BEHAVIOR

When youre walking around the house, hes weaving tight figure eights around your legs. If youre trying to take a catnap or watch some prime-time television, hes happily draped across your neck, purring away. When you close the bedroom door at night to get some well-deserved sleep, he claws at the door and wails piteously. And hes always between you and whatever youre trying to read or eat. …

According to Dr. Dodman, the line between clinginess and separation anxiety can be fine. Any of the following signs can indicate that your cat is becoming dangerously dependent on your constant presence: Refusing to eat unless you are present. Spraying or urine-marking on your belongings, especially things you leave near the door by which you ordinarily leave the house. Clawing at door frames and window screens. Frantic attempts to escape if confined away from a favorite human, to the…

Most people - including many cat owners - think its impossible to train a cat. While cats are certainly more challenging to train than dogs, they are trainable - especially using a method called clicker training. First popularized in the 1990s by dolphin trainer Karen Pryor, clicker training works by use of what behaviorists call operant conditioning. Animals initially learn to associate the sound of a metal clicker with a reward, and can eventually be taught…

Petey, a much-loved, six-month-old kitten, has been able to hold his own in a family that includes two active boys and two dogs. Peteys owner, Mindy, was a long-time dog owner; Petey, adopted at just seven weeks of age, was her first cat. One morning, little Petey purred and squeaked in delight as Mindy played with him - rolling him over on his back, and letting him grip her forearm as she stroked his tummy. But…

Have you ever witnessed your cat scratching around the food bowl, attempting to cover the food or plop a toy in the water dish, and asked yourself: Whats happening here? You may have even wondered whether your cat is suffering from a medical condition (the answer is maybe; well explain in a minute). But first, lets take a closer look at some of the most common, albeit odd, food-related behaviors cats may exhibit. …

The white coat effect (i.e. increase in blood pressure as a result of the measurement process itself) is well-documented in people. The name comes from the increased stress some patients experience upon seeing a white coat-wearing doctor enter the exam room. Although the prevalence of white coat hypertension is hard to gauge, it does present a significant problem in the interpretation of blood pressure measurement in cats. …

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - A Tuna Fish Diet, Suckling Habit

I moved from New York City to western New York about four years ago, and said goodbye to my rent-controlled apartment and the various stresses of urban life. I packed up all my earthly possessions and my four cats, who had lived their entire lives in our two-bedroom apartment. Up in the Finger Lakes, I bought an Arts and Crafts-style house, over 100 years old, with an expansive sun porch and a mudroom in the back.…

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - A Twitching Cat, Stool Problems

Much like Olympic gymnasts, cats sport a keen sense of orientation when twisting in mid-air. The majority of the time, they land with all four feet touching the ground, but do not always escape injury from falls. Credit the cats flexible musculoskeletal system, righting reflex and a flying squirrel-like parachuting pose for enabling them to survive most falls. The cats ability to land safely is the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, explains…

When it comes to cats, the term shy covers a lot of territory. Some shy cats are just very quiet and timid. Some get along well with their fellow felines, but want nothing to do with people; these people shy cats often flee or lash out when approached by humans. …

Letters to Tufts Veterinarians - Feline Aggression, Teeth Cleaning