Common Behavior Problems in Cats – How to Treat
As most cat owners know, the two most common cat behavior problems are aggression towards humans and spraying.
While many owners just accept that their cat is unpredictable, nobody needs live with a cat that bites and scratches. The basis of solving cat behavior problems is an understanding of cat psychology – knowing what makes cats tick.
Aggression Towards Humans
First of all, it’s important to understand that a cat that bites, scratches or attacks when it’s hurt or feels threatened doesn’t have a cat behavior problem – it’s simply being a cat. It’s when a cat attacks for no apparent reason that he has a problem that should be dealt with.
Luckily, solving cat behavior problems isn’t too difficult when we understand the possible reasons behind it, the most likely of them being that your cat simply wants to play. Cat’s naturally play with their prey and without that kind of stimulation, will often treat you as the prey without realizing that he’s being to high-spirited.
When a cat becomes bored or is lacking stimulating, he’ll be more prone to this kind of attacking behavior. It’s important you provide your cat with enough play outlets that will help stimulate his urge for natural feline play of the active and interactive kind. Just leaving a stuffed toy mouse or two on the floor isn’t going to solve the cat’s behavior problem. You need to actively play with her – throw pieces of scrunched paper for her to attack and play with or anything else that will get her running, jumping, hiding and batting things in the same way as she would if she were hunting. You just need watch a cat trying to catch a fly to understand how this works.
By giving him the mental and physical stimulation that he needs, solving the cat’s behavior problem shouldn’t prove too much of a challenge.
Spraying
Behavioral Issues Cause Cats to Spray
Spraying is a common cat behavior problem and although it’s most likely to appear in un-neutered adolescent male cats, any cat can spray. You’ll easily recognize the behavior – the cat stands with this tail end towards a vertical surface (a wall, a gate, your sofa, etc) with his tail raised and vibrating while he squirts urine onto the chosen surface.
This particular behavior problem is principally a cat’s way of marking his territory, although if it’s happening regularly and in the house, it can also be a sign of stress, a problem often found in homes with more than one cat or where the owners have recently moved home.
In the case of a multi-cat household where one or more cats are spraying, those displaying this form of cat behavior problem most likely feel that their territory isn’t large enough for them so they become stressed and try to mark the area that they see as being theirs.
To solve the cat’s behavior problem, the area that he has available to him should be increased. Perhaps you allow the cats to only use one floor of your house, or certain rooms? If this is the case, you should consider allowing the cats to use more of the house or, if that isn’t possible, perhaps consider re-homing one or more of the cats.
If your house is very busy that could also be causing stress. Try keeping the cats in a part of the house that’s less busy or creating a quieter environment.
Some vets will recommend that you have your cat neutered as a way of solving the cat’s behavior problem although there’s no solid evidence to show that this helps. More often than not, once a male cat has reached maturing, neutering will have no effect on spraying.
It’s also important that your cat has enough exercise as too little exercise can be a root cause of stress and therefore a cat behavior problem that’s often seen when a cat is kept inside the home. If it’s impossible to allow the cat access to natural outdoor exercise – and that’s what his body was built for – it’s important you play with him often so that he can run, jump, chase things and generally use his muscles.
Hopefully you’ll be able to solve your cat’s behavior problems and will be able to spend many years with your feline friend.
