Lying in Wait, Page 2 of 4
(Note: This was taken from one of my very first consultations, in 1999).
Because Vicki lived in Oregon and only about 25 minutes away, I
decided to make an unusual visit to her home to see the layout and get a
feel for her cats and their feline behavior problem as
well as their personalities. Vicki also had a genuine
caring and concern for her cats and I really wanted to help her.
I wanted to meet her too, because she sounded like such a nice
person and we had the love of cats in common!
Vicki’s home was small, about 900 sq. ft. She gave me a tour of
her home and it was just how she described it on the phone, down
to the crinkly plastic sheets covering her bed and other pieces
of furniture.
I immediately noticed her male cat Sasha lying in the middle of
the narrow hallway. I asked Vicki about this and Vicki said he
always did that. I told Vicki that having only one litter box
and having it located in the back of the house could definitely
be an issue. The rule of thumb is one litter box for each cat,
and most importantly, they should usually not be placed next to
each other just in case one of the cats may be guarding the
pathway on the way to that litter box. Location, location!
The
idea is for the litter boxes to be in different locations
throughout the house. In addition to this, higher ranking cats
(or just cats whose personalities are too playful for another
household cat) love to lie in wait and intimidate or play/prey
on other cats in the household. Cats are very territorial (even
more so than dogs) and the cat colony, Vicki’s home, was made up
of pathways and territories. It was clear to me that Sasha was
most likely intimidating Violet from passing him in the hallway
where he lay, therefore making her reluctant to get to the
litter box in the back of the house. Because of this, she was
choosing to urinate in other parts of the house.
I had Vicki add two more uncovered litter boxes to other parts
of the home so that Violet had a choice of boxes to use at
either end of the house in case Sasha decided to lie in wait for
her in the hallway.
I also had the owner play individually with all her cats more,
and particularly with Violet. Because Violet was more shy and
playtime can build confidence in cats, it seemed very
appropriate in this situation. I taught her how to engage a cat
in play and let them “kill” the prey at the climactic end of a
play session. Giving a treat or their food at the end of the
play session will round out the activity completely and further
satisfy them.
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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