Cat Behavior

When you first get a cat or a kitten you’ll notice that there is a lot of strange cat behavior that you can’t quite comprehend. Don’t be discouraged. Kitten behavior and the behavior of cats take time to understand. You may have your cat for quite some time before you learn to pick up on cat behaviors and what they mean.

There are many common cat behavior problems that you may encounter. You may observe such cat behavior as – clawing screens, scratching (of people and of furniture!), sneak attacks, and occasionally they may even stop using the litter box. The more obtrusive they are in your life, the more you are a likely to notice them. There are other cat behaviors that you are not likely to notice though unless you are watching for them and you should be watching for some of them. Some cat’s behavior issues are indicators of cat health. Cat behavior can be a signal of physical or emotional health. House cat behavior problems may indicate a need for a visit to the vet and if you know what you should be watching for it is much easier to catch them at the beginning. Cat behavior analysis is speculative if you are untrained so it is best to leave it up to the pros – the veterinarian.

If you have multiple pets in your home and one of them is a dog you find that there are also dog and cat behavior issues that you will have to deal with. The fact of the matter is that cats and dogs are very different types of animals and generally their personalities do not mesh. A young dog may seem like it is attacking the cat but it usually just wants to play. Depending on the type of cat you have, the cat will likely just be annoyed. Every dog and cat is different and unique though and you really can’t anticipate how they will react together until you see their behavior. Cat and dog behaviors will let you know if they are going to get along.

One of the most annoying behaviors you may encounter is that of not using the litter box. Health or cleanliness of the box may be what is behind this cat behavior. A litter box that makes you cringe will not be appealing to your cat either! So keep the litter box clean and see if that makes a difference. If you cat is still not using the litter box it could be a health related issue such as a urinary infection or kidney disease. Take your cat to the vet immediately. Of course, the typical male cat behavior of spaying to mark his territory may be mistaken for not using the litter box. If you have a male cat that is not spayed who you think is not using the litter box, take him to the vet and have him spayed.