Monday, March 7, 2011

New toy review: FroliCat

I was in a pet store this weekend and came across a toy new to me. It is called FroliCat Bolt, and it is a device you can place on the floor or any other stable surface, or hold in your hand, and it will emit a low-power laser beam and move it in random patterns for your cat to chase. It also has a timer so that the device will automatically turn off after 15 minutes. It requires four AA batteries. What a great way to exercise/entertain the cat for the busy cat owner!

There is a similar product called FroliCat Dart that has variable speed and timer settings. The Dart is also marketed as a RouseDog Product. WARNING! Do NOT use these types of devices on dogs! You can create a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in your dog by encouraging them to chase lights and shadows (and some dogs do not need much encouragement).

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Feline Redirected aggression

The scene: The three-season room at the rear of Mrs. Zee's house

The action: Mrs. Zee is reading the newspaper on the chaise lounge. Ay the cat is sunning on a window sill with a stunning view of the garden. He grooms himself languidly while pausing occasionally to watch a bird or butterfly flit by. Ay shares his window sill with Bee, a fellow feline housemate, who is dozing while basking in the warmth of the sun. Suddenly, See, the new neighbor's Siamese cat saunters through the garden. Ay hisses and growls, and his coat puffs up, but there is no response from See, who cannot see or hear the cat behind the window. Ay then attacks Bee, jumps on his back and bites him. Bee, not knowing what happened, runs away, completely bewildered and injured. Mrs. Zee, also bewildered and quite angry at Ay, throws her paper in Ay's direction and hurries to find out the extent of Bee's injuries.

The analysis: Redirected aggression is a phenomenon in which the recipient of the aggression is not the stimulus for the aggression, and is often an innocent bystander. This type of aggression can occur in both dogs and cats, but I tend to see it more frequently in cats. The victims of this form of aggression can include other cats, dogs, or people. The owners of these cats often express surprise at the sudden violence that can erupt between parties that previously shared a friendly relationship. Owners may or may not know what the stimulus of the aggression was; often the location of the incident provides clues to this.

The solution to this type of problem is to identify and manage the source of the aggression. This can be especially tricky in cats because the early signs of aggression can be so subtle. In Mrs. Zee's case, she would either need to keep neighboring cats out of her garden (www.cat-repellant.info), keep Ay out of the room where he can look out the window, or she would need to block her cat's view of the garden through which cats can stray. Obstructing the cats' view can be acheived through curtains, blinds, or translucent contact paper on the lower half of the window.

Also a word of caution: owners should not use their hands (or other body parts) to physically separate fighting pets. Throw a blanket over them, douse them in large volumes of water, sound an air horn, use a broom to physically separate them. A 2006 study published in the Journal of Hand Surgery revealed that stray animals do not contribute the majority of bites to the hand. Two-thirds of the patients in this study required hospitalization for at least intravenous antibiotics.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Attention-Seeking Behavior

Dogs are very social creatures, and they often crave attention from their humans. Cats can also be very attached to their people. Attention seeking behaviors can range from sitting next to, and staring at the human of interest, to touching, licking, jumping, vocalizing, scratching, biting, humping and stealing to demand attention.

This is a mild behavior problem that can be extremely annoying for owners and their friends. Often the barrier to fixing this problem is not the pet, but the owners who inadvertantly reward the attention-seeking behavior. It is important to realize that attention comes in multiple forms, including touching, speaking to, or even looking at the pet. Some pets also do not recognize the difference between positive attention (petting, cooing) and negative attention (punishment); attention is attention!

The obvious solution to the problem of attention-seeking behavior is to (1) teach the pet when and how it is appropriate to solicit attention, and (2) remove all attention from the pet when he actively solicits it otherwise.

It may help to have scheduled interactions with the pet. Keeping activities such as playing, brushing, and teaching tricks on a regular, predictable schedule can help the pet, particularly if he is anxious. I recommend 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening for the quality interaction.

Also employing the "Nothing in Life is Free" philosophy (see post on this blog from June 2009) can help to set up a way for the dog to ask for attention in a manner that is not obnoxious, or that feeds into his anxiety.

What should be done if the pet acts in an unacceptable manner to solicit attention? Below is a list of common behaviors and solutions:

1. Touching, head on lap or foot, leaning against the leg; also licking - Remove your body part from the pet. If the pet persists, get up and leave the room.
2. Jumping, jumping onto your lap - Silently turn away from the dog and allow the dog's paws to slough off your body. If you are seated, slowly rise without touching the dog and allow the dog to slide off your lap. If the dog persists and tries to jump on your back, walk away, and put a door between you and the dog. Do not push the dog off you or knee the dog, for that provides negative attention (and remember, negative attention is still attention!).
3. Vocalizing (this can run the gamut from whining to vociferous barking and screaming) - Ignore the dog. Put in ear plugs, listen to an MP3 player through ear phones. If not ignored, this particular behavior has great potential to escalate.
4. Humping (owner, other pets, or inanimate objects) - Ignore the dog unless the victim is in danger. If the pet is humping your leg, remove your body part and walk away without saying a word.
5. Stealing (shoes, remote controls, children's toys, etc.) - Ignore the dog unless he is in danger. When the dog seems to lose interest, call the dog to you, make him sit (Nothing in life is free!), then reward him for the sit. Then, isolate the dog and retrieve the stolen item.
6. Scratching, biting - When the pet does bodily harm in the attempt to demand attention, try to keep any limbs in close to the body so there is as little as possible to "grab". You may need to use an aversive to prevent the harmful behavior. The aversive would in response to behavior that precedes the bodily contact, including stalking, eye contact, and sometimes even approach. Aversives include sounding an air horn, using a battery-powered water gun, using a citronella-scented compressed air canister (Spray Shield). If the people in the household need to be reminded to be vigilant about the pet's behavior, consider having the pet wear a bell attached to the collar.

It is easier to list what one should NOT do, it is harder for most owners to remember what they SHOULD do. If your pet approaches you and sits, pay attention to your pet, for he has just exhibited polite behavior and should be accordingly rewarded.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Coprophagia, Part 2

Dogs eating dog or wild animal feces is a common problem, but perhaps even more common is the problem of dogs eating cat feces out of the litter box. This is a behavior that is not only unacceptable by human standards, but can be potentially life-threatening.

Clumping cat litter is designed to absorb fluid (cat urine) and harden into a solid clump for easy clean-up of waste. If large amounts of cat litter are consumed by a dog, the litter absorbs fluid from the stomach and intestines and can create a solid obstruction to normal flow through the gastrointestinal tract. Needless to say, this requires a surgical solution. Additionally, snacking from the cat litter box can result in transmission of intestinal parasites from cat to dog, including roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and Giardia.

The best way to prevent raiding of the cat litter box is to prevent the dog from having access to it. Below are some suggestions for just that:

1. Use a baby gate across a doorway.


2. Install a cat door into an interior door.



3. Use a hook and eye assembly to keep a door ajar just a few inches, no more, no less.


4. Use a covered litter box, or a large rubber or plastic box to keep the opening within just a few inches of the wall, or to provide a top entrance to the litter box.
5. Consider a litter box containment system. This is the most expensive option, but it could also be the most effective. Litter box containment systems are dog-proof boxes, usually wooden, with two levels: one at the top where the cat enters and one at the bottom where a litter tray is contained.