Know Your Cat Feline Behaviourist

04/06/2023

I always say that cats' fluffiness and softness is their greatest curse. We tend to think that if a creature is so nice in touch, they must love BEING touched, no matter what. We couldn't be more wrong. Please, respect your cat's personal space!

04/06/2023

15/10/2022

From me to you :-)

An IAABC Foundation Publication

08/08/2022

Definitely worth finding half an hour to listen! You'll find the whole talk here: https://www.napo.pet/blog/podcast-9-why-the-indoor-cat-doesn-t-exist?fbclid=IwAR1DV3EAtOoCC7-OK6X1_HRqJsIFXBk3LB_F4Xgp3fnuFuZw379LDkqVv7Y

15/03/2022

All about your cat's welfare in one picture

NEW! For cat lovers:
Download from doggiedrawings.net/freeposters (Sorry, I am not sure why it looks so blurry on FB)

11/02/2022

Don't make your cats eat close to each other.

🍽️Humans see eating as a social experience, a way of showing love and gratitude to each other, but it is very different for cats!

🐈This may come as a bit of a shock to some, but domestic cats prefer to eat away from other cats. Why? Because they are programmed as self-sufficient survivalists and therefore hunt and eat alone.

🐈Cats are not like humans when it comes to eating food, so we should be careful not to anthrpomorphise them.

🐈This can be a bit confusing for cat owners, as many cats will eat together if that is the only way they can obtain food. In other words - their instinct to eat food overrides their need to eat alone. This is especially true if the food being offered is super tasty!

🐈However, this can be problematic as cats can see each other as competition for such a valuable resource (food), causing conflict. You've only got to look at the body language of the cats in the photo in this post to see they are not happy eating alongside other cats!

🐈This can also result in cats bolting their food, causing problems such as regurgitation, overeating, or even some cats not eating enough.

🐈It's good to give cats choices and even cats that are part of the same social group (i.e. Are friendly towards each other) should be given the opportunity to eat on their own, away from other cats in the household.

🐈Just because two cats are eating next to each other it does not mean they are best buddies!

👍Providing each cat with its own feeding station can help to prevent conflict in a multi-cat household.

📚Resources
Ellis, S. and Rowe, L., 2017. Five-A-Day-Felix,A report into improving the health and welfare of the UK’s domestic cats. [online] Thebigbangfair.co.uk. Available at: [Accessed 26 March 2021

01/02/2022

Have you ever wondered, how to play with your cat? Every cat needs to satisfy her hunting instincts, and this is what we can do if she's an indoor cat - play with her. It'll make her relaxed and fulfilled. And if we think about REAL feline hunting, we can see that what the cat is doing is NOT running and jumping like crazy. She's all ears, stalking her prey, approaching it slowly, thinking about the right moment to attack, and at the same time to lose AS LITTLE ENERGY AS POSSIBLE. So next time you play with your cat, don't exhaust her. Make her think and let her hunt. She'll be most grateful

08/01/2022

How do we see cats and are we always right? A very interesting talk by Vicky Halls - really worth listening!

Volunteering and Fostering Conference 2017

04/12/2021

Does your cat scratch furniture or carpets and it annoys you so much that you're thinking of declawing her? Does she scratch you each time you play with her or pet her, and declawing seems to be a good option? Look at this photo. That's what declawing is. Don't do this to your cat.

The Prince of Darkness wants you to have a heart for animals 🖤

Happy Birthday to music legend Ozzy Osbourne!

26/11/2021

Over 20 hours...about cats only

The countdown begins! Will you be joining us at POUNCE!, a two-day virtual conference on cat behavior and training this Saturday and Sunday?
https://iaabcfoundation.org/pounce/

15/11/2021

The discovery of 7,000-year-old remains of the Near Eastern wildcat in Europe adds a new wrinkle to the cat's evolutionary story.

19/10/2021

FIC - where cat's chronic stress levels and her urinary tract condition meet...

🐈‍⬛Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) is a common inflammatory disease seen in young to middle aged cats. Both male and female cats can be affected, but males are more at risk of being seriously affected due to urethral blockage.

Although a specific cause has not been identified, there are thought to be several risk factors associated with FIC:

🐈Obesity
🐈Indoor only cats
🐈Sedentary lifestyle
🐈Low fluid intake
🐈Multi-cat households
🐈Poor litter tray management

Signs a cat may be suffering with FIC include:

😿Frequent visits to the litter tray
😿House soiling
😿Constant grooming of perineal area (around ge****ls)
😿Vocalisation (crying) when urinating or trying to urinate
😿Restlessness
😿Aggression towards owner or other animals in the household
😿Anorexia or poor appetite
😿Vomiting
😿Lethargy
😿Unusual gait
😿Collapse

The two most important factors of managing cats with FIC are:

🐈 Reduction of exposure to stress

Although FIC can be caused by a single acutely stressful episode, chronic stress is a common reason for a cat to develop FIC. This could have several causative factors, but a common reason is conflict in a multi-cat household. Cats living together in close proximity may compete for resources, thus creating conflict. Conflict with neighbouring cats can also trigger an episode of FIC

🐈Increasing fluid intake

Cats affected with FIC can benefit from increased water intake,. This dilutes their urine and encourages urination. This can be achieved by feeding a wet diet or encouraging water intake.
Remember, cats like to eat and drink in separate areas and often prefer larger, shallow and wide bowls filled right to the top. Many like running water and enjoy using water fountains. Placing several water stations in different areas of the house is beneficial, especially in multi-cat households.
Some diets manage both obesity and cystitis.
If you are unsure which diet to choose speak to your veterinary team 💚

References and further reading : AAFP and ISFM Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines (Ellis et al., 2013) and AAFP and ISFM Guidelines for Diagnosing and Solving House-Soiling Behavior in Cats (Carney et al., 2014)

13/10/2021

I'm sure Freddie would love this version :-D

Cats are royalty. We are their willing servants. Bohemian Catsody - enjoy a parody song of the Queen classic, Bohemian Rhapsody, this time, all about CATS! S...

11/10/2021

What do all these boxes have in common?

They are not made with feline welfare in mind.
Most of them sophisticated in form, though with little room, where the cat can actually squat and eliminate. "Fully controlled", but some of you probably have seen videos of cats trapped in automated litter boxes, that had begun to "self-clean" with the cat still inside. Covered, so that people living in the house did not have to see or smell cat's urine or f***s. Well, and how about the cat? If you don't see what's inside the box, you may start to neglect it, so for the cat it's soon like a "gas chamber" in there. If you have more than one cat, covered boxes or boxes hidden in furniture give them a superb opportunity to bully each other. Not mentioning the fact that usually these litter boxes are miserably small - don't look at their external dimensions, as they are very different from the space your cat will actually have at her disposal.

Elimination site is an extremely important resource on the cat's territory - the one that determines her physical and emotional well being.
Most probably she will be happy with a large (at least 1.5 her length) open tray, filled with clean unscented clumping clay litter, scooped 2-3 times a day.

If the idea of seeing the cat eliminating seems unbearable for someone, well, then maybe they should rethink the idea of owning one.

23/09/2021

Feline litter box problems, part 2.

Let's start where we left off in Part 1. Your cat is peeing outside the litter box, she's had her urine checked and you've just learnt she's got some bladder inflammation or struvites that make urinating very, very painful. The vet has given her an antibiotic, maybe some anti inflammatory medicines, maybe some supplements, but also advised that it might be good to contact a behaviourist, as your cat may be stressed. Your vet is right. In felines (well, in some people, too) the condition of the urinary tract and the level of stress are very much interconnected. "But my cat doesn't look stressed!" you say. "I love her, nobody is doing her any harm, so how can she be stressed?" Well, it's not about intentionally harming the cat. It's about meeting her needs, and they are definitely something more than just feeding and cuddling (in fact, cuddling is not something most cats dream of). When I consult a cat that has litter box problems, first of all I ask for vet check, and then I look at...the litter box itself. A lot of cats start peeing in unwanted places, when they feel they can't do it in their litter boxes. Why?
1. The litter box is too small. Well, I've never seen a litter box that's too big ;-). Your cat needs enough space to sniff, scratch the litter, squat, than step back a little, sniff, scratch again. It's said that the length of the litter box should be at least 1.5 length of the cat (in the standing position, from the head to the base of the tail). Now look at your cat when she's in the litter box. By the way - the box in the photo is way TOO SMALL and poor cat won't have even enough space to dig in the litter.
2. The cat doesn't like the litter. If we think about cats roaming freely outside, we can see that they usually choose sandy spots for their toilets. And that's the ideal substrate - dry, soft and fine-grained. Give your cat good quality fine-grained clay clumping litter. No additional scents, no fancy colours.
3. The litter box is DIRTY! Scoop the litter box at least three times a day - in the morning, in the afternoon and at night, before you go to sleep. Just make it your everyday routine and your cat will be really grateful

22/09/2021

Let's start where we left off in Part 1. Your cat is peeing outside the litter box, she's had her urine checked and you've just learnt she's got some bladder inflammation or struvites that make urinating very, very painful. The vet has given her an antibiotic, maybe some anti inflammatory medicines, maybe some supplements, but also advised that it might be good to contact a behaviourist, as your cat may be stressed. Your vet is right. In felines (well, in some people, too) the condition of the urinary tract and the level of stress are very much interconnected. "But my cat doesn't look stressed!" you say. "I love her, nobody is doing her any harm, so how can she be stressed?" Well, it's not about intentionally harming the cat. It's about meeting her needs, and they are definitely something more than just feeding and cuddling (in fact, cuddling is not something most cats dream of). When I consult a cat that has litter box problems, first of all I ask for vet check, and then I look at...the litter box itself. A lot of cats start peeing in unwanted places, when they feel they can't do it in their litter boxes. Why?
1. The litter box is too small. Well, I've never seen a litter box that's too big ;-). Your cat needs enough space to sniff, scratch the litter, squat, than step back a little, sniff, scratch again. It's said that the length of the litter box should be at least 1.5 length of the cat (in the standing position, from the head to the base of the tail). Now look at your cat when she's in the litter box. By the way - the box in the photo is way TOO SMALL and poor cat won't have even enough space to dig in the litter.
2. The cat doesn't like the litter. If we think about cats roaming freely outside, we can see that they usually choose sandy spots for their toilets. And that's the ideal substrate - dry, soft and fine-grained. Give your cat good quality fine-grained clay clumping litter. No additional scents, no fancy colours.
3. The litter box is DIRTY! Scoop the litter box at least three times a day - in the morning, in the afternoon and at night, before you go to sleep. Just make it your everyday routine and your cat will be really grateful

20/09/2021

20/09/2021

You've always thought "It would never happen to my cat!" Well, she's just proven you wrong and left a puddle on the floor. Or maybe she decided to do it on your bed sheets, giving you a little surprise for a nice start of the day? Anyway. Your cat has just urinated outside the litter box. OK, now take a deep breath and DON'T shout at her, DON'T chase her and DON'T you even think of hitting her. No, it wasn't out of spite. Cats are not THAT clever, you know, to make a conscious decision to hurt you. So what can you do? First of all, take her to the vet's. She should have her urine sample checked for urinary tract infections. Most cats peeing outside the litter box turn out to be sick. Bladder infections are VERY painful, so don't punish your cat, because you'll make the things even worse. I guess you wouldn't like anybody to scold you while you're in pain, would you? Wait for her urinanalysis results and we'll see what's next ;-).

photo: https://www.feliway.com/

20/09/2021