Pattern Games aren't just for dogs! What are pattern games? Pattern games, designed as part of the Control Unleashed program by Leslie McDevitt, offer a predictable, positive interaction between a pet and their person, in which the pet is in control.
In the video below, you can see me doing the "Voluntary Sharing" pattern game with my cats Inigo, Yato, and Julian. What can you tell about the pattern from watching the video? Why did I move the dish that's in front of Inigo?
Comment below!
Not all cats are motivated by treats! Meet Frosted Flakes. Frosted, as I call her, started out as an under-socialized kitten at Queen Anne's County Animal Services. I began working with her a few months ago, and the progress really stepped up once I realized that PLAY is her favorite thing! The video below shows me using play as her reward for a specific behavior. Can you tell what the behavior I'm rewarding is?
PS: Frosted is available for adoption and comes with an hour of FREE behavior support! Contact QACAS for more information about adopting her!
Inigo's Pattern Game, Now
Inigo has been inside almost a year now, and most mornings he still asks for his pattern game! His cue for letting me know he wants the pattern game is he sits on the toilet (he's fed his breakfast in this room). This is now a standard "Up/Down" pattern game, where Inigo is given a treat in the dish when he looks up at me.
A lot has changed for Inigo in the past year: he's now treated for hyperthyroidism, allergies, and anxiety. Through it all, he's enjoyed his daily pattern game.
Pattern games can be very helpful for nervous cats, as it gives them a positive, predictable interaction in which they have control. Just two minutes a day can make a big difference for cats like Inigo!
(Video: Inigo is a brown and white tabby cat being given treats in a metal dish when he looks up at me.)
Inigo's Original Pattern Game
When Inigo first came inside last November, he was a very anxious, scared dude. To help him settle in, I started a pattern game with him. Pattern games can help nervous cats become more confident and relaxed by providing them with a predictable, positive interaction that they have control over. This pattern game is called "Up/Down". Normally, the cat looks up before a treat being put in the dish; Inigo was so nervous when he first came inside that he didn't want to look up... I modified the game so that he was rewarded for sniffing my fingers. You can see in the video how tense he is: his tail is tucked close, his body is low to the ground.
Coming up next is a more recent video of Inigo doing the same pattern game.
(Video: Inigo is a chunky brown and white tabby cat. He's nervously crouched low to the floor, tail curled around him. There is a metal dish in which I drop a treat into whenever he sniffs my fingers.)
Meet "Parmesan" (black and white cat) and "Mozzarella" (brown and white cat)!
Mozzarella was recently adopted and the first introduction attempt was not successful; so they are now learning how to interact with each other in more positive ways. This video shows them participating in the "Voluntary Sharing" pattern game created by Leslie McDevitt: when Parmesan looks up at her owner, Mozzarella gets a treat first and then Parmesan gets her treat. This pattern game is just one of the tools I use to help resolve inter-cat aggression issues.
If your cats aren't getting along, I'd love to help! Please click here for more information about my professional services: https://www.acatspurrspective.com/services.php
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcbehavior #catpatterngames #catsfightinghelp
#MythMonday: Today I want to challenge a common myth, that hissing is an aggressive behavior in cats. (Spoiler: it's not!)
Watch the below video, in which a former feral cat in a shelter hisses at me and then backs away.
What do you think this cat is trying to accomplish by hissing at me? Do you think he wants to attack me?
What can you notice about how I respond to his hissing?
When a cat hisses, it's a request for increased space. You can see that demonstrated by the cat in the video, who hisses and then backs away (while still watching me warily to make sure I'm not chasing him). My reaction--to step back--is what he wants me to do. This reaction helped lead this cat to begin trusting me. By the time he left the shelter, he was happily accepting pets from me and several shelter staff.
When a cat hisses, remember the cat is asking for SPACE, not a fight! Hissing is a DEFENSIVE behavior, not an aggressive one!
(Note: if the cat's request for space is ignored, the cat may escalate
to aggressive behaviors--so respecting the cat's request for space helps keep people safe, too!)
Here is just one reference for more information: https://catfriendly.com/why-does-my-cat/hiding-hissing/#
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcbehavior
It's TWOsday! Meet Julian, who recently joined our household. He had been a TNR who joined our outside colony in 2020; he and Inigo were friends outside. We brought him inside on Tuesday 6/27, after he'd been increasingly friendly with both me and my husband. He was finally cleared for release from quarantine yesterday.
Here he is being reunited with his buddy Inigo!
If you're adopting a new cat or having trouble with your cats not getting along, I'd love to help! Click here for more information about my cat behavior services: https://www.acatspurrspective.com/services.php
(Video: a big tuxedo cat, Julian, sniffing noses with a brown and white tabby cat, Inigo.)
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcbehavior #iaabcpets
Meet Potato (brown and white cat) and Spud (orange tabby)!
These two cats are going through a re-introduction and learning how to interact with each other in more positive ways. This video shows them participating in the "Voluntary Sharing" pattern game: when Potato looks up at her owner, Spud gets a treat first and then Potato gets her treat. This pattern game is just one of the tools I use to help resolve inter-cat aggression issues.
If your cats aren't getting along, I'd love to help! Please click here for more information about my professional services: https://www.acatspurrspective.com/services.php
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcbehavior #catpatterngames #catsfightinghelp
I'd like to share more about my cat, Inigo. As a summary: former outside/semi-feral cat recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The primary behavior that led to the hyperthyroid diagnosis was urinating outside the litter box; but I also noticed him displaying increased aggression toward our other cats. Both behaviors have improved with his hyperthyroidism being treated; but both behaviors are still continuing at a reduced frequency.
While we are working with the veterinarian to manage his hyperthyroidism, Inigo's increased aggression has led to tension between him and Yato, our other former outside cat. To help reduce that tension, I started a "Voluntary Sharing" pattern game with both of them about 10 days ago.
The way this pattern game works is: when Inigo cues me by looking at me, Yato gets a treat, then Inigo gets his treat in the dish. We do this every morning because consistency is really important for any training or behavior modification plans! While there is still some tension between them, it's noticeably less than when I first started this pattern game with them.
Why is this helping? By giving Inigo complete control over this interaction, giving them both a positive association with each other (treats!), and by letting Inigo in particular practice looking away from Yato as a way to reduce tension, this pattern game can be a fantastic tool to use for inter-cat conflicts.
If you need help managing tension between your cats at home, please visit my website for more information about my services: https://www.acatspurrspective.com
PS: Thanks to Beth at Ear To Tail for introducing me to pattern games for cats!
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcbehavior #iaabcpets #catpatterngames #catsfighting #catsfightinghelp
Two weeks ago, Inigo was diagnosed with hyperthyroid, which is a very common chronic medical condition in senior cats. Due to this diagnosis, Inigo now has to be given methimazole twice daily.
Inigo's history is important to remember here: he was an outside cat his whole life, with minimal handling experience, until late November 2022. He's sensitive about his ears being touched, due to having itchy ears while he was outside, so transdermal methimazole (which is applied inside the ear flap) wasn't a good option.
This video shows Inigo receiving his morning methimazole dose. If you're struggling to medicate your cats, I can help make the experience easier for you AND your cats! Please visit my website for more information: https://www.acatspurrspective.com
#seniorcattips #seniorcat #iaabcbehavior #iaabcpets #medicatingcats #catbehaviorconsultant #fearfree
(Video: Inigo, a brown and white tabby cat with tipped left ear, being given his pill treat sandwich, which he eats very happily.)
When the Cat Behavior Consultant's work hits home.... Video is a black light showing A LOT of urine stains on a blanket. This is on the top bunk bed in our spare room.
What's step 1? Cleaning! Using a black light to find all the urine spots and treating with a cat urine enzyme specific cleaner.
Next step? Vet appointment to check for a medical cause.
Who is the culprit? Leave your best guesses below! Here are the potential culprits:
• Emily, age 14, female
• Ethel, age 15+, female
• Inigo, age 11, male
• Yato, age 10, male
If you're also struggling with a litter box challenge, I'd be happy to help! Please visit my website for more information and fill out a New Client Form for more help: https://www.acatspurrspective.com
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcpets #iaabcbehavior
Giving a cat an inhaler doesn't have to be stressful or scary! Here is Yato getting his inhaler treatment this afternoon; he loves the extra cuddle time--and the treat after! With sound on, you can hear his purring amplified by the AeroKat.
#cooperativecatcare #cooperativecare #catinhalertraining #catinhaler #iaabcpets
While most people who clicker train cats train one cat at a time, my cats prefer to do things together--including clicker training! What does that look like? Here is a video from last night's clicker training session.
In this video you can see:
• Emily walking to her "go-to" station from her "box" station
• Ethel being grabby when cued for a "down" (nose to floor) and then doing it
• Inigo doing a "down"
• Yato going to his "UP" station
Then Emily, Ethel, Inigo, and Yato doing "paw" (allowing me to lift and hold one of their front paws).
Clicker training a group of cats can be helpful in a few ways. Since cats can learn from observation, they can learn new cues from seeing other cats doing them and being rewarded for it (note: this can go the other way too... cats can also learn negative habits from other cats). Training cats as a group can help them learn patience, sharing, and increase group cohesion.
On the flip-side, clicker training a group of cats instead of one cat at a time could also increase stress if the cats aren't comfortable being near each other or have any food insecurity issues. It also requires the trainer to be able to keep track of stress or frustration levels in multiple cats while seemingly focusing on one at a time. Also, not all cats will share preferred treats; and using more than one kind of treat at once can be another challenge (this is why Emily is hand-fed her treats and I'm wearing a pouch with two sections: Emily and Inigo have different treat requirements than Yato and Ethel).
For my clowder of cats, it works! I'm particularly proud of Inigo in this video, as he is still learning about being a pet cat and used to try to bite me when I'd reach for his paw.
PS: every cat on the floor in this video is a senior, too! Senior cats can benefit from clicker training and other enrichment, just like younger cats.
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #seniorcat #iaabcbehavior #seniorcatenrichment #iaabcpets
It's WHY Wednesday again--this time, a day late!
Why is Inigo meowing at the cat outside in this video? What can you guess about their history?
(Video: In which Inigo mews at Julian, who walks up to the back door and they touch noses through the screen.)
#catbehavior #catbehaviourist #iaabcpets #iaabcbehavior
I caught this exchange between Inigo and Yato a few days ago. How would you interpret the actions in this video? Do you think it's aggression or play or something else?
Comment with your thoughts!
#catbehavior #iaabcpets #iaabcbehavior
Happy New Year!
Inigo closed out 2022 by showing off a new skill: mastering this food puzzle.
If your cats could make New Year's Resolutions, what do you think their resolutions would be?
#catfoodpuzzle #catbehavior #iaabcbehavior #iaabcpets
Using a carrier as a feeding station is a great way for cats to learn to love their carriers instead of fearing them!
3 weeks ago, Inigo made the transition from living outdoors to becoming an inside cat. This is the same carrier we used to bring him inside and to bring him to the vet appointment prior to coming inside.
In addition to feeding station, the carrier doubles as his bed, as he's still in partial quarantine due to a minor GI infection.
The next time he goes to the vet, his bed and feeding station will go with him, which should make the drive there and the appointment a lot less scary!
(Video: Inigo, a brown and white tabby cat, following a bowl of food into his carrier.)
#catcarriertraining #counterconditioning #catbehavior #catcarriertips
Happy Friday from my cat Cinnamon!
(Video: Cinnamon, an orange and white tabby with pink nose, nuzzling against my hand.)
One of the Pounce! Cat Behavior Conference presentations was about target training cats. This is something I started working on with my cats last week; but yesterday's presentation gave me new ideas on how to actually USE this clicker "trick".
So here is a video from tonight's clicker training session with my cats Yato, Ethel, and Emily. Worth noting that this video was the last minute or so of a 15 minute clicker training session; all 3 were very engaged tonight!
And shout-out to Cat School Cat Training for the awesome cat-friendly clickers!
It's Tip Tuesday, and today we are going to talk about my cat Cinnamon.
When behavior challenges arise, often the hardest question to answer is "why?" What is causing the behavior to happen? Often we expect one answer; eg, "the cat is peeing outside the box because it's not clean enough". Sometimes it's not as simple as that. Resolving a complex behavior issue can involve multiple causes; I like to think of this as "stacking". Maybe your cat can tolerate the dirty litter box, but not when the cat is also diabetic and needing to use it more frequently.
What can you notice about the orange cat in the video below, especially comparing her behaviors to the behaviors of the other two cats seen in this video? Comment below with your observations!
#catbehavior #catbehaviorist #cinnamonAM
