CATification

A new book, recently released by Animal Planet's Jackson Galaxy, is called Catification. I havn't read the book, but did listen to the "My Cat From Hell" star discussing what he terms CATifying your home.  It is not a new concept.  It it commonly called "adding vertical space" to your home.  And it is a recommendation that I commonly make when doing a Behavior Consultation involving aggression problems between cats in the same family.
Mr. Galaxy talks about adding a super highway above floor level so that felines can get from here to there without interacting with too-active dogs, too-inquisitive toddlers and too-scary visitors.  But this vertical space also allows Miss Shy more control over her interactions with Mr. Toughguy.  Miss Shy can chose to perch above the chaos that we call LIFE, watching it all from the safety of her six foot high perch or shelf or overlook.
One of my cats is a shy cat.  Her name is Posie ( a Neenah Shelter rescue)  that is frightened by just about anything but absolute silence.  She can be found "above ground level" 95% of her day.  Vertical space allows her to adapt to a household with 2 other cats and 2 dogs. 
You may have a cat with similar anxieties.  Many cats without "vertical space" chose to hide under the bed, or in the basement.  Consider CATifying one room in your home  or your whole house and see how the cats respond.  Be creative!  Better yet, send us photos of your CATifying project that we can share on facebook so that we can share the CATtification!

Oh, and the new book, Catification,  may be a great Christmas gift for the cat lover in your life!

My cat is too loud!

                                                                                

I do behavior consultations.  People with cat problems come to me for advice.   But I  was suprised to see "cat is too loud" on my appointment schedule.  Then I found out it was a Bengal, and I had to smile.  Purebred Bengals are amazing cats -they are inquisitive, active, social, very intelligent, they love people....and are very vocal.
When the owners showed up for their behavior consult everyone in the clinic could hear them arrive.  MEOW.    MEOW.    MEOW.........  This cat did not have an indoor voice!  While trying to discuss their concerns over the constant meowing (can cats scream?), I found out that the only time the cat is quiet is when he is A-sleeping  B-eating or C-interacting with one of the owners.  As the  conversation continued, the cat went from the the table to the floor to the counter to the floor to the windowsill to the  floor to the lap to the floor in the first minute.    I was getting dizzy just watching him. 
This  diagnosis was simple -(drum roll please) this cat is BORED!!!
Certain breeds (like Bengals) need mental stimulation and social interaction and exercise to be happy.  This guy was an only cat living with 2 adults.  He had no cat buddies, no kids buddies, no dog buddies, no bird buddies.    His food was served to him in a bowl.  He was strictly indoors.  He has no regular playtime, no cat towers, and no toy rotation.
One of my favorite links for fantastic advise on how to keep your indoor cat "busy and happy"  is
Indoor Cat Initiative .  You will find a section on indoor cats needs, life stressors, problem solving, and (yes) ideas for increasing the activity of your cat!  You can even train your cat to run an obstacle course,  and then compete in cat agility -REALLY.  Watch the video below for an example -oh and by the way, this is a Bengal running this course!
Dr. Flatley