Readers Respond: Have you had success solving a cat behavioral problem? Share your Tips Here!

Cat behavioral problems run the gamut, from aggression, to litter box accidents, to howling in the night. Some undesirable behaviors are only annoying, such as excessive attention-seeking, while others, such as chewing on electrical cords are downright dangerous. Still others, such as peeing outside the box, may be a sign of a physical problem. Curing a "bad" behavior problem requires thinking like a cat. What is your cat trying to tell you?

Indoor Cat Spraying Indoors

My cat began spraying after seeing other cats in the backyard. We live in a 2nd-floor apartment and my cat never goes out, but he's territorial. 1. I bought Petastic, which really seems to work at removing the odor. 2. If my cat sprayed, I would without comment go over, dry the area and spray with Petastic. 3. Every day I went to the same spot without any spraying having taken place, and sprayed it with Petastic. My cat watched me do this. I didn't talk to my cat, yell, or indicate in any way that he had anything to do with my actions. I did this several days after any spraying activity. 4. My cat stopped spraying -- I think he thought I had taken over the territory marking responsibility and was spraying "my spray" over his to show I was boss -- and to keep other cats away. Gotta think like a cat, I guess.

—Guest Hello All!

Happy two cat household

We got Bogey, a striped tabby from the Vet last year. He was only 2 mns old and had been found beside his dead mother on the road. He was such a sweet little guy for a few months then he started to bite. And, I don't mean play bite. I mean bite to the bone and hurt BAD kind of bite. He would wait until you turned your head & literally pounce on me & bite. This went on for several more months until I had come to the conclusion I had to find him a new home. I was becoming afraid of him & worried that his biting would extend to my grandchildren. Then one day I opened my door & there was our salvation. A sick, pitiful little kitten who looked at me with his big blue eyes & stole my heart. I took him to the vet the next day, loved him back to health & watched as my new sweet little Stuart turned my vicious Bogey into a wonderful cat. They play endlessly & sleep, eat & do everything together. Bogey hasn't bitten me since Stuey got here. It's true, two is better than one !!

—tarosa63

Behavior in Cats

Halloween Cat--He really growled at me as I put his food dish down, then he smacked me with his paw, several times, while I was sitting at kitchen table, and then I sat on sofa, then he got up and nosed my ear lobe (a kiss), End of Game --I realized I was dealing with a Halloween Cat--cat's name--Houdini, none the less. Has anyone heard this expression -- Halloween Cat -- mischief maker.

—Guest PAT KING

Litter Box Avoidance

One day I woke up to discover that my cat Ari had started urinating right outside his litter box. But why I asked myself, esecially when his box was kept clean and away from traffic. When I came to the harsh realization ( weeks later that the situation just was what it was, I decided to take action by purchasing a Cat mat and placing in the exact same spot where he was prone to urinating. Funny, minutes after I put the mat down in its new spot, Ari ce over, used his litterbox and finished off by tinkling on his new mat. Turns out he can't live without that mat, and either can I! Mission accomplished.....

—Guest Sofia S

Peeing outside the urine box

One of our 7 cats ( the Boss) has had it as her habit to pee in my bed or on some spesific chairs. Absolutely not a question of a physical problem while regularly schecked by the veterinarian. The tradition started along with her first heat but unfortunately did not stop with spaying. Nowadays it happens each time she has something to argue against like unpleasant guests, closed doors (which she hates most) and so on. Two products I strongly recommend together with other training means are Urine Off and Ssscat when this habit is not involved with a physical problem. I do not believe in punishment but more attention to this poor fellow who thinks she is not loved anymore ;)

—Guest Pico

doo doo out of the litter box

All of a sudden I found poo on the bathroom carpet three mornings in a row. What is the matter? I have 2 fur kids and so I did not see them and did not know which one was doing it. (The litter box is cleaned daily.)I was clueless as to why. Fur kids are 8 and 9 yeras old. I am at the desk and the female kid comes and puts her butt in front of me I shooed her away. Nasty old lady. And as she was walking I noticed white at her anus. She would not let me check her . I watched all day and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed when with a dark piece of paper I wiped her anus. worms. I went at once to the vet and did them both. No more poo in the bathroom. But of course in the bathroom that is where I go. And they were trying to tell me they had worms. I would never know because they use the litter box. Not a behavioral problem. But over the years I have learned they can talk. We just have to listen. Watch their body language. Thank you for reading. =^..^=

—Guest Pywacket

Biting

My cat is pretty perfect except for this... When she plays, she puts her teeth on you to kind of "get" you, like she's scored a point. Though she's never broken skin with a bite, if you pull away it can happen, or if you move toward her as she's coming at you. We should have broken her of the habit as a kitten, I guess, but she's over a year now. Any ideas? Also, she loves the new natural litters, but the corn and the wheat. I heard they lick their paws clean after using the box (we have the electric Elite thing) and the clay gets in their stomachs, where the corn and wheat just becomes harmless if injested.

—BillRitz

Litter Box Issues

Place kitty in litter box if it's that time and start purring and lightly pet back, I read this tip in a book, immediately solved litter box woes, only took a couple of tries.

—Guest Kat

Neuter the cat!

The family that was surprised that their 6 month old cat started spraying didn't say whether he had been neutered, but I'm guessing he was not. That is around age when spraying often starts; puberty plus stress = lots of cat pee! Spay or neuter to prevent spraying in both sexes!

—Guest Dr. Jean

While We're Away...

We have three cats, aged 17, 14, all rescued neutered males; have them since kittens. The oldest (the Alpha) would do the exact thing while we would vacation for a week. Tried a BUNCH of things, but here's what worked: The oldest bonded with me, hung on my bed. As soon as the suit cases come out, all three know something's up. I bicycle each day, on the morning before leaving, I took (don't get grossed out) my top off and left it on my bed while we were gone. It seems the ability to still smell me around worked to keep the oldest from both spraying (walls) and urinating (floor) at the lower level. Did it continually until we had to put the oldest down this March at the age of 19.

—Guest Brian Theobald

New kitten old cat

I had the old ornary cat new kitten problem when my second cat had babies. The two had never gotten along, but my ornary cat was taking issue with the kittens. I took one kitten out to play with him in the middle of the room, my ornary cat responded to his cries for mommy by picking him up, puttin him back in with his mom, and curling up with them all attempting to feed them. Before this, the ornary cat would growl at even me if I literally only looked at her, but she was sweet and maternal afterwards, as if she had been forever. :)

—Guest Jill

Love Nips

Has anyone an explanation for the love nips? My Siamese female especially loves to nip my chin. Of all the cats I have ever had, she is the worst. It is sweet but sometimes instead of just the nip, she will hold on briefly. The first time I pulled away and she broke the skin. After that, I would just let her hold on for a minute or so. Then I would say "Sammi, that is enough!" She has improved.

—Guest Cindi

Peeing on the Curtains

My cat kept urinating on the curtains whenever we were out of the house. The behavior got progressively worse. He was trying to tell us something. His urinary tract had some blockage and it was painful for him to pee. I had him catheterized and his bladder was cleaned out. The vet put him on an acid neutral diet so more blockage would occur. He never went outside the litter box again. It cost $2000.00 for one night in the hospital but it was completely worth it.

—Guest joeysd

Cat litter general

When starting out a cat with a covered cat litter, (with a lid) start by placing the covered portion over the cats food dish for a week or so resulting in a positive attitude when the time comes for installing over the cat litter box.

—Guest PjN

Dealing with visitors

Mango, our one year-old cat is a great cat. Only he was not very used to crowds. Since we have small groups of people visiting often, I knew he had to get used to them eventually. I never forced him to anything and most times he heard people comming and he'd leave. But I tried not feeding him until the guests arrived and called his name myself and instructed the guests to do so in a kind tone of voice. I told them not to gather around him because he would feel threathened. Rather, I took each of my guests towards my cat, who was standing waiting for me (his "person") to "introduce" each of them. I took my guest's hand, had him lower almost to his eye-level and had Mango smell the back of their hand while I spoke gently to him. He then rubbed himself towards their hand and their feet and would even let them -including an eight year-old, which is note-worthy since we have no children home - pet him. He then was fed in a quiet place and stood next to our guests. Try it!

—pasalpro