Cats Behavior

Hi,

Ok, recently I got interested into cat behaviorism. I do some reading, and trying to use the theory on my cat :slight_smile: Just got my clicker last night. Apparently not many people understands the nature of cats behavior and they actually not just mean grumpy animals, but can totally be trained and sweet things (oh, don’t get me wrong, I did not get to that point yet, though generally my cat is not bad, but it has its grumpy moments - but he comes when called and totally does a sit down command).

I was wondering if there are any feline behavior specialist like you can find in US. Any contacts? Any cat classes? I know there are dog classes.

I was wondering if there is some kind of training for people even.

Also, maybe we can just talk about any behavior problems you have, I can pass you some knowledge I got from my readings :slight_smile:

Have no fear grasshopper, in time your cat will have you perfectly trained.

Well that’s the thing :slight_smile: when I think I’m training Oscar to do things, he is training me to give him treats for easy stuff he does :smiley: it sure works both way.

But then, one thing that I am concerned about is his bald belly. I was sure it’s normal for his breed, apparently no… this is called over-grooming, and causes mostly are physical. By cat behavior I don’t only mean training, and often some behavior, and especially its changes can be signs of physical problems.

Any other ppl with bald bellied cats?

Is that a disease or a breed?

Mine all have fat hairy bellies, so they’re probably not eligible.

Well, it’s not normal apparently (he’s an american shortcut - on my photo on the left).

Seems, like causes can vary… allergies causing him to lick that area, fleas (but I am pretty sure he has no of those), inside pain in abdominal area can also cause a cat to lick it. Then psychological problems such as OCD, triggered by anxiety and stress. There was more on the list.

I’ve changed his food for no grain one (again, seems most cat allergies is caused by grains in food) and will try to rule this one first.

One of my cats licks the hair off of her stomach and hind legs. But she’s a grand mal epileptic, heavily medicated, with serious psychological problems.

Things like bathing can be very stressful for cats. If you’re using any kind of soap when you wash your cat, you could also be causing the problem by irritating the skin on his belly with soap chemicals.

A lot of people think they need to wash their cats like their dogs, but usually cats are very clean animals with meticulous grooming habits, so they’re normally able to keep themselves clean and pleasant with little help from their humans, especially if they’re strictly inside cats with short hair.

Negative re-enforcement training techniques can be stressful, too, and I hope you’re using only positive training methods.

You say your cat is sometimes grumpy. I’ve had cats my entire life and I’ve yet to meet one who isn’t sometimes grumpy. Animals have individual personalities just like their people, and cats are great because they have such a wide range of emotions and expressions. Everyone has a grumpy day sometimes, and cats can just naturally be quite aloof sometimes. So it’s a good idea to respect your cat’s cues and give him some space when he asks for it.

Cats need space when they start to flick their tails quickly, or thump them against the floor, if they’re lying down. If his ears are pointing backward, that’s another cue that he needs space, or that you’re being loud or annoying to him.Your cat in your Avatar, for example, looks very stressed and annoyed, even angry. If he starts to growl lowly, he’s really getting upset.

If he’s trying to get away from you, or using claws or mini bites that don’t break the skin but are enough to let you know he could, this is another warning to you and you need to let go and give him some time to himself.

Usually, if your cat is looking directly at you, and if his body is tense and he’s making sharp hissing or spitting sounds, that is challenge behavior and it means he thinks you have really gone too far and he’s getting ready to defend himself.

It’s just like with a person who’s had more stimulation than he/she can tolerate. You have to respect your cat’s limits.

Excessive licking which results in fur loss is pretty serious and you want to try to help your cat cope and be healthy.

I hope some of this is helpful to you and your cat. I’m sure you know all this if you’re reading a lot, but I thought I’d write it just in case.

Sincerely,

Housecat

Haha my cat before (Smudgey) always had his ears flat and tail swishing and everyone thought he was always mad. Not the case with him at all. And he often hisses and growls and spits. I just pick him up and pet him when he does that and he chills.

but yes he is non-typical. A hissing cat with ears bent back is likely going to sink his teeth or his claws into you.

Thank you Housecat, you really know the cats :slight_smile:

In Poland where I’m from, we like never wash cats, as you say. But in Taiwan apparently it’s necessary and the vet tells me to do it every 2 weeks, which I kind of do every 3 weeks due to fact that Oscar hates it (my avatar photo is from a shower time, so he is not especially happy, but he actually doesn’t get angry there either; just stays resigned). I do use pet shampoos. Two, one anti-bacterial one I got from a pet store, and one I got from vet that supposed to go as the second shampoo. The second one is for the fungal problems my cat has reoccurring here sometimes. He used to have red spots on his tights that he was biting, no they’re gone but for them not to come back I am washing him, then always trim his paws after a bath, and dry him in the cat drying machine (another novelty for a person from Poland; don’t worry, it’s the professional cat dryer put on a kind of cage, where Oscar spends only 20 min drying).

I know the shower is stressful for him, but even more is stressful to try shower him at vet, or to take him there where the skin problems come back.

Yes, I am trying to use positive training only. Or at worst just ignore him and take him out of the room if he’s being too much (he comes to wake me up for breakfast everyday around 5 AM, even though every day the breakfast is at 6 AM, so usually I will put him out from the bedroom then).

But I have started to play with him more, and organize him some more activities at home. Every morning and evening I take half of his dry food and put around the house for him to find. I put them in the carrier to so that he won’t be so scared of it. If he won’t figure it out himself, I will call him to the spot and tap it till he comes and examine it. Then also got the threat dispensing ball. And I try to have 3-5 min sessions of playing 3 times a day. And I must say he became more friendly! Also he humps his toy bear less since we’ve started :blush:

Too early to observe any fur change on the belly, since it is just 2nd day of dry food change.

Then, another problem we have. Me and my bf want to teach him to drink from a water dispenser, the kind with rolling ball. Before he always drink from a bowl. But it might happen I will have to take him back to Poland with me, it’s a long flight, he would need to drink from this kind of bottle. Or even if we travel in Taiwan. Yet, he just don’t quite get it. I put some unsalted butter or the malt cat paste on it, he would lick it clean. But didn’t connect it with drinking. And still will meow and ask for the water in the bowl. Any suggestions about that?

Cats like to drink very fresh water. They can tell the taste difference if it has been sitting too long, even in a bottle. Also, no cat I’ve ever travled with has been willing to drink anything at all while traveling because they feel stressed when traveling. They need to feel calm first, and that takes some time.

That is exactly I bought the bottle at first place. I thought the water inside the bottle with the dispenser will stay fresh better than if left out where dust can settle. When I plan on trying for some time longer to 1-2 times a day making him lick it (with the incentives mentioned before) and hoping he will figure it out. If not, well… this is the least of a problem so can leave with it.

Another thing I was wondering about while choosing toys. Are dog toys healthy for cats? I mean the kind of rubber ones. I found that there are many rubber ball type toys for dogs that can also work as treats dispensing toys :slight_smile:

As for showers and bathing. What’s interesting, Oscar recently got liking to get into empty (dry) bathtub and just rest there. He won’t get out even when I will get in. Sometimes he do that before I want to shower, and won’t leave till I start running water, and the water reaches him. So however, he hates to be washed, he doesn’t hate the tub :slight_smile:

Anyway, any other stories, issues, questions? Or am I the only person over thinking anything my cat does :ponder: ?

Did they give you an explanation for this? Cats keep themselves pretty clean. I’m kind of skeptical that cats here need to be washed any more than those anywhere else. I think we’ve washed our two once in the past couple of years (but they never leave the apartment). It was a stressful experience all around, the “fresh clean” smell that my wife liked returned to a normal mild pleasant cat smell within half a day, and there just didn’t seem a point.

Maybe I’m being cynical, but if the vet is suggesting you bring the cat in for a paid wash every couple of weeks, he/she may have a bit of a vested interest.

The vet may be saying the cat needs to be washed because of the fungal problem, but IMO too much washing could make things worse because the cats skin has essential oils that are constantly being washed away. But, of course, you have to follow vet’s orders.

I think the rubber dog toys are fine if you cat likes them. I think they have some designed for cats, but for some reason, cat products are harder to find in Taiwan than dog products.

Most cats like tub and sink basins as a resting place because they’re cool.

My cats are totally trained.

They will sit when we say “sit”, and go up on their hind legs when we say “up”. And they have certain rituals. If I tap the cat tree one goes in the bottom hole, and the other one gets on top. I hide straws in the house at night and Violet finds them all and puts them in her box.

But what is more amazing is the following:
When they were kittens, I had the sand box in the bedroom. At night, as soon as they used the sand box I would get up and clean it. Violet soon learned. Whenever she wanted me up at night for a cuddle or play, she would go scratch in the sand box.

And they say cats don’t learn…

Ha! :roflmao:

As a kid, I had a cat who taught himself to use the toilet. None of us had ever thought of trying to get a cat o use the toilet, but the cat learned from watching us, I guess. I loved it because it meant the end of litter box duty, but my mom would get annoyed because he never learned to flush! Other cats have learned how to turn door knobs, and how to turn on the sink to get his own fresh drink of water–again, never bothering to turn it off!

One ambushed my mom one day as she was comming around a corner and my mom just about jumped out of her skin, screaming to peel the paint off the walls. I mean, the cat flew off a chest that was sitting three feet away from the door and caught her right at chest hight. The cat didn’t come out from under the bed for two days, but when he did his new favorite game, for months, was jumping at people as they came around that corner! He did it all the time for a while, then slacked off a bit when you learned to expect him, then one day–BAM!–flying kitty got you again.

Cats learn all sorts of things.

Did they give you an explanation for this? Cats keep themselves pretty clean. I’m kind of skeptical that cats here need to be washed any more than those anywhere else. I think we’ve washed our two once in the past couple of years (but they never leave the apartment). It was a stressful experience all around, the “fresh clean” smell that my wife liked returned to a normal mild pleasant cat smell within half a day, and there just didn’t seem a point.

Maybe I’m being cynical, but if the vet is suggesting you bring the cat in for a paid wash every couple of weeks, he/she may have a bit of a vested interest.[/quote]

Two weeks is too much. It is not as if teh cat is outdoors all teh time, rolling in mud. I disagree with your vet, and I´ve had cats as companions since I was 9 years old -let´us say that was a while ago… I have four cats and they get a bath when too stinky.

Do brush them daily or as aften as you can, to bond with them and to relieve their hairball problems. Do give hairball paste medicine often. Do monitor their behaviour. Got a couple of books I can recommend but I am not in Taipei right now, will get back to you on that. No cat psychologist as far as I know in Taipei.

Being a dawg, I am not too fond of cats. They generally involve far too much high maintenance than what they actually contribute to the household.
I have great respect for the cat which will stand its ground, but those that bolt deserve to be chased, if only for showing weakness.
:scooby:
My kids obtained a calico about a year ago from one of their teachers. Said feline was obviously coming from a bad environment, as she was scared witless by the slightest sound or movement. Most especially by me, a loud mover at the best of times. To say nothing of the shaker.

Sensing some psychological damage, I made great efforts to coax Spooky out of her perpetual hissy fit. Slowly, but surely, she has come around. Tarnation, if it didn’t take great patience on my part. Despite the protests of my family, I decided to set her free: ranger cat by day, house cat by night.
It has worked out well so far. She waits for me to let her out in the early hours, and she either comes back in through an open window by herself, or pads by the front door in the early evening. Good hunter, Spooky is. Brought back quite a few critters, all dead. None of this torture for her prey. Even roaches and wolf spiders she makes of short work.
Now that’s a calico that is earning her keep.
Even if she is a bit vocal at times, but even that is getting better all the time. Mellows with age, and away from the trauma of her kittenhood.
All creatures, great and small, deserve some patience, away from it all.

I washed my two persians in taiwan no less then once every two weeks. But the thing is use baby shampoo and make sure its all completely rinsed. Or you can even just get them wet without any shampoo and dry with hair dryer (being careful not to burn them or make too dry).

However, if you suspect they have ringworm (a cat problem that can also transfer to you) then you must wash them once a week with no shampoo but just SAVLON . SAVLON (one cap full in a bucket of water) was effective in getting rid of ringworm on my persians and on myself (it transfers to humans readily and you have to wash daily with SAVLON and no soap for weeks.

Loss of hair is often a ringworm problem.

Make sure to rinse completely when washing cats.

And dont make the water too hot. They need the oils on their fur. I often just fill the bathtub with warm (but not hot) water and let them just soak in it for 20 mins and then dry off. IF they have ringworm , wash them in Savlon and then put in tub and then rinse off completely.

Ringworm once cured and all spores rid of in the house should not re-occur.

In the states I washed my cats once a month to get rid of excess oiliness on their fur. But not more then that.

heres smudgey after a bath (in the USA): had a ringworm problem once with him , which transferred to me and then it didnt recur after much use of SAVLON.

youtube.com/watch?v=bkCc89ZapwM

And heres me cat whopper:
youtube.com/watch?v=jlR-0UHC … ure=relmfu

Hmmm, I don’t think it’s a ringworm, that would be quite serious and as you say I would probably has the problem with it too. Though I guess I will ask the new vet about that. I was going to a vet suggested by my Taiwanese friend who had a dog. But I must say… I can’t feel the vet to especially love my cat, and vice versa. Oscar gets quite scary (scared too, but scary to vet) in there, hissing, biting oh man, real horror. But now I am thinking it’s maybe because he can feel the vet is not much of a cat person. He’s ok, but dunno… kind of a feeling. So am planning to change to a different one here in Taichung.
I guess I will try to shower him less and see if it really makes the fungal problems come back. Winter is coming so should be little better.

tommy525 : Your cats are lovely! I walked Oscar on the leash sometime and he is really walking it better than a dog! I am planning on getting the H-type harness like yours, since I read they’re safer for cats.

TheGingerMan: I don’t think Taiwanese outdoor is very safe for cats… especially in the city. I am worried sometimes of getting hit by car or scooter just crossing a road in front of my apartment building! And all the stray dogs… nope, I only take the cat out on supervised walks. Then also, the building where I am renting my apartment just decided to be non-pets one ==; thanks god they are not telling me to get rid of Oscar, maybe because he is really quite invisible for neighbors. They did tell my neighbor before to get rid of his new puppy because it was barking :loco: . Didn’t bother me, even it was next door. But I think there is many ways to teach a cat, and let it teach you as well of how to live together in balance. I guess both sides need to adjust.

housecat: flying kitty sounds quite scary :smiley: Oscar once decided to be a superman or ninja, and jumped on a tall wardrobe that had towels hanging on the side. He used them to climb, but I had to help him move his butt up at the end :) then he would stay there for 20 min and jump on our bed, which is quite a loud jump :smiley: I was worried tho, cuase I read one story online (I know I know, sound not too legit), but in the story a cat jumped from a higher furniture on a guy relaxing on sofa. He jumped unfortunately on the guys “jewels” with such an impact he actually displaced it or sth. Well, in the end the guy had 1 jewel left only :astonished: that story always pops up in my head when flying kitties are involved :doh:
I heard many cats can be trained for using toilet, but then… I don’t mind litterbox, it’s not very dirty or smelly, and Oscar only once pooped outside of it, just at its “gate”, when I shower him too late in the evening, and his feet were still little wet so he didn’t want to get the litter stuck in his paws. So it was my fault.

twonavels: wow! Oscar does sit, and almost is at shaking hand too. Last night I was pretty sure he got the idea, still have to slightly touch his hand first then he places it on my hand. I want to teach him high-five, as my bf really want to high-five his little gentleman :ohreally:

Here;s super bad quality phone recorder Oscar video: youtube.com/watch?v=o2pXriOJHe8&feature=plcp :slight_smile: he played crazily, but of course slowed down once I pushed record button =-=;

Did they give you an explanation for this? Cats keep themselves pretty clean. I’m kind of skeptical that cats here need to be washed any more than those anywhere else. I think we’ve washed our two once in the past couple of years (but they never leave the apartment). It was a stressful experience all around, the “fresh clean” smell that my wife liked returned to a normal mild pleasant cat smell within half a day, and there just didn’t seem a point.

Maybe I’m being cynical, but if the vet is suggesting you bring the cat in for a paid wash every couple of weeks, he/she may have a bit of a vested interest.[/quote]

Two weeks is too much. It is not as if teh cat is outdoors all teh time, rolling in mud. I disagree with your vet, and I´ve had cats as companions since I was 9 years old -let´us say that was a while ago… I have four cats and they get a bath when too stinky.

Do brush them daily or as aften as you can, to bond with them and to relieve their hairball problems. Do give hairball paste medicine often. Do monitor their behaviour. Got a couple of books I can recommend but I am not in Taipei right now, will get back to you on that. No cat psychologist as far as I know in Taipei.[/quote]

Well, I wash the cat home, since the previous owner told me he will let me do it though not happily, while they tried once to do it outside… and the place told them not to bring Oscar back, hehe, my boy :slight_smile:

I will surely appreciate books recommendation. I read this one recently:

  • Good Cat! Practical Answers to Behavior Questions, Dale, Steve (I think it’s pretty good, and cheap for Kindle edition)

Started:

  • Cat Vs. Cat: Keeping Peace When You Have More Than One Cat , Johnson-Bennett, Pam (as I am dreaming of second cat, but Oscar seem to very unsociable toward other cats, I heard his previous adoption failed for that reason)
  • Getting Started: Clicker Training for Cats , Pryor, Karen
  • The Rules: A Guide For People Owned By Cats, Thompson, Max (this is more of fun book I think)