Thank you to all my clients for an awesome week!
And an extra welcome to the new ones, I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your cats & dogs.
Special shout out to my colleagues in animal behaviour, your friendship and support is very cool 😉
And while I'm here, thanks to all my page followers and friends, I thoroughly enjoy hanging out with you.
For now though, and probably a fair amount of the weekend, I'll be hanging out with St John and her sisters.
Who are you hanging out with this weekend?
As it gets colder, I'm experimenting with different resting spots, beds, and blankets to find out what will work for Edy.
She's a very little cat, and she gets cold very easily. She also has snuffles and arthritis in her back, which aren't helped by cold.
This morning I tried her favourite box in a sunbeam, and she stayed there until the sunbeam moved, so this one's a keeper for now.
Ensuring our cats and dogs stay warm can help prevent unwanted behaviours - can you think how? 😉
Let me know what you think, and then I'll tell you a story of a dog whose potentially complex behaviour change had a very simple cause - he was getting cold.
Catnip isn't the only plant cats go to for a good time.
Silvervine is not easy to find in South Africa, and I'd only found silvervine infused toys, not the actual sticks of the plant which is what I wanted.
Until now.
Video of Edy, thoroughly enjoying her new silvervine stick toy.
It's inside games tonight!
Joburg is chilly and rainy this evening, much needed after the spate of heatwaves.
If you're not in Joburg, pop where you're from in the comments below, and let me know what you're up to with your beasties this evening, or morning, or other time depending on where you are 😉
A fulfilling life looks different for every dog
Biscuit and his zebra toy
I was called in to help with Biscuit because he cannot be touched.
He also struggles with food and eating, as well as new things and new people.
His behaviour and emotional responses are typical of a puppy mill dog who was deprived of exposure to the world and human contact during early puppyhood. Sickness and invasive medical treatment as a youngster likely contributed as well.
Despite not being a “normal” dog, despite not fulfilling the common expectations of how a dog should behave or interact with people, he’s one of the most content, joy-filled dogs I have the pleasure of knowing. He loves his family and being around them more than anything, and it is something beautiful to see.
And this is because his family haven’t worked on trying to change Biscuit; they’ve worked on their relationship and communication with him, on teaching him in his way and at his pace, and finding out how to provide him with a quality of life that suits his unique needs.
When I first met Biscuit he was afraid of me, but after many sessions he is now happy when I arrive, and I can ruffle the lovely fur around his neck a little when I greet him. It is utterly wonderful.
To Biscuit’s family and all of you who are caring for dogs or cats like him, who don’t fit the common mould, I know it’s challenging but I see you and I thank you. And so do your animals 😉
If you have a dog or cat who doesn’t quite conform to the norm, and you’d like guidance on their care rather than on trying to make them fit in, I’m here.
Last week I shared a video of Vicky and Quizzy, who were going through an introduction process.
This week, I'm happy to share this!
They've moved past separation to comfortable, close proximity.
This isn't the end of the integration process, and they will still be supervised and have time away from each other to ensure their relationship continues to grow, and to ensure Quizzy develops secure attachments with her family members.
Little Quizzy had her first virtual session today!
I helped her family introduce Vicky (adult cat in the video) last year, and this time it’s Quizzy’s turn.
It’s tempting to rush introductions, and watching this video it appears they’re both ready to meet because they’re relaxed and curious.
But they’re not ready for that step yet, and rushing could lead to some of the common problems experienced with rushed intros like fights, cats hiding or leaving home, or spraying.
They’re coping so well because they’re enjoying a relaxed and controlled introduction process, with plenty of down time to process new information and adjust to their new circumstances.
Thank you to Quizzy’s awesome family for permission to share this video, and for choosing a needs-based approach to cat care 😉
Preventing conflict with social support and individual need fulfilment.
No need to wait for something to go wrong.
No need for scolding or startling.
Ellen and I were hanging out in the garden having a chat.
St John approached, and loomed a little towards Ellen.
Sometimes she’ll wap her sisters under these circumstances and I could see one coming, so I stepped in to prevent that and created some space between them.
You’ll see some amazing self-restraint from St John towards the end, just after I give Ellen a chin scratch. St John licks her lips and then readjusts her position – that’s why I thanked her, she did nothing, and sometimes doing nothing is hard.
I stopped filming to go for a walk with St John.
I’d been hanging out with Ellen for a while, and she was cool rolling around on her own, so St John and I walked away to another spot for some time together.
Ever seen a dog ask a cat for more cuddles?
Ever seen a cat ask a dog for cuddles (but not the paw in the face please)?
Get ready for your oxytocin boost of the day 😉
Honey the Dog and Tammy the Cat have the most awesome conversation in this video, it’s a treat for body language fans.
Thanks to my aunt for permission to share this with you, these are her beautiful ones. The secure relationship and clear communication between these two is so very cool.
Kneady Edy
Hello everyone!
I will be unavailable from Saturday 6 January until Monday 15 January. I will respond to queries and resume sessions as usual from Tuesday 16 January.
Thank you for your patience!
Clover is largely deaf, but she can still hear the hadedas 😆
Gauteng is being blasted, and it looks to be even hotter tomorrow.
Put out extra* water bowls:
Inside and outside in the shade
In new locations, not next to existing bowls
Add a few ice cubes to keep the water cool and encourage interest
*This is in addition to the standard recommended number of water sources.
There should be n+1 constantly available water sources, with n being the number of animals in the home. So if you have 1 animal, that would be 2 sources. For a home with 5 animals, it would be 6 sources.