Modifying Your Cat's Behavior

So, now you have made that eye contact with the new love of your life and she has reached out to you with her paw and her heart. You both know that you are meant for each other and you have decided that you will make the lifetime committment to be this fur person's guardian and share your home and heart. You bring her home, this soft and purring bundle of love. You carry her over the threshold, place her on the floor and.....she takes off, headed in a bee line to your new sofa with claws out and focus on one thing. You spring for her but alas, the human form is far inferior to the feline's when it comes to speed and agility. At this point your only thought is where and how far to toss her, when and if you can catch her, to a place far away from her chosen destination.

This might well be an exaggeration, but the point of this is to let you know that if you prepare yourself and your home ahead of time, this fairy tale romance will probably still happen. One of the most important things to realize is that dogs and cats have very different philosophies. Dogs form social hierarchies and you take charge, hopefully, by being the "alpha dog" so to speak. Cats form social groups only when they have to and base their society on territorial ownership. Cats is cats and dogs is dogs. Don't think that cats will react like dogs. Big mistake.

Don't ever hit, kick or use any form of physical punishment. This will only teach your cat to fear you. There are many alternative and appropriate methods as described below, but first there are a few things that you can do in advance of her arrival to lessen the chance of a disappointment right out of the gate.

1. What to do to prepare for your new arrival.

Just as you would prepare for a new child coming into your house, you need to "kitty proof" your house:

• You will need to do a little research and find out which houseplants are poisonous to your cat. Most vets will have some sort of handout that will help you identify these plants.
• What about that fine china pottery sitting on the bookshelf? Move it to a more secure place, preferably in a glassed-in cabinet. Book shelves are so inviting. Cats love to perch on high places. Make sure that the shelves are strong and secure.
• Cats are very intelligent and can figure out how to open doors, especially kitchen cabinets. They hate to have a door closed to them. Even if they don't want to go into the room, the door better be at least ajar. As with small children, make sure that the cabinets under the sinks are safety locked and hazardous cleaning chemicals are out of reach. You can get child-proof locking devices at many hardware stores.
• Trash containers should be tightly closed. Food, and in our case, any food, especially defrosting fish or meat should be placed in an inaccessable place lest it become kitty food.

Make sure that you have the litter box ready and her food and water bowls are there for her first meal. Don't be upset if she wants to hide somewhere for several hours before she socializes. She will come out when she is ready. Don't forget that you will need a carrier in which to take her home. A soft towel inside would be pretty nice touch also.

2. So, what do I do if she misbehaves?

If you want to see what appears to be spring-action legs, surprise your cat. She will go vertical like a rocket! Things that distract them when attempting what we determine is poor behavior are a short squirt of water, a firm "NO", clap of your hands, etc. You get the idea. This has to be immediate or the connection to the poor behavior will not be realized. Have available in several rooms: some scratching boxes, scratching post, and several toys. When choosing toys, it's best to avoid those with strings or other stringy things that can become detached, swallowed, and later emerge causing your cat to resemble a furry, four legged fire cracker! A bored cat, like children, can get into what we percieve as mischief. To them, it's doing their work, exercising and honing their skills. Don't change the rules making something OK one day and off limits the next.

3. Rewards and Incentives.

Cats interpret your behavior in terms of reward and incentive. A cat who is ignored will try to get attention. They respond to hostility with retaliation, and you can only begin to imagine how these incredibly intelligent beings can retaliate in some very unpleasant ways.

BOTTOM LINE...The cats that have shared life and home with my wife and me for many years have mirrored the unconditional love and attention that we have shown them. We have learned a great deal from one another and appreciate every minute of our time together. They greet us when we come home and nurse us when we are ill. These fur persons greatly improve our quality of life and I can't imagine not having them around.

Written by Neil Milofsky, AdvoCATs Volunteer.

PetFinder has some excellent advice from experts in these articles:

• Help! He's Not Using the Litterbox!
• Cats on the Edge
• By Tooth and Nail: Household Destruction
• Float Like a Butterfly (or Why Cats Pounce)
• More cat behavior articles from the pros at PetFinder