The View From My Side of the Table

Understanding CAT BODY LANGUAGE is essential in my line of work.  As you can imagine,  if I
read a cat wrong, someone could get hurt.   I need to know when your cat is relaxed enough for me to begin my examination, or take an radiograph, or draw a blood sample.  Here are some of my secrets.

  If your cat is rubbing on my leg while I am chatting with you , it is an all-clear signal "you may pick me up now."

 If your cat is walking around the room with their tail pointing toward the ceiling, I am being told, "I am comfortable, and it is OK to handle me now."

If your cat is purring, it does not necessarily mean they are happy.  Cats will purr when happy, scared or in pain, but a purring cat will rarely act aggressively.

Growling comes in many different flavors.  Some cats are giving me a warning, some cats are out of their comfort zone and just scared, and some cats mean "DO NOT reach for me".   Usually I can
differentiate these guys by their body language.

Facial rubbing and head butting is my favorite exam room behavior -it means that I am recognized and accepted as a friend.

The "flop on their side and expose the  belly" cat is also a favorite of mine.  However, I don't want to touch the belly as most cats see this as a breech of trust.  I scratch under the chin and behind the ears -a more generally accepted form of attention.

Flattened ears should never be ignored. These cats are SCARED, and need quiet calming from their owners.  Once the ears are upright, I will slowly proceed with quiet and gentle handling.

Yawning can be a sign of  stress.  Rarely are cats tired in the exam room, but I see a lot of yawning -this indicates that they are nervous and under stress. 

Feliway, a spray product that mimics facial pheremones, and that helps many cats relax -can be used
at home as a way to decrease the stress associated with going to the vet.  Feliway is now available in a wipe.  Used inside the carrier about 10 minutes before you are ready to cage your cat, the Feliway Wipe with act in a natural way to allow your cat to become calm before travel.   I use Feliway on my exam towels.  Some of my patients will only relax when covered with a towel.  We spray these exam towels with Feliway before the appointment.  Feliway makes a BIG difference in some of my patients stress levels.

Learning to read the body language of your cat will help you to understand what they are saying to you.  Cats CAN talk, just not with words, but with actions! 

Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Are you moving to Mars?

From your cats perspective, moving to a new home or apartment is like moving to a  new planet.  There may be steep mountains to climb (stairs), and dangerous cliffs to avoid (balconies).  There will be foreign terrain (carpet/ flooring) and dark scary caves (basement or storage areas), and also strange smells.   The old safe spots and hidey-holes have disappeared.  Perhaps even foreign-smelling new furniture has been delivered. 

Moving is stressful for people too, but at least we are prepared for the changes in store.  It may be tempting to throw away the old hairy cat beds, and well used litter boxes when you move, but these "smell" like security and familiarity to your cat.  Any change you make will be one more thing that is foreign is a new world of foreign-ness.

Ideally, set up a small room with all the cats favorite "old" things:  toys, cat trees, beds, favorite chair, scratching post, blankets, litter boxes, food and water - and remember to add some places to hide.  Then use this room for the temporary cat sanctuary.  Let them de-stress in the sanctuary (with the door closed) until the moving chaos  and noise comes under some control.  Exploring the new world at their own pace (once things have settled down), while having access to the sanctuary if scared, is the perfect way to accustom them to their new home.   Allow the sanctuary to exist as long as they need this added security.   You will know when they have conquered the new world with the first midnight relay race thru the house!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic

Get Grandma out of the basement.

I saw a 19 year old cat yesterday for a variety of issues, as you can imagine. Thru my history taking, I found out that the only litterbox was in their basement. They were, essentially, making grandma travel all the way down into the basement every time she had to urinate.  Since she was in kidney failure, this was 6+ times a day.
 Now this guy loved his cat, don't get me wrong.  He thought it was giving her needed exercise.  Makes sense. What makes MORE sense is to give an old cat the option of a litterbox on EACH floor of the house.
 It also makes sense to add more water bowls in conveniently located spots, as dehydration is a frequent and serious problem in older cats.
 Feeding only soft food to any cat over 14 is a recommendation that I make to all my clients.  Why? -it increases their water intake as most soft food is at least 75% water, it is easier to chew and digest, and it usually contains higher quality, less processed ingredients. 
 As your cat ages, making some simple changes to their home environment will not only make their life easier, it may actually help them live longer!

Maxie is peeing on the rug.

Today Maxie peed on the rug by the back door.  She had done this once before, last week.  This time the owner called me for advice.
Cats pee out of the box for MANY different reasons.  But EACH cat has one very specific reason for starting this behavior.  The challenge is detecting the reason, and finding a solution.
I ALWAYS BEGIN with a physical exam and urinalysis to rule out a medical problem.  Medical problems do not go away, cause pain and can lead to a life threatening  urinary blockage.
If the urinalysis does not indicate crystals or blood or high protein or bacteria, and the physical exam is normal, then we are dealing with a behavior problem.  Maxie had completely normal urine and a very comfortable belly.
So, I put my detective hat on and asked the owner 20 questions. It turns out that Maxie's owner purchased a new dehumidifier last week, and set it up at the base of the basement stairs.  The litterboxes are in the basement, so Maxie, who is a nervous cat,  had to walk past the noisy, "scary new thing" to go to the bathroom.  Hmmmm!
I believe, in Maxie's case, adding a litterbox to the first floor, and putting the dehumidifier in an area far from the basement litterboxes will solve this particular mystery.  Now, Maxine can go back to being a perfect angel, and the owner can safely walk around his house in stocking feet without any suprises!

 Here is a fantastic link for anyone with this type of behavior problem.

The litterbox from Your Cat's Point of View

Next time:  What should I feed my cat?

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

How hot is too hot?

                                                                           

Today I had a client ask me if 110 degrees was too hot for their cat.  They had a sun room that the cats enjoy and today the temperature was close to 110.  It is true that healthy cats enjoy warm temperatures and sunshine BUT they also will move out of the heat occasionally to regulate their internal thermometers.   Here is the danger.  In an enclosed sunroom where can these cats go to cool down IF they are too warm?  Hyperthermia is a life threatening condition that comes on quickly and needs to be recognized IMMEDIATELY.  The signs are very suble in the cat.  Prevention is the key!

Please do not allow your pets to "decide" all things.  I recommend treating your cats as if they were a 2 year old child.  Yes, they can make their own decisions, but they are not always the right ones.  They need to be watched, monitored and protected.

Heat index dangers are not just for people.  Keep your cats indoors AND cool during these severe heat spells.  A fan located near their sleeping area is a safe addition.  Scrub out the food and water dishes daily in this heat to decrease bacteria buildup.  Give fresh cool water  several times a day.  Did you know that animals are much less likely to drink water if the water temperature is over 80 degrees.

Keep cool... and hug the cat! 

Dr. Flatley