Dog and Cat Behavior

Archive for the ‘Preventing Behavior Problems’ Category

There have been a number of times when we've taken our pets and visited friends who also have pets.  We know we aren't alone because many "pet people" have friends with pets they often like to visit. 

One such experience occurred over new years one year when we and another set of friends invaded our host’s house.  We brought our two dogs, and our other friends brought their three. Needless to say, our host’s six cats were less than pleased. Having to share their home for three days with 5 dogs was not their idea of a good start to the new year.

While we had a few minor skirmishes, for the most part everyone got along fairly well. We thought it would be helpful to share with you a few of the precautions we took to minimize all the animals' stress and prevent any fighting. Our precautions can be useful to anyone introducing new pets to the family, managing ongoing conflicts between family pets, or as with us, when pets unfamiliar to one another are forced to quickly learn to co-exist for a short time.

1. Feeding times were private. Before any of us began to prepare our pets’ meals, we separated each family of pets. Pets know that the clink of dishes, or the sound of a can opener mean feeding time is imminent, and may launch into guarding behavior before the food actually appears. Don’t wait to separate until feeding preparations have already begun. Everyone was kept separated until all dog food bowls were picked up and put away. The cats had their own private room with food and litterboxes that no dogs were allowed into.

2. Dogs were not allowed to stare at cats. One dog in our group had never lived with cats and at times he would stand and stare at several who were napping in a chair. We felt his prolonged staring indicated he was just becoming too focused on the cats. While it’s possible this behavior would never escalate into a predatory attack, we didn’t want to take the chance. We interrupted all staring by giving the dog something else to do.

3. Because the cats needed a way to escape from and avoid the dogs, they had plenty of hiding spaces. One cat preferred to be in a bedroom most of the time, and others were able to get under couches and chairs, on the mantle of the fireplace, on top of the TV, and in a room barricaded with a baby gate. Cats were also allowed to swat and hiss at dogs as needed.

4. No chew toys were allowed. While the dogs had fuzzy, squeaky toys and balls to play with, no one was given rawhides, pigs’ ears, or other high value chewies. All crunchy treats had to be consumed immediately, and every dog was required to sit and stay while eating one.

5. When one family of dogs re-entered the house after a walk, the other dog-family was kept away from the door. Re-entry into a room can be a high arousal situation that often takes place in a small, confined space. We didn’t want the returning dogs to be jostled, jumped on or threatened by those in the house. The dogs were closely monitored for a few minutes after re-entry, with lots of “jolly talk” by everyone.

6. One of our dogs wore a basket-type muzzle when in the house and all animals were loose together. We just didn’t trust this dog to be reliably friendly with either the other dogs or the cats, so the muzzle protected everyone. She tolerated it well, both because she had previously been accustomed to wearing it, and because it was well fitting and comfortable. We recommend www.morrco.com as a great source for well designed muzzles. Interestingly, her behavior toward the other animals was much better than we would have predicted.  You can't be embarrassed about thinking your dog needs a muzzle, when the safety of other pets is at stake.

7. The dogs had lots of exercise. Being confined in a relatively small space with individuals you don’t know is stressful. We took the dogs on many short walks, and we took ours on a longer snow-shoe hike. Tired, sleeping dogs are obviously less likely to have a conflict than those restlessly pacing with pent-up energy. This also allowed the cats to have some quiet, peaceful time as well.

We hope you find these precautions useful. Being proactive allowed everyone – human and pets – to enjoy the new year's celebration.  

Our friend Kathy has been caring for a stray cat that has “adopted” her. Kathy lives in a rural area, and Sam has been staying in her barn, but Kathy would like to bring Sam into the house and integrate him into the family with her other two cats.  The couple of times Kathy has brought him inside, Sam has gotten along with her other cats and is friendly with people, but he has urinated in her house more than once. A discussion with Kathy revealed that Sam had two problems. He was spraying (urine marking) in some places and when he used the litterbox, his urine would go over the sides. Sam was only half-squatting when he relieved himself in the box.

Kathy wanted to know how to prevent the soiling problems so Sam could regularly be inside, and become more a part of the family.  These problems aren't uncommon with newly adopted cats and need to know how to prevent litterbox and marking problems.

Sam has no problem going to the litterbox, but his posture causes the urine to go outside the box. Kathy can deal with this by giving Sam a litterbox with high sides that will keep the urine in the box. One way to do this is to use a tall plastic tote container with a hole in one side that will allow Sam to easily go in and out.

To prevent spraying and other problems, it’s a good ideawhen introducing a new cat to your household, to isolate the newcomer in his own room with water, food and a litterbox for a few days. This is what we recommended to Kathy. At first, Sam can come out to visit only when he has a chaperone until he seems comfortable with his new home and demonstrates he isn’t going to spray or eliminate outside the box. This gradual introduction helps him to acclimate to his new home with minimal stress and to show that he will use the litterbox provided for him.

During the short forays out from his room, Kathy should make the experiences fun and pleasant for Sam by pairing his visits with the other cats and people with play and/or food treats. Sam’s exploration of other rooms in the house should also be pleasant and calm, so he doesn’t associate the new places with fear or excitement. Antagonistic interactions with other cats or highly excitable experiences may lead to spraying.

Since Kathy has seen Sam spray in her house, we recommended that she talk to her veterinarian about a prescription of short-term anti- anxiety medication for him. This may inhibit the spraying and facilitate Sam’s integration into the household. We also recommended that Sam not be allowed to go outside without direct supervision, since he has been known to fight with other cats outside. Such antagonistic interactions outside can trigger marking behavior inside.

While there are no guaranteed ways to prevent elimination problems with cats, if their behavioral needs are met, most cats will use a litterbox reliably.

On March 25th, 2010 at 7pm Eastern time, Suzanne will give a public presentation for CAIT – Companion Animal Initiative in Tennessee on Keeping Your Cat Happy.  The presentation will be webcasted LIVE so if you want to tune in, join the fun, and pick up some good information your cat will appreciate, we'd love to have you join us.

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