Lura Rogers - Breaking your cats bad habits

Lura Rogers

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independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Arden Moore and Nancy Ringer Cover design by Carol J. Jessop (Black Trout Design) Illustrations by Rick Daskam Text production by Leslie Noyes

Copyright 2000 by Storey Communications, Inc.

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Printed in the United States

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rogers, Lura.

Breaking your cats bad habits / Lura Rogers.

p. cm. (A Storey country wisdom bulletin; A-257)

ISBN 1-58017-345-4 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. CatsTraining. 2. CatsBehavior. I. Series.

SF446.6 .R64 2000

636.80887dc21

00-061227

For many of us, cats are our friends and playmates, our most trusted confidants, and our best mood elevators. They keep us amused with their antics and help us cope with the daily stresses of life.

But cats arent always models of perfect behavior. They arent born with instant manners. In fact, some cats create more mayhem, mischief, and madness than we can tolerate. They scale curtains, eat our houseplants, shred our furniture, and then recuperate by snoozing on kitchen countertops. Cats are notoriously independent and indifferent to human interventions. You may whistle, clap, and shout at the cat sleeping on the counter, but youll get nothing but a disdainful twitch of the whiskers until you actually get up and approach the feline trespasser; the threat of an undignified removal is usually enough to make the cat move. Turn your back, however, and the cat is right back where he started.

Although cats are notoriously independent,
they are also our most trusted friends and our
best mood elevators.

Cats are quite different from dogs. They have no desire to please the leader of the pack. They dont strive for approval and praise. They are both independent and intelligent, which leaves the frustrated cat owner with a challenging task. But must you put up with a cats bad habits? Absolutely not! With patience and care, a cat can be trained as well as a dog. Its simply the approach thats different.

The key to breaking a cats bad habits is investigating their cause. Does your cat like to sleep on your kitchen counters? Cats love to sit and nap in high locations that are close to but removed from activity in the household; perhaps you need to provide your feline with a better place to perch. Does your cat relieve herself outside the litter box? Perhaps youre not cleaning the box often enough, or the litter box is not in the right location, or you need to try a different brand of litter. Does your cat scratch the furniture? Perhaps its the best scratching spot in the house; to stop the cat, you need to provide a more tempting scratching location.

Once you know whats causing the problem, youre better able to set the household rules and correct misbehaviors. Most cats learn quickly when you are consistent in your approach.

This bulletin is designed to be your guide to achieving a happy, healthy, and harmonious home one enjoyed by both you and your feline friends. Lets start on the road to better behavior by first stepping back in time and getting a better understanding of how our modern cats evolved.

Somewhere around 40 million years ago, the first animal to resemble the modern house cat roamed Earth. Similar to todays cat in size and general appearance, with slight differences due to environmental adaptations, this ancient animal proved to be an adept hunter. Research indicates that our household tabby (known by scientists as Felis domesticus) is a descendant of the African wildcat (Felis libyca).

The first domestic cats appeared around 3500 B.C. in Egypt. By 1500 B.C., cats had earned elevated roles in Egyptian religion. The Egyptians even worshiped a cat deity named Mu. Cats became valued and sacred members of Egyptian society; they not only received special treatment in life but also were included in afterlife mummification rituals.

As world travel became more prevalent, the Greeks and Phoenicians learned of cats and became curious about these mysterious Egyptian animals. Travelers purchased and even kidnapped cats from Egypt to develop a cat population in the Mediterranean area. Prized not only for rarity and Egyptian heritage, the cat was valued also for its skill in rodent control. The mighty metropolis of Rome welcomed cats as hunters of the mice and rats that spread deadly diseases.

By A.D. 900, cats had reached Europe and Britain. Europeans began to breed them selectively to bring out certain characteristics. It was also at this time that the original breeds likely began to mate with European wildcats. As their global popularity expanded, domesticated cats spread into Asia, earning an honored place in Asian societies.

The 16th and 17th centuries were eras of superstition and fear of witchcraft. Cats, possibly because of their stealthy, nocturnal nature, became associated with witches. Some people even believed that cats were a link between the living and the dead. Many began to view them with suspicion and fear.

Fortunately, cats have regained their popularity and are welcomed members of many North American households.

The biggest mistake cat owners make when trying to teach good behavior is assuming that cats learn in the same manner that dogs do. Wrong. Although they are both our furry friends, cats and dogs are two distinctly different species.

Dogs are pack animals that seek a well-defined pecking order. In a dogs mind, there must always be a top dog an alpha dog (usually you, the owner) who rules the household. Everyone else (people and other pets) then fall into a specific chain of command as perceived by a dog.

Cats, on the other hand, are colony dwellers. Each member has its own role, but no particular cat is in control. There are no alpha cats in the feline way of thinking. That explains why sometimes your cat ignores you.

To correct misbehavior, you need to think a bit like a cat. One of a cats greatest priorities is the hunt. Its instinctive. Your cats ancestors survived by hunting small game. Given the opportunity, todays housecats are great hunters of mice, small rabbits, birds, and bugs. They have an innate hunting drive. Watch closely as a mother encourages her young kittens to hone these stalking skills. She may let them chase her waving tail; she may demonstrate for them the proper pouncing technique. Cats of old hunted for survival; cats of today hunt for fun. Watching your kitten play with toys, you can see it practice and improve its stalking and hunting techniques.