A Trip to the Cat Toy Department Is In Order

If you’re wondering why there’s so much blogging lately it’s because I can’t put my shoe on.

So some of my cat research has born fruit and here’s some things I need to do:

* Provide perches so the cat can look outside.
* Toys, toys and toys, (toys, prey preference)
* Let your cat “hunt” for food by placing food in a toy that will make the cat work to get the food out.
* Hide food throughout the house so the cat has to find it.
* Leave the radio or TV on, tuned to your usual station.
* Call home and leave a message for the cat.
* Provide a refuge
* Spend at least 10 minutes daily playing with your cat.

Those are all for kitty separation anxiety.

I’ve found a fair amount on cat-cat aggression, but little on cat-human aggression. The American Assn of Feline Practitioners say “disrupt the behaviour every time it occurs. Disruption is tricky and ignoring the undesirable behaviour while rewarding only desirable behaviours is often preferable. Disruption should be sufficiently aversive to stop the behaviour (a loud whistle, shaking a can of coins) without causing damage to the human-animal bond. The cat must not be scared or hurt. After interruption the [human] should encourage another behaviour to replace the interrupted one.”

So shake a can of coins but don’t scare the cat? Hmmm. I guess the container full of water pistols by my bedroom door may be overkill.