Cats & The Night Crazies...

In order to understand why cats are so active at night it is helpful to remember where they came from. Your cat, no matter how calmly she sits in your lap during the day shares a kinship with her wild cousins; that includes the bobcat and the puma. Just like her wild counterpart, your cat will be active late at night and early in the a.m. This is when prey is available for them. Females are the most prolific hunters and they will prowl your home for anything that moves; spiders, ants, beetles or even a small rodent, nothing is safe when it comes to a cat in high prey mode.

Since the prey drive is activated, starting in the early evening hours and continuing to morning, your cat may race across the top of your chest as you are sleeping, bounce on your pillow, run up your drapes, or simply sit at the foot of the bed and holler at you to get up and play with her. She could be hearing bugs in your wall, a mouse under your home. Outside cats could be setting her off, but she is following instinct. She is not in your life to drive you crazy. She is being…a cat. She is equipped with super-sensitive hearing, and the ability to see in the dark by using any sort of reflected light source. In the dark, she is Queen, so what do you do to dethrone her and enable you to get some sleep?

Cats & Discipline Do Not Mix...

The words discipline and cats should never be used in the same sentence. A cat does not respond to discipline in a positive learning fashion. Rubbing a cat's nose in a recent urine stain on your carpet is liable to get you either bit or scratched or start a resentment streak in your normally laid-back cat. Cats when restrained, even briefly will fight back vigorously. They have no way of knowing that they have displeased you. All they know is something bigger than they are is holding them against their will.

Every time I surf into a cat board and read that members are using squirt bottles on their cats, I cringe. If you are using a squirt bottle to achieve a behavior modification, I urge you to stop. All you are doing is instilling fear into your cat. You are traveling from friend to predator in your cat's mind because you are scaring her with something by nature most cats hate (unless she is a Turkish Van or another special breed) and that is water. Heaven help you if you have administered this form of punishment on your cat and then find you have to bathe her for medical reasons. Bathing a cat is difficult enough, but bathing a cat that has good reason to be terrified of water is twice as tough. Add to the scare factor of the squirt bottle the scenario of you shooting your cat with spray as she is running from you, and you accidentally get water in her ear, then you are faced with a problem. Getting water in a cat's ear will upset the PH balance and make your cat vulnerable to ear infections. This may lead to hefty vet bills before it clears up.

Cats need guidance, teaching tempered with love, and patience. You need to understand their basic nature and their instincts. If, for example, you have a cat that is peeing outside the litter box, the most important thing to do first of all is to get the cat to a vet to rule out a health problem. Don't head for the squirt bottle or the noisy can full of rocks, head for the phone and call your vet.

Once the cat has been given the "all clear" health-wise then you need to look at the environment and ask yourself what has changed. Have you added something new to the household, changed the furniture added a second or third kitty, or a new puppy? Is the litter pan clean? Is it big enough? Did you put enough litter in it? If you have one cat, you should have two litter pans. Have you changed cat foods recently?

There will always be a reason why a cat is acting out. Acting out is not a good enough reason to reach for a squirt bottle. Instead, reach inside yourself and find the right solution and solve the problem that way. In the long run it is the best way to stay friends with your cat. She will thank you for taking the time to work out the problem, instead of creating more problems in the long run for her.

How To Discourage Cats From Jumping On Counters...

If you have been reading a bit about feline behavior, then you should know by now that cats and discipline don't mix; in other words, you should never punish your cat. Cats are not dogs and you simply can't take your cat to obedience class… That said, sometimes you need to lay down some rules in the house and get an educational point across to your cat. While I still hold that punishment, in the human ethical and moral sense of the word, does not work with cats, I wish to show you how to employ behavioral techniques based on negative reinforcement to teach your cat to stay away from certain places. This article will teach you how to discourage your cat from jumping on kitchen counters and any other high surfaces.

Before you even begin teaching your cat to stay away from certain places, let's look at the causes for this type of behavior. Cats require a sufficient amount of living space, including enough vertical space. Before restricting your cat from accessing some areas, make sure that your kitty has plenty of roaming and climbing space within your home. Invest in cat trees, cat gyms and designated cat shelves. This stage is crucial! Not allowing your cat almost any climbing space will result in a stressed and frustrated kitty and even more behavioral issues down the road.

Once you've made sure that your cat has enough space (vertical space included), it's time to learn how to teach your cat right from wrong and "explain" to her which surfaces are off-limits. Since we are trying to prevent a certain type of behavior, rather than encourage one, we'll have to use Negative Reinforcement. We are trying to create a certain connection in the cat's mind, associating the type of behavior which we're trying to prevent with a negative outcome. Before I review the various methods for achieving this, there are three principles to keep in mind whenever attempting any kind of negative reinforcement with your cat –

• Keep the human out of the loop - We want to make sure that the cat associates the negative result directly with the action we want to prevent – never with you, the cat owner.
• Keep the reinforcement consistent – This is true of any behavioral learning process and is crucial when it comes to negative reinforcement. It means the cat has to receive a negative reaction every single time it attempts the behavior which we wish to discourage.
• Keep stress levels down – Remember that cats are individuals and may have different reactions to sudden sounds, or any other type of sensory stimulation you may opt to use. You aim at making the unwanted behavior result in something unpleasant, but make sure it's not too frightening and doesn't cause your cat unnecessary stress.

Using A Water Squirter or Shaking A Can...

This is probably one of the best-known techniques of negative reinforcement. The idea here is for the cat owner to always be on guard, ready with a squirt bottle, an empty soda can with some coins in it, or even a compressed air can. As soon as the cat performs the forbidden act, you're supposed to apply the instrument of choice and either spray the cat with some water (never directly on its face), or simply "blow the horn" and create some loud sudden noise, hopefully without kitty seeing it was you who operated the nasty thing.

While this method can be very effective with some cats, I usually don't recommend using it, for several reasons. First, it could possibly associate you, the cat owner, with the punishment. Ideally, anyone using this method should try

to attract as little attention to herself or himself as possible, and make the squirt bottle or "noise can" as disassociated from themselves as possible. In reality, this is extremely difficult to achieve, as most owners project their own nervousness and agitation into the process. Secondly, in terms of consistency, this method is far from perfect. It's difficult to be on the alert at all times, or even to be around at all times, and you end up with having a non-consistent pattern. Thirdly, and not less important, the water spray and loud noises can be too stressful for some cats.

Why Do Cats Scratch?...

Scratching objects is natural for all cats and has several reasons. First, by scratching a rough surface, your cat loses the outer sheath of the nail, which is necessary for keeping the claws sharp and healthy.

Scratching also serves as a means to mark territory. Cats have special glands on their paws that secret individual scent marks. We cannot smell those, but for other cats they serve as a clear signpost. Scent marks are accentuated by the visual scratch marks, making a scratching post the feline equivalent of a personal signature.

Another important function that scratching serves is to let the cat release pent-up energy or emotional stress. Many cats will scratch when they are excited, either by their owner's arrival or by another cat's comings and goings.

Last, but not least, cats simply enjoy a good stretch when they scratch a surface. That is why many cats like to have a good scratch as part of their wake-up stretching routine.

Problem Scratching And How To Stop It...

Although scratching behavior is natural and healthy for all cats, it can have a devastating effect on the object used as a scratching post. Over time, the daily contact with the sharp claws causes significant damage to wood or fabric. If Kitty has chosen a piece of furniture or the living room carpet as her scratching post, it can be a serious problem.

The first step to solving the problem is realizing that the cat is just practicing normal feline behavior. She is not being bad or trying to cause damage - she simply uses the best scratching post she can find.

What we need to do is not prevent her from using her claws altogether, but rather redirect that behavior to an object that will serve as a proper scratching post. Only after we provide Kitty with an acceptable scratching post can we begin to teach her that the furniture is out of bounds.

Getting the Right Scratching Post...

Many owners go out to get Kitty a designated cat scratching post. They invest a lot of money in an expensive post only to find out that their cat still prefers the sofa.  The problem is that cats are individuals and different cats prefer different kinds of scratching posts.

You may need to experiment with several types of scratching posts until you find the one that your cat likes best. The post's location is also significant - the right post in the wrong place may not be attractive enough. Here are some things to consider when setting a scratching post for your cat:

• Stability - Scratching puts a lot of pressure of the scratched object and if it's not sturdy enough it will probably wobble or even topple over. The rule here is to find a scratching post that is as stable as any heavy furniture and as unmovable as a wall-to-wall carpet.
• Size - When you cats scratches the post, she is also performing a full body stretch. To do that, most cats need a scratching surface that is least 28-30 inches long. Very small cats may do with surfaces that are smaller, but the rule is the longer, the better.
• Vertical or Horizontal - This really a matter of the cat's personal taste. Some cats prefer vertical scratching posts while other go for horizontal ones. You may have to experiment with both kinds until you find out what your cat likes best.
• Texture - The scratching post should be covered with some rough material that your cat can use as a good nail file. Cats also take a visual cue from a surface and if it looked a bit scratched it may be more attractive. Here too, different cats have different preferences. Sisal, rope and carpets are usually welcome. Some cats prefer cardboard or rough fabrics. Again, you may need to experiment to discover your cat's particular taste.
• Location - even if you find the ideal scratching post for your cat, she may choose not to use it if it's not located in the right place. Consider the situations when your cat scratches. It's usually when she gets up from a nice nap, to have a good stretch, or when she greets you as you get into the house, as a way to release pent-up excitement. If she can't find a suitable scratching post nearby, chances are she'll go for the furniture or carpet. So, don't hide the post in the basement - place it in a prominent area of your house, clearly visible to your cat. If you live in a large house, your cat may require more than one scratching post.