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Pet Advice Thread.

Lexicon

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:heart: :heart: :heart: He's such an adorable ball of energy :D

And yeah...well, he has to keep busy somehow :D

You could re-direct that energy to a game that is more channeled to your preferences, if you wanted to.

As for the switch to the water gun - did I get this right that you're able to pull it out and use it faster than the water bottle? Coz that would be crucial - all consequences have to happen within 1 second (which is another reason that Im more likely to use my hand as that's always available to me), in order to register. The only exception to this is actually eating something poisonous. An animal will connect a food with digestive issues up to 6 hours after ingesting it. But all other training techniques require reaction within 1 second - it' why clicker training is so often used. Clicking a clicker is a lot easier than fumbling a plastic bag with a treat open in time, and you can use the clicker to teach them that the treat is on their way while rewarding the desirable behaviour ;)

Yeah, you're correct in your understanding - I can access the water gun faster than the water bottle. I feel it made ALL the difference.

I bet a clicker would work well for him.. the button on one of my laser pointers actually is really loud. It stopped lighting up even with batteries, but obviously still clicks. He'd always jerk to attention when he heard it. I'll try to incorporate that into certain training stuff.
 

five sounds

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My cat poops outside his litter box sometimes. It's not related to changing litters or being dirty, it just seems to be when he wants to do it. I think I've noticed it's when I haven't been around as much as normal, but it's often when I'm home sleeping in my bed that I wake up with a turd on the floor in my living room. Any tips?
 

Amargith

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My cat poops outside his litter box sometimes. It's not related to changing litters or being dirty, it just seems to be when he wants to do it. I think I've noticed it's when I haven't been around as much as normal, but it's often when I'm home sleeping in my bed that I wake up with a turd on the floor in my living room. Any tips?

Doing a number two outside the litter box is often a sign of 'this is my territory', aka territorial marking. Do you have any other animals(including boyfriends or humans) that could (have) trigger(ed) this? Coz the situation you're describing usually triggers spraying/peeing on the bed, ime.
 

five sounds

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Doing a number two outside the litter box is often a sign of 'this is my litter box', aka territorial marking. Do you have any other animals(including boyfriends or humans) that could (have) trigger(ed) this? Coz the situation you're describing usually triggers spraying/peeing on the bed, ime.

He does like a softpaw sweeping around thing like all the time and I think it's a territorial thing too. No other pets, and it happened both with and without a room mate with about the same frequency. But yeah maybe he's just a territorial guy and feels the need to express himself from time to time via feces lol
 

Lexicon

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He does like a softpaw sweeping around thing like all the time and I think it's a territorial thing too. No other pets, and it happened both with and without a room mate with about the same frequency. But yeah maybe he's just a territorial guy and feels the need to express himself from time to time via feces lol

Maybe when you've been away, he feels a bit less secure, so he compensates? :thinking:
 

Amargith

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He does like a softpaw sweeping around thing like all the time and I think it's a territorial thing too. No other pets, and it happened both with and without a room mate with about the same frequency. But yeah maybe he's just a territorial guy and feels the need to express himself from time to time via feces lol

Seriously, leaving a turd is like the cat equivalent of 'Fair warning: you're not welcome here - this is mine'. Even moreso than spraying as it is a big visual signal as well.

The fastest shortcut (without doing a full diagnosis with survey, walk through through the territory etc) is to ask yourself the following questions:

When did it start?
What changed in the house around that time?
And what pattern (which you tried to intuit already) is there to the incidents wrt the environmental changes?

Edit: Lex also touches on something - he may be more prone to territorial insecurity when you're not around much, but normally, that would trigger peeing/spraying, not pooing. (that was a lovely sentence, right there :doh:)

Could you expand on the soft paw sweeping thing? You mean, like he pretends to cover shit up even if he isn't in the litter box? And when does this happen?
 

Amargith

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[MENTION=18819]five sounds[/MENTION]

If you're sure it's not a medical thing (where he avoids the litter box because he's constipated and it hurts to go the litter box, for instance), and you're sure it's not the litterbox itself (some cats for instance like to use one box for nr 1 and another for nr2, or oppose to digging a hole in sand they don't like), and you're sure it happens when you've been away or changed your routine, you can try the following general tips:

1) use the Feliway spray on the spot where he usually defecates, and perhaps also the corners of the room if the room isn't too big (otherwise a feliway vaporiser may be useful as you retrain him - they last for about a month) Make sure that spot is thoroughly cleaned as well! after an accident has occurred. It'll make him feel more at ease.

2) buy yourself a fishing rod toy and play with him 15 minutes a day, especially in the place where he does this shit. Play the quivering prey and let him catch it a lot so he builds confidence - it will change his perception of his ability to handle a situation and the way he perceives the territory he's in to a more positive one. In essence, we want him to reconsider his perspective on the conflict he's having since you cannot stop leaving as such - the likely trigger for his behaviour.

3) leave a bowl of food on the spot where he usually defecates - they're like us, they don't like to eliminate where they eat and that will reframe that piece of territory as a feeding spot.

4) you can also put a scratching post there, or something that he can mark with facial pheromones (like a chair - spray with feliway spray initially, just don't spray the food bowl, if you decide to do both) - it gives him a different way to mark his territory instead of resorting to the most aggressive one out there.

5) when you come home, make it a point to spend some time with him, on that spot, preferably with treats, attention and play time - it would minimise the amount of stress still left in his body when you then turn in.

6) in general, evaluate your home. Does your kitty have its own furniture? And does he have vertical space? Most cats feel safer when they're higher up and some cats feel non-stop very insecure when they cannot get up high. See if you can invest in some shelves he can use to walk on, or some scratching trees and if at all possible, create a 'flow' in the room where he can hop on and go up on one side and come down a little bit later on the other side.

7) If the questions I posted earlier reveal a different possible trigger, remove it if at all possible, and otherwise help him to re-evaluate his response to that trigger (similarly to how I've described reframing his perspective to your absence above)

While your kitty may not consistently show problems, he may be more prone to problem behaviour if he has some insecurity non-stop. Changes to the household - new furniture, moving home, the owner having a different work schedule, addition or departure of a family member, etc, can increase their stress levels to where they resort to coping behaviour such as this :)
 

Eilonwy

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I am going to be introducing two adult cats to each other soon and want it to be successful. Any tips?

Info: 1 male cat, age unknown, probably over 5 years old. Stray, possibly former colony cat. Neutered. Showed up at boyfriend's house 3 years ago. Was outdoors until two months ago, now indoor/outdoor. Still not secure inside the house. Learning to trust me, now that I'm able to visit about once every week. Mild, accommodating personality, but I wonder if that is because he's adjusting to being indoors and that he might be less timid than he appears to be at first. However, when outdoors, he accommodated some other cats that came around, plus other critters like raccoons and skunks, but had a cat or two that he would not allow into his territory.

1 female cat, about 4.5 years old. Dumped at vet at an unknown date then given to a rescue organization about 2.5 years ago. Cycled between PetSmart and foster homes until I adopted her a little over a year ago. Neutered. Queen of the house, which I'm working on. She didn't get enough attention since I was taking care of my mom, so her behavior worsened, though it wasn't the best when I got her. She does settle down nicely when I do give her the attention she needs. I suspect that moving once again, after having been unsettled for most of her life, is going to be hard for her. Plus she is moving into another cat's territory, plus a human male's territory. I think she is okay with my boyfriend, but I think she sees him as dominant and there may be a bit of a struggle there as she likes to be the dominant one.

We have started exchanging towels that the cats have lain on so that they get used to each other's scents. When we actually move, I plan to keep my girl in a spare bedroom while the cats get used to each other. I am looking for a crate to buy so that I can put her in it and let him interact with her, while still providing a safe place so they can't fight. I've read that I should feed them together at this time so they associate good things with each other. I also plan on switching that and putting him in the crate, or the spare bedroom, while she gets to explore a bit. I don't want her to feel isolated while in the bedroom, so I plan on spending as much time as possible with her. Is this a good plan? Can I improve it?
 

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:cry: Make sure you have a good owner who actually feeds you food from time to time... *he says weakly before taking his final breath, scrunched up into a ball within his inadequately sized cage without anything that could be called a door.*
 

Amargith

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I am going to be introducing two adult cats to each other soon and want it to be successful. Any tips?

Info: 1 male cat, age unknown, probably over 5 years old. Stray, possibly former colony cat. Neutered. Showed up at boyfriend's house 3 years ago. Was outdoors until two months ago, now indoor/outdoor. Still not secure inside the house. Learning to trust me, now that I'm able to visit about once every week. Mild, accommodating personality, but I wonder if that is because he's adjusting to being indoors and that he might be less timid than he appears to be at first. However, when outdoors, he accommodated some other cats that came around, plus other critters like raccoons and skunks, but had a cat or two that he would not allow into his territory.

One thing to keep in mind at all times is that change = stress - for any animal. Moving, introducing to a new cat and a new family - aka you, is going to be a looot on his plate, so be patient and see if you can help parse this for him, one thing at a time.


1 female cat, about 4.5 years old. Dumped at vet at an unknown date then given to a rescue organization about 2.5 years ago. Cycled between PetSmart and foster homes until I adopted her a little over a year ago. Neutered. Queen of the house, which I'm working on. She didn't get enough attention since I was taking care of my mom, so her behavior worsened, though it wasn't the best when I got her. She does settle down nicely when I do give her the attention she needs. I suspect that moving once again, after having been unsettled for most of her life, is going to be hard for her. Plus she is moving into another cat's territory, plus a human male's territory. I think she is okay with my boyfriend, but I think she sees him as dominant and there may be a bit of a struggle there as she likes to be the dominant one.

We have started exchanging towels that the cats have lain on so that they get used to each other's scents. When we actually move, I plan to keep my girl in a spare bedroom while the cats get used to each other. I am looking for a crate to buy so that I can put her in it and let him interact with her, while still providing a safe place so they can't fight. I've read that I should feed them together at this time so they associate good things with each other. I also plan on switching that and putting him in the crate, or the spare bedroom, while she gets to explore a bit. I don't want her to feel isolated while in the bedroom, so I plan on spending as much time as possible with her. Is this a good plan? Can I improve it?

It sounds like a good plan! I wouldn't personally use a crate, but just the door to the spare bed room, though a crate can work in a pinch. One thing you're going to have to potentially watch with her once she settles in and you've done the introduction exercise is possible possession aggression due to her back ground - the whole non-stop moving around can affect a cat the way it can a foster child, where they just start acting out because they don't feel they belong anywhere. Not saying it will happen, but keep a weather eye out, and make sure she has her cat furniture in important spaces like the bedroom and the living room (or the room that gets the most activity from humans, basically) and regular playtime (never with hands! Always use a fishing rod toy!) to channel that energy productively and give her a feeling belonging.

I'm going to leave you with some links to some articles I once upon a time wrote. They're a bit wordy (sorry), but they should give you a step-by-step plan on how to do both the move and the introduction to the other cat, for you to follow. I might include some extra ones as well that I feel are possibly interesting to you, if that's ok - if you already know this shit or it's not relevant, just nvm me. I prefer to err on the side of too much info :D

Here's the one on adopting a cat and readying them for that move into a new home
Here's the one on cat introduction

Aside from those, you may wanna check out these:

Cat Furniture Placement - Where To Put That Scratching Post - InfoBarrelSuggestions
Indoors or Outdoors?
Becoming a multicat household
Extra information on how cats view territory and why and how proper introductions make all the difference.
 

Eilonwy

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[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION], thanks so much! Link away. I will read them as I'm able.
 

Amargith

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[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION], thanks so much! Link away. I will read them as I'm able.

Actually, I *really* love that you are sooo aware of this stuff already and are willing to actually pro-actively work with them. You have no idea how rare that kind of awareness is :hug:
 

Eilonwy

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[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION], thanks again. I read all of the links you provided and bookmarked them so I can reference them again as the move and introduction take place.

Have you written an article on introducing an indoor cat to the outside? I'm not yet sure that I want to do this, but my cat is an explorer and I think she would be happier having an outdoor option. I don't know enough about her history to know if she's ever been outdoors, so I'm going to approach it as if she hasn't. I thought about buying a harness and using that to introduce her to the yard and neighborhood gradually.
 

Amargith

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[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION], thanks again. I read all of the links you provided and bookmarked them so I can reference them again as the move and introduction take place.

Have you written an article on introducing an indoor cat to the outside? I'm not yet sure that I want to do this, but my cat is an explorer and I think she would be happier having an outdoor option. I don't know enough about her history to know if she's ever been outdoors, so I'm going to approach it as if she hasn't. I thought about buying a harness and using that to introduce her to the yard and neighborhood gradually.


No, I haven't but it's fairly simple, ime.

First thing to consider is the environment you live in. Personally, my cats go outside, but then I live in a kid-friendly neighbourhood with no cars and no wild life. If you've got cars flying by, coyotes, raccoons or anything that might threaten them and their territory...you may want to reconsider. Otherwise, go for it, after having them inoculated (outdoor cats get extra inoculations and anti-parasitics)

You can certainly use a harness, if you like. Just put it on them gently and let them walk around with it first indoors so they can get used to it and have treats and toys nearby to distract them if they start tugging at it or trying to remove it. Teaching them to walk on a leash is done with treats. This is all a lot of extra training, though, but it can be beneficial if you do want to walk them in the neighbourhood later on.

Personally, I just opened the door and went out there *with* them. I left the door open so they could go back to the safe space at any time they wanted and took them back inside after a few minutes, or once I saw that they had had enough. I did that 3, 4 times still and built up the amount of time we were out there, with me eventually have a seat on the garden furniture and staying out there while they explored at their own pace. I have 4 cats and each one had a different adjustment period to the garden.

Do make sure you keep them inside first 4-6 weeks so they identify the new place as their home and they've actually had time to adjust to *that* amount of territory already, before letting them out, so they'll know their way back home.
 

Eilonwy

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[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION], I would like your evaluation of how introducing our two cats is going and any suggestions you might have to help things along.

Because of moving and cleaning the house I recently vacated, introducing the cats had been mostly put on a back burner. My girl has been confined to a bedroom for most of the time.

My girl is the more aggressive of the two and used to having to adapt to new houses, so we decided to give Taran's boy time to gain his confidence. He was an outdoor only cat until recently, so he is still learning to see the house as his territory. He wouldn't even go down the hallway to investigate the new arrival for several days. We had to entice him. He did finally get up the confidence to investigate on his own. There was a little hissing, spitting and yowling, but no attacks and it didn't last very long.

After about three days of him investigating outside of the bedroom door, there isn't even any hissing.

I have let my girl investigate the main bedroom a few times so that she gets a little more freedom of movement, but there are no doors on the other rooms so I haven't let her investigate further than that. If the weather improves and the male goes outside for any length of time, we plan on letting my girl investigate the rest of the main floor of the house, blocking off access to the basement.

We have put my girl in a large crate 3 different days so far. The first day, she was in the living room and the male peeked around a corner, saw her and went down in the basement for the rest of the day.

The second day, we put the crate in the kitchen. The male stayed in one entrance way. My girl did the "chewing" thing--I don't know how else to describe it. I know they do it when they are nervous about another cat and are getting ready to defend themselves. There was some hissing from both cats, but eventually, the puffy tails disappeared and both laid down and seemed relaxed. The male came within four feet of the crate.

This morning, there was a little growling from my girl and meowing from both cats. The male came within three feet of the crate. My girl laid down with her back towards him. He rolled and showed his belly briefly. We gave them both catnip and treats while in each others presence.

We think this all means it's going well, but I want to make sure of that. I don't think they're ready for my girl to be out of the crate yet. I want to see how they behave when they are closer than three feet away from each other.
 

Amargith

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[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION], I would like your evaluation of how introducing our two cats is going and any suggestions you might have to help things along.

Because of moving and cleaning the house I recently vacated, introducing the cats had been mostly put on a back burner. My girl has been confined to a bedroom for most of the time.


My girl is the more aggressive of the two and used to having to adapt to new houses, so we decided to give Taran's boy time to gain his confidence. He was an outdoor only cat until recently, so he is still learning to see the house as his territory. He wouldn't even go down the hallway to investigate the new arrival for several days. We had to entice him. He did finally get up the confidence to investigate on his own. There was a little hissing, spitting and yowling, but no attacks and it didn't last very long.

After about three days of him investigating outside of the bedroom door, there isn't even any hissing.

I have let my girl investigate the main bedroom a few times so that she gets a little more freedom of movement, but there are no doors on the other rooms so I haven't let her investigate further than that. If the weather improves and the male goes outside for any length of time, we plan on letting my girl investigate the rest of the main floor of the house, blocking off access to the basement.

We have put my girl in a large crate 3 different days so far. The first day, she was in the living room and the male peeked around a corner, saw her and went down in the basement for the rest of the day.

The second day, we put the crate in the kitchen. The male stayed in one entrance way. My girl did the "chewing" thing--I don't know how else to describe it. I know they do it when they are nervous about another cat and are getting ready to defend themselves. There was some hissing from both cats, but eventually, the puffy tails disappeared and both laid down and seemed relaxed. The male came within four feet of the crate.

This morning, there was a little growling from my girl and meowing from both cats. The male came within three feet of the crate. My girl laid down with her back towards him. He rolled and showed his belly briefly. We gave them both catnip and treats while in each others presence.

We think this all means it's going well, but I want to make sure of that. I don't think they're ready for my girl to be out of the crate yet. I want to see how they behave when they are closer than three feet away from each other.


It sounds like they're on track. Try the feeding near each other (while she is in the crate or behind a barrier) + treats, and do a scent swap. By now, the boy should be confident and walking around with his tail in the air in his territory when not near her, so put him in her room and let her out as well, so they can investigate the spaces while getting used to each others smell and get the run of the territory. Just swap them every day. It's only fair to share the lock-up time, and it'll increase their familiarity and their sense of territory.

This way, you also make sure your girl doesn't get too bored out of her skull and ready to take out that pent up energy on someone else. For that matter, if you can both engage them in like 10 minutes of play with a fishing rod toy, that too will already go a long way to releasing that energy, building their confidence in that house (so none of them will act like prey when they do get to meet without any restrictions).

The introduction process can take a while, depending on the cats involved, but with cats that have no previous antipathy, and no significant other behavioural problems, who have been socialised to some extent, I find that it usually takes about a week, if done properly. However, they do also have the actual adjustment of the territory to add on to that, so that may have added some extra days onto it all.

Just remember to go at their pace - and don't be afraid to go back a step if things seem to be escalating or even stagnating. Ideally, you want to see a tail up in the air from both of them, before you take the next step in the process.

So - new territory, explore , explore, explore, confident walking around and tail-up: check. New cat in the house but food near her: hesitant, hissing, defensive, but food, eating, keeping an eye, but food, ohhh food, who cares about the other cat, ohh food and other cat: tail up, check! in room of other cat, new territory+ new smell, investigate, explore, then confidently resting, and walking about with tail up, check!, and so on.

And keep adding all kinds of positive affirmation things when near each other - catnip (but make sure they're not too close to each other during this so they lash out at each other!), food, treats, play, petting, the works! And if you're willing to throw money at it, a Feliway vaporiser would be like a cherry on top (but not vital).

Good luck to ya ;)
 

Eilonwy

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So, we took the big step today and released Robin from her room. Riley has hissed and yowled when she got too close to him or his food. Robin immediately backed off when he did that. Her tail is up. Riley's is slightly puffy and down. They are both down in the basement right now. So far all we've heard is some meowing--no hissing or fighting.

I have to admit, this was a time of me not taking my own good advice. I was nervous about the cats working it out on their own. Taran has had to tell me several times to not interfere.

Overall, it's going very well.
 

Amargith

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So, we took the big step today and released Robin from her room. Riley has hissed and yowled when she got too close to him or his food. Robin immediately backed off when he did that. Her tail is up. Riley's is slightly puffy and down. They are both down in the basement right now. So far all we've heard is some meowing--no hissing or fighting.

I have to admit, this was a time of me not taking my own good advice. I was nervous about the cats working it out on their own. Taran has had to tell me several times to not interfere.

Overall, it's going very well.

:hug:

Just...make sure you always end encounters on a high note, make it pleasurable (food!) and keep things from escalating - that means, no alone time unsupervised until both tails are in the air and there is no more aggression, and short periods of time at once (few minutes at best), then increase as they get more used to it.

You'll get there :)
 

Eilonwy

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The cats seem to get along, or at least tolerate each other, until Riley eats his own food. Even though Robin has a bowl of food of her own, in the same room as Riley's food, when she sees Riley eating from his food bowl, she tries to attack him. This has happened twice now. I'm not sure how to handle this. I don't know if Robin has food issues due to her past.

On the positive side, even though Robin just chased after him, Riley seems to be curious about where Robin has gone (I put her back in the bedroom to cool off). I say curious because he seems confident as opposed to furtive.
 

Amargith

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The cats seem to get along, or at least tolerate each other, until Riley eats his own food. Even though Robin has a bowl of food of her own, in the same room as Riley's food, when she sees Riley eating from his food bowl, she tries to attack him. This has happened twice now. I'm not sure how to handle this. I don't know if Robin has food issues due to her past.

On the positive side, even though Robin just chased after him, Riley seems to be curious about where Robin has gone (I put her back in the bedroom to cool off). I say curious because he seems confident as opposed to furtive.

Mmm... see if you can try the feeding exercise with like a baby gate or screen or like a piece of cloth between them. Start them far enough from each other so they don't feel the need to attack, but notice the other being there and if you see her fixating on him, try to distract her (rattle the food bowl, use your voice, a toy, whatever works), or drop the piece of cloth so they cannot see each other again. Basically, you want her to feel rewarded for being in his presence without fixating on him non-stop, and without - obviously - going in for the kill, as such.

Another alternative is to feed him up on the counter, with her right below. That way, she cannot get to him easily, while getting used to getting food together. After a while, you can lower him to the flower, gradually (use like a box, or a cat tree, or whatever you need to make up the distance), until he is on the floor with her.

Keep up the daily playtime to vent off excess stress, aggression and energy! ;)
 
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