The results are in. My math professor husband spent an hour yesterday crunching the numbers. This is what he wrote:
“Cats widely prefer clay to both pee and poop for every other type of litter. Otherwise there is no general overall preference.
For peeing, cats prefer Grass and Tofu. In a head to head matchup, cats prefer Grass over Pea Husk, Cereal, Olive, and Coffee Grounds (in order of strength of preference). There is no preference for Grass or Tofu, but cats will take Tofu over coffee.
For pooping, cats will use coffee over anything that isn’t clay. The only other litter they used was pea husk and grass and neither was statistically significant different from no usage.“
It’s worth noting that out of 10 cats who participated in the experiment, four were 5-month-old kittens who had been raised on clay litter for as long as they had lived indoors. Had we started them on tofu, would the results have been different? Did they just go to what they were familiar with?
The same could be asked of the remaining six adult cats in the study. Out of six, four had been with us since kittenhood and always used clay litter. The two remaining had been using clay litter exclusively for at least five years in our home, although since they were adopted as adults, we can’t know their history prior. Interestingly enough, although we did not track individual cats’ preferences (too much work), it appeared that these two cats who were adopted as adults were the most likely to try the new choices.
All cats had access to eight other litter boxes, all with their usual clay litter, in other rooms of the home at all times during the study. These boxes were not tracked, though all were used regularly, especially at night.
What are your thoughts? Although not in his write up, my husband also was able to determine that there was no strong preference between scented/unscented litter, which is something that cat behavior professionals including myself preach on all the tim
My litter box experiment will still be running for a few more days. Yesterday, I switched up the order again and refilled/refreshed all the boxes. Here is foster kitten Peter acting like a human woman in the ladies room considering which stall they want to use in a long line 😂
So far, the clay litter is winning by a landslide. In second place is the grass litter, and tofu and pea husk are following. Coffee grounds has been the least used. My personal least favorite is the olive pit. Just sticky and disgusting to scoop.
I’m very excited because my math professor husband’s colleague will be using my data for her statistics class project this semester!
This is a video of me giving Perry his medication. It’s clavamox, so it’s bitter and terrible. This video isn’t perfect, and I get nervous about sharing videos of me working with cats because I’m my own worst critic. However, I want to show that it is realistic and possible to drastically minimize stress levels even when giving a nasty horrible liquid medication. Even in this type of chaos.
When he was prescribed clavamox, I cringed. He is a foster through a rescue, so I’m limited in what I can request because he’s not my cat and I’m not paying for his medical care. I desperately try not to have to give cats liquid meds, even compounded flavored ones, because it sucks every time. Perry was trapped outside at between 8-10 weeks old and was totally untouched by people, so socializing him has been difficult and a process. I’m so proud of how far he’s come. He’s actually getting adopted tomorrow by a great family, and I’ll probably cry. But I desperately did not want to hurt our relationship and trust that I worked so hard on building.
So this is what I did. This is my “sandwich” method. Perry actually comes running when I sit down on the floor and put the blanket on my lap, even though it means meds are coming. First, he gets a bunch of good treats. His favorite is lunchmeat. I have to go with super high value to make it worth his time. Then, once he is warmed up, I gently blanket wrap him in my lap and administer the meds. The blanket wrap is there to allow me some gentle control over his body without having to resort to anything harsh like scruffing.
This part isn’t perfect. He scrambles when I go to lift him, but settles down quickly and stays calm and quiet while I get the bad stuff done. Yes, his face shows signs of stress, but look how quickly he bounces back and comes to me again for more treats. He knows what’s coming next. This the Premack Principle – the idea that an animal will put up with something undesirable because th
Today’s update: Puff tried the tofu litter last night. I actually really liked how it clumped. Really low-mess. I wish the cats liked it more. Maybe they’re still figuring it out.
For now, enjoy this video of old man Sunny considering his options and ultimately deciding on the grass seed.
Tonight, I intend on moving all the boxes around and changing the order to see if anything exciting happens when I do.
Today’s litter update: Nothing much new to report. Still, the only two cats (out of 12) to try new types of litter are Sunny and Juniper. My foster kitten, Perry, lets us know very clearly here what he thinks about the blueberry scented pea husk litter. The four foster kittens use the boxes in this room frequently and have picked clay every single time, no hesitation or consideration.
Doodles is very loving, but he becomes overstimulated quickly. He was enjoying some pets, but began to communicate that he just wanted to be nearby and not touched.
You can see the subtle body language changes of his mild irritation: ears slightly to the side and his tail beginning to flick. He was purring, which can be confusing, that is why it is important to watch for the small changes in body language.😼
Remember my foster kitten Posey? Now we’re jumping into my lap willingly using the same old hand target method. Can you hear those purrs?
8 week old Posey
Little foster kitten Posey was trapped outside just a little too late in her kittenhood and she’s developed a healthy fear of people. In this video, I’m using a hand target to teach Posey that approaching and touching people makes good things happen. ❤️
Happy Friday Everyone!
Just a reminder that low stress and cooperative care is pawsome!
Doodles, a clinic cat at Mary's work, is not the best patient sometimes. He had an upset stomach over night so he needed a pill to help him feel better. Laura's technique that had been featured on our page, works beautifully for Doodles and he was happy to take his medicine.
(Mary is not a professional video creator😹)
You do not always have to go out and buy fancy puzzle feeders to up your feeding game for your cats.
A simple toilet paper roll with a hole cut out and the ends taped together works perfectly well has a simple puzzle feeder.
I've been slacking with the #weeklywins posts on Fridays, so here is a big one!
I've been working with Grandpa and Goblin's caregivers since February. We were honestly not very optimistic that things would work out at this time. Before they got Goblin, Grandpa was attacking her caregivers regularly. They believed that she needed a playmate to reduce her aggression towards people, but unfortunately that was not the case. She attacked Goblin, who was just a kitten, immediately and violently, causing injury. It was a lot for anyone to deal with.
I want to give a huge shoutout to cat caregivers Kim and Neal, because despite them being in one of the toughest, worst situations with their cats that I've ever seen, they didn't give up on Grandpa. And look at the progress!
No, she's not perfect yet. But her tail is up, she disengages from Goblin easily, and she is mostly relaxed and comfortable around him. Her violence towards humans has also reduced significantly. In fact, she has never been more pleasant to be around.
Super proud of our progress and feeling optimistic for the future!
Celebrating our Weekly Win a few days late with Willow and Kirby!
Willow was a new addition to the home a few months ago and during initial introductions, she quickly realized that she was NOT a big fan of Kirby. Poor Kirby was terrified and wouldn't come near Willow for several months.
As a result of my tailored reintroduction subscription program, Kirby and Willow learned to see eye-to-eye. They are probably never going to be best friends -- and that's okay -- but they are now able to happily coexist and feel safe around each other.
Congratulations to their mom, Abbi, who has been working very hard with them to get them to this point where they are able to enjoy a nap together in the same room. <3
For our Weekly Win this week, one of our clients achieved a major breakthrough in the process of reintroducing their cats, Bernie and Marbles. After struggling with Bernie's initial hostility towards Marbles, a new kitten in the household, we successfully facilitated their first peaceful interaction without a barrier separating them. It went perfectly! Bernie and Marbles were able to coexist calmly and even relaxed around each other.
This achievement highlights the effectiveness of our personalized approach and dedication to supporting our clients through every step of the introduction process. Reintroducing cats can be incredibly complex and challenging, requiring lots of patience and hard work. We provide a level of service unique to Pawsitive Vibes through our reintroduction subscription program, which includes weekly check-ins and ongoing support every step of the way.
Misinformation regarding cat introductions runs rampant across the internet, and many common methods such as feeding the cats on opposite sides of a door may not always be effective. Our professional expertise ensures a smoother and less stressful experience for both cats and their owners.
Congratulations to Bernie and Marbles on reaching this milestone. We're thrilled to see them nearing the finish line of their reintroduction journey!
Curious about the training taking place in the video? Leave your questions below.
This little guy is one of my current clients in my Reintroduction Subscription Program, 5-month-old kitten Persimmons. Rather than pushing food bowls closer and closer together, which can be highly stressful for cats and is rarely effective, I prefer to teach cats important and useful skills that will translate to being together. One of my favorite methods to use in introductions is Control Unleashed pattern games.
This particular pattern game, called Super Bowls, can be a valuable tool in teaching calm behavior and impulse control during cat introductions, especially for cats like Persimmons who struggle with impulse control and high distractibility. Through the game, Persimmons learns to redirect his focus away from the older cat, helping him resist the urge to pursue interactions that may escalate tension.
By practicing Super Bowls, Persimmons gradually develops the ability to pause and think about his actions, demonstrating impressive moments of stillness and concentration here in the video. His ability to maintain focus for an entire 3-minute session showcases the effectiveness of the game in promoting calmness and impulse control in challenging situations -- ask his family if he's ever focused on anything for an entire 3 minutes before!
Persimmons is a challenging cat to train and work with because of his impossibly high energy, but this is progress!
Disclaimer: Making videos is NOT my area of expertise. However, this is a video I've been wanting to make for a long time. In my experience, this is the easiest way to train your cat to take medication voluntarily.
Hiding medication in food is generally not a great idea. Some cats are garbage disposals and will eat anything. However, most aren't. Many cats will eat their meds just fine in food until one day they won't anymore. And for most people, it works a few times, until the cat gets a good taste of the meds on day 3 or 4, and then you're out of luck. In extreme cases, the cat may refuse to eat that food again, even without meds in it.
This is the solution. Empty pill capsules. They mask the taste and smell of medication. Shoutout to my supermodel cat, Bean, for demonstrating the training process.
Cats generally don't like plastic litter box liners because they can get caught in the cat's nails when digging. That feeling of getting stuck isn't pleasant!
It is best to keep litter boxes unlined and scrub them regularly.
Shelters can be a scary place and these two cats were understandably fearful when people entered their room. Finger targets like this were a great way to help build their confidence by giving them the choice to interact and earn tasty treats. At the beginning of the session, the tortoiseshell hid herself on the highest cat tree shelf, shivering. But after a few treats, she came down on her own and was eager to practice more targets!
There are two important things that are helping these cats come out of their shells:
PREDICTABILITY: they soon learned that this person would not touch them, grab them, or do anything scary to them. They also learned that touching the finger always produced a treat. Any predictability lowers stress because they're not constantly wondering what will happen next.
CHOICE and CONTROL: the cats had full control over their interactions with the person. They could touch the finger and get a treat. Or they could ignore them or move away. By allowing them to make their own decisions with how they interact with their environment, they become more and more confident!
Is this a good time to pet this cat? What do you think?
You'll find me voting "no" on this one. The cat's tail is whipping back and forth, a good sign that she is in a high-arousal state. Her body is tense and her focus is intent on the birds outside. Though she is normally a very friendly cat, if you reached out a hand in this moment, you are likely to get a hiss or a scratch.
Why is that? You might just simply startle her into a defensive mode. You may also trigger redirected aggression: when a cat can't access their target (in this case, tasty birds outside), they can release their frustration on whatever person or animal is nearby.
In this case, it's best not to bother this cat until she is done window-watching!