Cats and their behaviour: thinking outside the box!

Information provided by The Auckland Cat Practice "happiness is being owned by a cat"

By far the most common feline behaviour problem we seee at the Auckland Cat Practice is what we call 'inappropriate urination'.

This means the cat is urinating outside the litter tray (often on bedding or clothing) or urine spraying (small amounts of urine found on vertical surfaces like walls or a sofa). Inappropriate urination can sometimes even be accompanied by signs of cystitis, such as blood or straining - and owners will often notice this in the sink or shower.

Often is can be very difficult to differentiate between a medical and behavioural problem and sometimes those two can be interlinked.

So, if your cat is urinating in the house, what can you do?

First up, make sure you offer a litter tray, keep it clean and use a type of litter your cat likes. Keep the litter tray in a quiet and private area. The golden rule is 1 litter tray per cat plus one, because many cats like to urinate and defecate in separate litter trays.

Your cat should also be checked by your vet to rule out any possible medical problems (like urinary tract infection, bladder stones, idiopathic cystitis), especially if there are signs of cystitis. In a lot of cases, no specific problem will be found and a stress-related behavioural problem is most likely.

Next, try to put yourself into your cat's 'paws' and analyse his or her environment. It is often difficult for us to understand what is stressful for a cat, as they seem to have such a perfect life - sleeping most of the day and food on demand! However for cats, living in a human household can be very stressful - this includes the physical environment, other animals, and us as owners. Consider any changes to the cat's living environment - including weather, access to outdoors/indoors, availability of litter trays, food intake, owner's presence, or changes to household members or visitors.

Anxiety in the cat's mind often goes 'straight to the bladder'. Cats cope with stress by using feline language and urine is a strong message!

The most common triggers for inappropriate urinating we see are other cats (either within the household or outside). Your cat might have had a frightening experience while toileting outside, and even seeing another cat through the window can be threatening enough.

So what can you do to reduce stress or anxiety in your cat's life? The most up-to-date approach is called MEMO (multimodal environmental modification), and this has been shown to reduce the frequency of inappropriate urination.

MEMO includes:

- providing separate, secluded food and water containers for each cat and sufficient litter trays (remember the 1+1!)

- ensuring there are places to hide (and fitting magnetic cat doors to deter intruders if necessary)

- giving opportunities to express natural predatory behaviour such as toys to chew or play with

- providing climbing and scratching posts

- allowing more quality time between cat and owner

We also recommend the use of a product called 'Feliway'. This is a synthetic version of a naturally occuring feline facial pheromone. (Cats release such pheromones during facial rubbing when they feel comfortable in their environment). Feliway has been specifically developed to reduce anxiety-related behaviours of cats such as spraying and vertical scratching.

If a combination of Feliway and MEMO is not successful in treating hte problem, then your vet might have to start using medical treatment options to help your cat cope better with stress.

Finally, always remember the old adage...dogs have masters, cats have staff!