Aggressive Cat Behavior

Case Study #1:  Lying in Wait -- Aggression

Lying in Wait, Page 4 of 4

(Note: This was my very first consult in 1999).

Eating and eliminating are separate motivations that cats have and they like separate spaces for each of these.  Cats don’t like to eliminate near a food source.  By placing food in the area where the urinating was taking place, created a competing motivation and stopped Violet from urinating there. Having other areas where food is located, can also help in eliminating aggressive cat behavior between cats.

This consult went particularly well because I think I did such a thorough history on all of the cats.  Sasha lying in wait in the hallway could have been easily overlooked if I had only focused on Violet.  Other reasons why I think the consult went well were that I talked to the owner in great length and was better able to understand what she was willing to do and not do in her home and what would work with her schedule, such as adding litter boxes, cat trees and playtimes.  I think it‘s important to find out what a client is willing to do, and not just assume they are going to follow your complete behavior program.

By following this mode of operation, I can tailor a plan to meet the cat owner’s needs.  But, sometimes, this is not the case and certain environmental change is necessary and can be the only answer to do away with an undesirable feline behavior.  If the cat owner is reluctant about making a particular change within the household, my only option then, is to educate and communicate with the owner everything I know as to why a certain change needs to be made and give them several examples of how it has helped other cats etc.

If the suggestions still don‘t work for the owner‘s life style, then I try other alternatives for eliminating the undesirable feline behavior.  Several times this has actually worked and so I have learned not to give up -- and that there is much to learn about feline behavior.

Even though I typically approach certain feline behavior issues (where appropriate) with the philosophy of simultaneously giving negative outcomes for an undesirable behavior while also positively reinforcing desirable behaviors and new positive activities and habits with the cat, I learned that in this particular consult, I had a 100% success rate without using negative outcomes at all.  This taught me that negative outcomes are not always necessary in every situation.

I also learned from this consult that if I hadn’t made a visit in person, I might have missed Sasha lying in the middle of the hallway intimidating Violet. Because I can not always make a visit in person to my client’s home, an even more important lesson, and already mentioned above, is to be very thorough in my preliminary history gathering session with the cat owner.  This is why I have a very thorough questionnaire that I've put together for my phone consult clients.

Go to Page:

Lying in Wait 1:  Cat Behavioral Problem

Lying in Wait 2:  Feline Behavior Problem

Lying in Wait 3:  Bad Cat Behavior

Lying in Wait 4:  Aggressive Cat Behavior

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