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(52E) Curbing Your Cat's Nasty Natural Enthusiasms
If your cat's bad behavior is driving you crazy, here are the best solutions
to the most common problems you may be facing.
1. Eliminating Outside the litter box.
Is it your fault or the cat's fault? Many cats won't use the litter box
if it is too dirty. They just don't like it. If you think this may be the
problem, change the litter box twice as often as you currently do. When
your cat goes outside the box, make like a speed demon to clean all the
places the cat goes. Spray the areas down with Lysol or something similar
with a nice strong smell that will obliterate the blessed odor of you know
what.
What is your cat's favorite place? Put the litter box there. Maybe if you
simply put the litter box in the bathroom, the situation will change. If
it's not in too obnoxious a place, you can put the litter box on top of
the place your cat has chosen to go to, just to make the point. As a last
resort, put down bleach, safely, in those spots, and cover the area with
aluminum foil.
2. Spraying
Male animals of many different species do this to mark their territory, and cats are no exception. You may find your cat does this when it feels threatened, especially by dogs and small children, or maybe perhaps when other male cats are around. There is little to be done for this beyond neutering your male cat. Don't punish your cat for this behavior though. They won't understand at all.
3. Clawing people
This is another example of something cats tend to do when they feel afraid
or threatened. But again, is it the cat's fault, or the people around him?
If you have a cat that is generally afraid of children, you should do something
about it. Try exposing the cat to young children in small doses until he
gets used to it. Don't just let children loose around the cat. Have the
child sit in your lap or next to you and feed your pet kitty treats.
Some cats are afraid, but let's face it, some are just mean to certain
people. As soon as the cat starts clawing or growling, quickly pick her
up and remove her from the situation. If the object of derision is a family
member, try spraying lemon juice to keep the cat away. Again, try exposing
the cat to the person in small pockets of time, until your pet gets used
to being around that individual. If the derided person is your mother in
law, there may be nothing you can do.
4. Caterwauling
What is that sound? Who hasn't wondered or thought that some disaster has
occurred after hearing their cat making ululating noises in the middle
of the night. Siamese cats actually do this by nature, so you may not be
able to get them to stop, but other cats do it because they are tired,
hungry, or sick. There aren't many things you can do about this unfortunately.
If you think it's a hunger thing, feed your pet more promptly, and refuse
to feed her when she caterwauls. She won't understand what you are doing,
but she'll almost certainly quit after she figures out it does her no good.
If she caterwauls because she is in heat, you should get her fixed. For
other caterwauling problems, try to ignore her, and keep her as far away
from yourself as possible. However there are times when your cat caterwauls
to let you know she has done something good. If you approve of the behavior,
by all means praise your pet to let her know.
5. Running Outside
Curiousity killed the cat. The cliche exists because it's so true. Indoor
cats get very curious about the outside, what's BEYOND THE DOOR. The first
thing you should do is not open the door when the cat runs out. Try to
get the cat accustomed to the outdoors by getting a cat leash and walking
her on it or by carrying her in your arms when you go outside. Once the
mystery of what's out there is gone, she's less likely to want to get to
it, particularly if you expose her to snow or other extreme conditions.
Your cat can be by turns lovable and frustrating. Like children, pets often behave in ways that perplex us. By being aware of what makes your cat do the things that it does, you can learn how to curb its' enthusiasm for undesirable habits, as well as to accept those you cannot change.
Romi Matsushita curbs her cat's natural nasty enthusiasms daily. Find great cat care tips, articles, and advice at : http://www.cat-advisors-online.com
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