Ain’t Misbehavin’ By Veterinarian Dr. Cassie Jones
Ain’t Misbehavin’
By Veterinarian Dr. Cassie Jones
Oh, my goodness! The dogs have had their day and now the cats get to put on their pajamas. Do we really know what makes them tick? Can you really train a cat? Why do we spend so much time with viral cat videos and so much less understanding cat viruses? Most people have opinions, and some admittedly strong opinions, about cats. I would like to help illuminate some of the more interesting behavioral quirks and eliminate some of the more incorrect ideas about our house cats.
First, short and sweet, can you train a cat? The answer is YES. They can be trained to do many things, even “tricks” but the secret is they pretty much will only work for food. Really tasty treats, in fact. They are smart. They know the difference between the sound of a can of garbanzo beans opening and the sound of a can of tuna. Same with the crinkly of a bag of chips or a package of cat treats. You know this is true! I have honestly seen cats trained to jump hoops, sit, rollover, and so on but their only motivator is food. Try it!
A few crazy cat behaviors explained or at least expounded upon:
Scenario: My new cat is in pain, agony, rolling around on the floor, yowling! I think she hurt her neck, and she keeps sticking her rear end up in the air! Help!
Fun Fact: Cats, female cats, who have not been spayed, are triggered to go in to heat by lengthening daylight. Readers who are up on their solstices and equinoxes will know that the shortest day of the year is the Winter Solstice, about the 21st of December each year. The next day after that will be slightly longer and the next after that and so on, until the Vernal (Spring) Equinox when the day and night are equal. It is onward from there to the Summer Solstice, or the longest day of the year. As the Autumnal Equinox approaches, the days shorten, and the seasons and cycles repeat. This means that a cat could come in to heat just before the New Year and keep coming in to heat every couple weeks through very late spring! They are pregnant for 9 weeks, so the first kittens will be born closer to early spring. Pretty amazing how nature figures this out. Also pretty amazing how the new graduate veterinarian figures this out when, in their first year of practice, they encounter half a dozen yowling, painful cats in the same week! Funny thing, none of them had been spayed yet. This was not something that was emphasized in Crazy Cat Behavior 101 in Vet School.
Scenario: I am so worried about Tom, I think he might have a bladder infection, he keeps peeing on the walls!
Hmmm, maybe no so Fun Fact: He is peeing on the wall, you got that right, but he may not have a bladder infection. Urinating outside the litter box is the number one biggest cat behavior concern we deal with and a much longer treatise than this is needed to address it fully. Suffice it to say, there is a difference between peeing on a vertical surface (standing upright and spraying urine on the wall) and an uncomfortable cat squatting in or out of the box multiple times a day. Again, hormones might be “at fault.” An unneutered male cat will certainly mark his territory, your living room if he so desires it, with smallish amounts of urine sprayed from a four-legged stand straight back on to the wall, or draperies. The vast majority of neutered male cats will not decorate your/their home in this fashion.
Truly Fun Facts: Kneading their paws on you or your head (!) is something cats do as tiny kittens when nursing from their mother but continue it sometimes into adulthood. It generally means they like you a lot, mom! Head butting is not intended to knock your coffee cup out of your hand, but rather to put their scent on you and get your attention. They like you! The mouse or headless mouse at the foot of your bed? A gift! Say Thank You!
Not as fun but facts nonetheless: The twitching tail is NOT like a dog wagging its tail in happiness and joy. It is an aroused, vigilant cat that just may be letting you know he has almost had enough, thank you, so stop. My husband insists it is his game with the cat, but why does he always end up losing with a nice scratch across the back of his hand? The twitching, swishing tail means the same thing, every time, honey….it means stop it!
The midnight yowling in a senior cat is quite different than the yowling of a cat in heat when it is young, although each is reminiscent of the other. It can indicate some signs of disease, senility, deafness or pain in a cat, so it is always a good idea to have that checked out by your veterinarian.
And lastly, back to the out-of-the-litter box thing, It generally means only one of two things: there is something physically wrong with your cat (like a bladder infection, urinary crystals or stones, or worse, a urinary blockage starting) or there is something “mentally” wrong with the cat. There is something it DOES NOT LIKE and YOU, with the help of your veterinarian, are challenged with finding out just what that is. This can take some real Sherlock Holmes’ detective work on both your parts, as it can be the darndest thing that is upsetting your feline friend. Generally, most sources of irritation are discernable and likely fixable, ranging from just keeping the litter box cleaner and to their liking, to rearranging furniture, providing preferred foods, keeping the toddler from pulling cat tails, and so on. There are resources available to help.
All this being said, your cat will not have read this and will come up with some of his own cutest, craziest and crazy-making behaviors. Just watch a few hours of cat videos on your computer sometime and smile!
Dr. Cassie Jones, veterinarian, principal owner and founder Point Vicente Animal Hospital in Golden Cove, Rancho Palos Verdes. Past President of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Board of Directors. UCLA and UCDavis. Native plant enthusiast and collector of art that captures something of what we are all about. Husband Lewis Enstedt, peninsula native and cat mom to Howie and Dewey.
Point Vicente Animal Hospital
pointvicentevet.com