Amazing, the Net misinformation still around about cat behavior.\u00a0 Pervasive, repeated, rarely re-examined when there\u2019s new research, and because these myths are often on respectable websites, it\u2019s accepted as The Last Word.\u00a0 During the last 34 years\u2019 experience in cat behavior, when asking my clients, \u2018Where did you read that?\u2019, I hear\u2014well, you see what I mean.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s correct a few bits of \u2018wisdom\u2019.\u00a0 After all, just because a picture\u2019s framed and hangs in a gallery, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s Art.\u00a0 Words on computer and TV screens ain\u2019t necessarily so, either.<\/p>\n
\u2018Vinegar and bleach are ideal for cleaning<\/strong> cat urine\u2019? This whopper\u2014 still spouted by behaviorists, veterinarians, so-called experts\u2014is a tough one, because at first, sometimes, they do work. For a short time. You never read about Noodles re-marking over that cleaned spot, after the stuff degrades; the smell left over to the cat\u2019s nose can be similar to urea. See where this is going? Use an enzymatic product especially for cat urine. If clothes are involved, regular laundry cleaner won\u2019t do it; put that cleaner into the last rinse\u2014with very little water\u2014that should do the trick. Remember, a cat\u2019s sense of smell is over 40 times keener than ours\u2014plus, their heads are already\u2026down there. You may not sniff it, but they do.<\/p>\n Another dangerous myth: crating<\/strong> a cat who urinates outside the box.<\/p>\n This horrific fiction\u2019s recommended by people who don\u2019t understand a cat\u2019s mental and psychological makeup. (Some Humane Societies in certain states still suggest a \u201930-day Crate Method\u2019) One quotes: \u2018Unwanted behaviors go on for so long, our pets \u2018forget\u2019 the appropriate behavior.\u2019 Wrong. Cats don\u2019t \u2018forget\u2019 like that. They act out of normal character b\/c they\u2019re stressed, or there\u2019s something medically wrong. Secondly, imprisoning a cat (that\u2019s what it is) in a box is no answer, it just gets them out of the way, for the human\u2019s convenience. Most importantly, Noodles only learns not to soil the crate territory. I know of no respected behaviorist, nor vet-behaviorist, who recommends crating for anything more than transportation.<\/p>\n What I have seen is the result: cats who remain fearful, have their personalities repressed, lost their spirit, and show marked stress when in enclosed places, even years later. The urinating problem still exists.<\/p>\n Or crating for introductions? Noodles becomes completely vulnerable, trapped while the other cat or dog is allowed to sniff, hiss, claw at, stare down. The human has removed two aspects of a cat\u2019s life which is needed: a sense of control and sense of choice. There are better ways to protect a cat\u2014and one crucial way is to train the dog, for example. For another cat\u2014it\u2019s a slow introduction.<\/p>\n There is no place to hide. \u2018A pen protects, gives it a sense of security\u2019, says one website. No. It does the reverse, because the cat lacks two of the most important needs and feelings she needs: control and choice. She has also become a centerpiece.<\/p>\n \u2018Crating a cat to cool down\u2019? That is learned helplessness. Cats understand the concept that nothing they do can change the outcome, so they submit and have to tolerate (or not) the situation. That kind of stress, emotional damage can lead to systemic diseases. And submitting is hardly the same as calm. Nothing is taught, and nothing is learned. But our furry-friend is damaged.<\/p>\n Soiling<\/strong>:\u00a0 Litter. Marketing sells. No matter if it\u2019s right for the cat or not. Big pellets, rough-edged crystals (hurtful not only on toes, but burrowed in-between them. Cats\u2019 toe pads do not even toughen, the way dogs\u2019 do.) And they’re ingested when the cat cleans.\u00a0 Wood chips, newspaper, \u2018eco\u2019 walnut shells (which hang on to the smell), even plastic balls purporting to show medical problems (providing false positives, as well as missing important symptom).\u00a0 And scented! Pine, lemongrass, lavender! The very things cats loathe.<\/p>\n Boxes. So many sites still tout automatic ones for human convenience.\u00a0 NOT the cats\u2019!\u00a0 Small angled ones for corners. Hooded ones, top-entry ones, ones hidden in cabinets with plants on top. Please. Consider: outside, cats pick a different place every time. In unscented dirt or soft sand. Large territory. Make where Noodles eliminates as attractive and natural as possible. Forget the petshop-sold litter pans. Get large storage containers, and cut down one end for easy access. Unscented soft clay litter (which, despite web horror stories, is less than one-tenth of one percent side-product of strip mining). And only two to three inches’ deep. The web or TV commercials are there to sell product.\u00a0 Cats on the outside scrape, they don\u2019t dig\u2014unless they\u2019re trying to ind a clean spot in the box. Urine and feces have messaging significance, after all.<\/p>\n Like anything else, it takes research to distinguish the true from the false.\u00a0 For your cats\u2019 sake, isn\u2019t it worth it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Amazing, the Net misinformation still around about cat behavior.\u00a0 Pervasive, repeated, rarely re-examined when there\u2019s new research, and because these myths are often on respectable websites, it\u2019s accepted as The Last Word.\u00a0 During the last 34 years\u2019 experience in cat …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behavior","category-crating"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1918,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions\/1918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cattitudebehavior.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGo by good recommendation, not miles of shelf space at the pet store.<\/p>\n
\nWe need to know why she\u2019s doing this: box issues? Anxiety? Medical? Hormonal? Then attend to the reasons.<\/p>\n
\nCrating also removes two of the Five Freedoms, (\u2018freedom from expressing normal behaviors and freedom from fear and stress\u2019) aspects of animal welfare under human control, adopted by vets, World Organization for Animal Health, RSPCA, ASPCA, AVMA, other major organizations<\/p>\n