Cat expert explains why your cat is always acting weird

By Melissa Hart

Samantha Bell’s Hollywood apartment is a cat’s dream home, filled with elegant scratching posts, plant-festooned cat trees and tasteful baskets holding feather wands and catnip mice. Window seats allow her kitties access to fresh air.

“I think about the things my cats are missing from the outdoors and adapt their indoor habitat so their needs are met,” she says.

Bell is the cat expert for Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal protection organization that includes a Los Angeles-based adoption center. She creates weekly short videos addressing behavioral issues in cats and kittens, tackling everything from litter box issues to tips for how to train your feline friends out of 5 a.m. breakfast demands.

More than 46.5 million people in the U.S. own at least one cat, but few of us truly understand the feline brain as well as Bell.

Please demystify what’s going on inside my cat’s head.

Cats live in a world of predator and prey. There’s so much going on in their brain; at any given time, something large could be trying to get them while they’re looking to kill something smaller. Most cat behaviors are based on this predator/prey perspective. A lot of the behaviors that people don’t like about cats — such as scratching, biting, chewing — are instinctive. If they’re feeling great, they want to chase and bite and attack things. We have to figure out a way to let them perform all of their natural instinctive behaviors in our world.

My husband and I just bought our first grownup couch, and our kitten is shredding it. What should we do? 

Cats’ instincts tell them to scratch on trees. They want to put all their weight on a trunk and stretch all the way up. I have a tall, heavy scratching post with sisal wrapped around it, so sturdy that no matter how much weight my cats put behind it, it’s not going to tip. If they scratch the furniture, I silently pick them up and carry them to the post. I don’t speak because my voice — my attention — is positive reinforcement. I put their paws on the post, and they finish scratching there. Then, I talk to them and give them a treat.

One of my cats is very affectionate — until he sinks his teeth into my hand. What’s up with that?

Biting is instinctive. Give your cat things to bite and reward them when they bite those things. I leave the flaps open on a cardboard box flipped on its side, and my cats chew on those. They love that feeling of crunching into something. I also make sure my cats have catnip and wheatgrass to chew. We need to see what cats want and give it to them in a way that works in the human world.

My cats demand food at 5 a.m. every morning. Help!

First, increase enrichment during the day so your cats are alert and engaged. If they sleep all day, they’re going to be up all night. I give my cats food puzzles. I toss toys for them. Ten minutes before bed, we play with a feather toy so they get the feeling of being a predator. Then, I give them a wet food meal which is similar to a mouse or a bird. Their natural cycle is to hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep.

Because cats prefer temperatures of 85 degrees, I turn on heating pads so their bodies are at an optimal temperature for relaxation. The last step is the most important one; ignore their attempts to wake you up. If they get no overnight attention from you for 10 to 13 days, they’ll give up. You may have a rough two weeks, but for the rest of your life, they’re not going to wake you up at night. My cats wait till my alarm goes off, and then they jump on the bed and give me kisses.

Sometimes, one of our cats pees on the carpet. Why is he doing this? 

When cats avoid the litter box, take them to the vet. More than half the time, the behavior is due to a medical reason. When cats get stressed, they get urinary infections. Often, the issue is solved with a week of antibiotics. Other times, the issue is the litter box. Maybe your cat doesn’t like a covered box or an open box or the litter. Maybe the box is in a spot that’s stressful. Sometimes one cat will bully the other cat and not let them go to the litter box, but you might not see it because they can be so subtle. It’s a lot of work to figure out the issue, but it’s our responsibility to remove the stress from cats’ lives.

Speaking of bullies, what do you do about a cat that picks on other cats?

My favorite solution is to put a bell collar on the bully so the other cats can hear them coming. The cat may have a lot of pent-up energy and predator instincts, and they just want to bite and chase and attack. You can play really hard with them and give them things to bite and attack.

If you’ve brought a new cat into the house, do a slow introduction. Whenever I bring in a new cat to foster, I put it in the smallest room so my cats go, “Okay, 90 percent of this place is still ours.”

I start enriching their life more than usual — I give them more toy play times and extra treats, because I want them to associate the new cat’s smell with their life being better, rather than with something that just took over their whole house. When they do finally meet, you throw toys and give treats so they’re not focused on each other, but rather on having a good time. Eventually, you won’t need to distract them anymore. And if things go wrong, you can always go back to the first step in the process.

I’ve tried your process, but two of my cats still smack each other around. 

Cats need to smack things; sometimes they smack each other as a form of enrichment. The best way to tell if two cats are actually fighting is their volume. If you hear screaming, one of them isn’t enjoying it. But if they’re quiet, even if their play looks violent, they’re having a great time.

What’s your position on indoor versus outdoor cats? 

I get why people let cats outside, but I live in Hollywood with traffic and coyotes and weird people on the streets. I think about the things my cats are missing from the outdoors and I give them window seats so they can smell outside, and I bring in sticks and leaves. I also zip them into my cat stroller and take them on walks up into the Hollywood Hills. It’s got mesh sides so they can smell the outdoors.

If I had my own place, I’d build a catio — a fenced enclosure off a window, which allows cats to play and run around in the fresh air. My friend Hannah Shah (aka, The Kitten Lady) has two catios that allow the cats to climb up really high and include actual tree branches so they can scratch. It’s brilliant.

• See related: Why enclosed outdoor cat areas, or catios, might be what you and your pet need 

Help for cats who hate the vet

Dr. Karen Sueda of VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital says that for many cats a trip to the vet is like an alien abduction, not a fun outing. She advises owners to leave the pet carrier out several days in advance and offer treats, food or toys inside of it, and to consider spraying the carrier with feline pheromones.

“Allow plenty of time before the appointment to gather your cat and items you need for the appointment,” she says. “Because cats feel more secure when they are hidden, cover the carrier with a light towel to provide a safe haven and prevent your cat from seeing other pets and people in the waiting room.”

She explains that owners can build positive associations with the vet by bringing their cat’s favorite food and toys to the visit.

“If you or your cat are still stressed,” she adds, “ask your vet about anti-anxiety supplements or medications that can be given prior to a visit which facilitate a calmer experience.”

For more, listen to the Learn with this Behavior podcast with Dr. Sueda on VetFolio.

Melissa Hart lives with three indoor rescue cats and one very patient adopted terrier. Read more of her work at melissahart.com.

Source: Orange County Register