a puppy or strangers can result in emotional conflicts, allowing the cat to scratch, spray or defecate.
Ankles attack
A cat attack on your ankles can be painful. This is a natural game, but sometimes sexuality also plays a role, even with neutered males. Tomcats attack ankles more often than female cats.
Bullying cats
Aggression is part of the normal behavior of cats and comes in many forms. Pain calls natural aggression and too rough games as well. Aggression against other cats or dogs occurs sometimes after a temporary separation, for example when another cat has been to the vet or a cat pension.
Love BitesAggression during petting is surprisingly common. Your cat seems to enjoy your caresses, and then he bites you. Cats do this because they have mixed feelings. They do enjoy the caresses, which are similar to their mother’s licking but unrelated adult cats only touch each other when they fight or mate. Because of these contradictory signals, most cats eventually feel uncomfortable.
Eating houseplants
Make sure your cat can’t run any risk if he nibbles on your plants. Keep plants, toxic or not, always out of reach of cats, hang them in baskets for example. Use a spray that deters cats on leaves that fall in your cat’s reach.
Scratching furniture
Scratching is just as normal for a cat as doing his stools. It trains the claws, sharpens the nails and stretches the tightened muscles. Scratching is also territorial behavior: it leaves traces visible to other cats. You can’t prevent this normal behavior, but you can adjust it. First and foremost, take care of crab mats or poles, depending on the preferences of your cat. Place them in all the places where your cat likes to scratch and, if necessary, use catnip
as bait.
Spraying
A cat marks his territory by spraying urine. Males are more inclined to do so, but both sexes spray, some even after castration. It is common in stress situations. Find the cause of the spraying and put the cat into a crate when you are away from home in the meanwhile. Make sure there is enough space for a litter, blankets and drinking water and food bowls.
Jumping on the counter
Cats like to see their kingdom from a high place. Kitchen sinks and tables are ideal places to find food, so make sure you don’t leave food lying there. Sometimes it’s not about food: the cat simply uses the place as a high vantage point. Establish a high place specifically for this purpose.
Behavioral problems often require a dual approach: attraction and discouraging. Attracting speaks for itself. Cats have natural needs, including the marking of their territory with urine and faeces and scratching. Make sure that there are attractive places for these activities in your home and garden. You can create a quietly located sand tray for the cat to prevent damage to your flower garden.