By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS  December 8, 2009

Question:

We have a 2 year old female cat (Kachina) who is fully declawed and spayed. She will jump on the bed or sofa with my wife (Liz) and want to be scratched behind her ears/head. She purrs while this is happening then all of a sudden she will turn and bite Liz in the arm. This used to happen 1-2 times every month or so and now it is a few times a week. Kachina usually comes back to lay with Liz in about 30 minutes as if nothing happened and curl up with Liz. Liz was in bed last night and Kachina bit her arm and blood was flowing from the entry wound. I closed the door to our bedroom last night but we need to do something so Kachina stops biting Liz. Kachina does not do this to me.

Any suggestions?

–Doug

Answer

Doug, as you already know, unlike dogs who generally read like an open book, cats are a little more subtle and come with interesting quirks. For instance a hungry dog will follow you around the house even barking and whining until you give in. Hungry cats sometimes meow from their comfortable place, until you deliver the food to them. One thing about cats is that they don’t necessarily like being petted endlessly the way many dogs do. This could be the root of Kachina’s issues with Liz. So even if the cats solicit the petting, they may get tired of it after several seconds or minutes.

It’s like they’re saying, “Pet me now.” And then after a set time point, “Ok, I’ve had enough,” or ,”But not that way.”  The signs meaning stop may be subtle-a tail flick, ears bent to the sides. When, we humans are blind the cat has to give a bigger cue-namely a bite. In essence the bite says, “Hey! I told you to stop!” After this the cat may just figure out that the subtle signs don’t work. Better to go with the neon sign, a big chomp, first. Or it may be that the cat gets more irritated with each event. Like. “Geez, doesn’t she know I can’t stand being petted that long?”

In cases where the humans just can’t keep their hands of their cat or pet the cat in a way that their cat more aroused, cats have been known to proactively hiss or swat any time the human walks by. Or they bite and scratch seemingly randomly. To them it’s not randomly, they’re biting when they think the human may approach or try to pester them. Overall they become more irritable around people they deem bad petters.

So what if this is Kachina’s issue. What can you do? Safety first. Keep Kachina out of the bedroom at night. Next Liz should only pet Kachina for short bouts of petting, short enough so that Kachina will, for sure enjoy it. These short bouts should be paired with feeding so that Kachina comes to associate the petting with things he likes. For instance, Liz can either pet Kachina will simultaneously feeding cat treats or canned cat food for about 5-10 seconds and then stop both the feeding and the petting. Alternatively Liz could pet for  5-10 seconds and then follow immediately with a treat to reward Kachina for behaving well. I frequently start with method 1 and then move to method 2. In both cases, systematically increase the time that Liz is able to pet. The goal is that Kachina associates the petting with good thing (food /treats) and remains in a positive emotional state rather than becoming agitated.

If these techniques don’t clearly help, then it’s time to see a behaviorist. A list of veterinarians practicing behavior can be found at www.AVSABonline.org.

Sophia Yin, DVM, MS   August 18, 2009

Question

My cat has always been a talkative animal, but her insistent meowing has been worse recently than ever before.  Sami has always been much quieter when living in a household with another cat, but now Sami cries constantly, anytime I or my boyfriend is in the house she is crying.  It’s not a talkative friendly cry, it’s a desperate sounding cry for attention.  She follows us around and cries at our feet until we pay attention to her.  She cannot handle not being held or pet and always needs to be sitting on my lap.  I’ve tried so many different things….I’ve tried giving her attention first thing in the morning, playing with her, cuddling with her, but even if I play with her for 30 minutes I have to get ready for work and she cries the whole time I’m getting ready.  As soon as I come home from work it’s starts again.  I have tried to give her tons of attention and when she cries I pick her up and talk to her…but it always continues, she always wants more and more….and I just don’t have time!!!  Now I’m trying to ignore her when she is crying, I’m not making eye contact, not talking to her, and I walk away when she is crying.  When she is being quiet then I try to give her attention….but it’s so hard!  She will be sitting there quiet and I’ll walk toward her or say one word to her and she will start crying!! So then I have to walk away again. It’s so frustrating, I just don’t even know what to do anymore.

Erin

Answer

Erin, the problem is that by giving Sami attention to get her to be quite, you’ve actually spent months rewarding her for meowing! It’s even worse if you ignore her for a little while and then finally give in because then she learns that she has to meow longer and harder to get your attention. Now that you’re ignoring the meowing and trying to reward quiet behavior, you’re on the right track, but you’ll need to tweak it to get it to actually work.

First, you’ll have to find a better way to give her the message that sitting quietly is what earns her your attention. The quickest way to do this in cats is to teach them to sit using food. Use her regular kibble instead of giving it to her for free in a bowl, or use canned food on a spoon, or small treats. Getting her to work for her kibble or regular food is best since if you can reward quiet behavior 100x in a day, you’ll change the behavior much faster than if you used treats which can only make up about 10% of her diet. Also make sure the treats or kibble are small enough so she finishes each one in just one or two bites.

To train sit, as soon as Sami sits, get the food reward up to her face in a manner that allows her to remain seated. Once she eats it give her one or two more for remaining seated. At first if she’s meowing, it’s ok. But after she gets the idea that she should be sitting, then only reward the sit if she’s also quiet. She should be on this step by the end of day 1 or 2.

Once she can sit quietly for several seconds to receive a treat, then work on giving her treats for remaining seated and quiet. The goal is to always give treats before she starts meowing or getting up.  For instance you may start by giving treats every 3-5 seconds for 5-10 treats, and then increasing the interval to 7 seconds and then 10 seconds and then 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. If you increase in this systematic manner and have her earn a large portion of her meal this way, then within several days you’ll have longer bouts of quiet.

It’s also a good idea to teach her that the word “quiet” means she gets no attention. You can do this once she is starting to understand that sitting quietly gets treats and can hold still and quiet for at least 5-10 seconds. Then, when she meows at you, say “quiet” in a calm but clear voice and immediately turn your head away from her. Once she’s quiet for a second or two, reward her with a treat and then give several more frequently enough so that she remains quiet for another 30 seconds but gradually space the treats further and further apart.

You can also then train her to follow you when you walk around the house when she catches up so that it’s easier to reward quiet sit behavior, or you can train her to sit quietly and stay in one spot away from you. To train her to follow you, take a few steps. When she follows and sits then reward the quiet, polite behavior. To train her to stay, give her a treat for sitting on a chair or stool. Give her a “halt” signal with your hand. Then back up one step but hurry and return to her and reward her with a treat before she gets up. When you can do this 5 times, then switch to taking 2, then 3 and then more steps away.

By approaching this problem in a systematic manner so Sami can understand that quiet behavior is what earns attention, you’ll be able to turn the meowing noise off in just several days.

By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS  July 3, 2009

Have you ever wondered why lions and tigers and other wild cats on T.V. can learn so many tricks while all your domesticated house cat can do is sit and meow at you for her meals? Well, not surprisingly, our domesticated felines can learn cat tricks as quickly as their flashier television counterparts, once their humans learn a few basic training secrets.  In fact, once you know the secrets, you’ll be able to train cat tricks like a pro. Here is the basic approach followed by a simple cat trick you can train.

General Tips and Approach to Training Cat Tricks

First, use bite-sized treats or the cat’s regular kibble or canned food.  That is, instead of feeding Kitty her meal in a bowl, use the food for training sessions to reward the individual training steps. That way you can reward the right behaviors a lot in a short period of time (10, 20, 30 + times in the course of just minutes). As a result your favorite feline will learn the steps quickly and feeding times will double as quality play-time too.

What? You say your feline is finicky? Well, that’s no surprise. If you leave her kibble out all day so that she can help herself whenever she wants and then provide her with even tastier canned food and treats when she demands dining service, of course she’ll hold out until she gets what she wants. Some can even hold out for over a day. So, if you want to use her kibble instead of treats or her regular canned food, then you’ll first want to get her onto meal feedings. That means place a measured amount of her meal out in the morning, and whatever she fails to eat within five minutes gets tossed or is used as her next meal. That way if she decides she’s only hungry enough to pick at her meal, she’ll actually get less food that day. Don’t worry. Your cat won’t starve. Out in the wild feral cats quickly learn that they should eat when they have the opportunity. Believe me, they don’t turn food away if they’re hungry and it’s safe to eat. So even your home-raised cat can learn that she should eat when a meal’s available.

Next, reward a behavior your cat offers or even lure her into position with a treat. You’ll reward her for performing the cat trick many times to be sure she gets it. Then you’ll practice in different rooms and at different times of day so that she can perform the trick in many different situations.

Once the cat trick is learned, train the cue word if you want, so that Kitty can perform the trick on cue. Avoid putting a word to the trick until the trick is actually learned. Otherwise, to Kitty, the word, which may sound like “Sit” or “Rollover” to you, will sound like “Blah, Blah, Blah,” to her.

As an added step you can switch to other rewards besides food and you can train Kitty to repeat the trick multiple times in succession without needing a reward of any kind each time.

For more tips, tricks, and to see video, go to http://www.askdryin.com/cat_tricks.php

Here’s an Example of One Cat Trick You can Train- Sit

Get Kitty’s attention by showing her that you have a treat. Some cats will sit if you wait a bit. If Kitty sits, hurry and get the treat to her before she stands. If she starts to paw at your hand, quickly pull your hand and treat away so you don’t accidentally reward the pawing behavior. Once she puts her paw down, get the treat to her before she lifts the paw again.  If instead of sitting, Kitty stares at you with a blank look on her face, hold the treat up to her nose. When Kitty sniffs the treat, move the treat up and back so that her weight shifts to her hind end. In this position Kitty will naturally want to sit. As soon as she sits, give her the treat followed by a few more to reward continued sitting. Then walk a few steps away so that she has to get up to follow if she wants more treats and repeat the exercise. Pretty soon Kitty should sit as you move your treat hand into position and soon thereafter she’ll be offering to sit even before you move your hand. Once Kitty predictably sits within 1-2 seconds whenever she walks up to you even without your showing her the treat, you can train the cue word “sit” if you want. Or you can just have her perform sit automatically when she wants a treat from you. Say the cue word right before Kitty starts to sit. After several dozen trials she’ll understand that “sit” means sit.

How Cats Might Manipulate You

Frequently humans try training cat tricks and give up because their Kitty seems to be lacking in attention span. That is, the very cat that meows at them for 30 minutes straight can’t seem to focus for 5 minutes to learn a new trick. If that seems odd to you, it should. What Kitty has is not a lack of attention span, rather, it’s a case of Kitty manipulating you. She wants the food but she wants you to do the tricks—like running after her and trying to put the treat up to her face as she walks away from you around the room.

What should you do? Well, if she’s hungry, you should make it clear that the food goes away rather than coming closer, when she starts to look bored. When she starts to walk away or stares at you with a blank look from several feet away, you can walk the other way or out of the room. If she follows you, she’s still hungry and motivated to learn. If she’s doesn’t, then it means you should take a break and try later in the day.

Many cats also look bored when they can’t figure out what you want or when they’re not hungry for the food reward you’re using. You can try using something tastier and see how they respond. If they suddenly seem more attentive, then the food value was the key. The other big factor is your technique. Are you getting to the treat to Kitty fast enough when she does the right thing? If you’re using a treat as a lure, are you positioning it close enough to her face to keep her attention and moving it in a way that her weight is pushed back onto her rear? You may need to give her several treats just for leaning her weight back a little at first. In all cases, don’t give up. Remember, if a tiger or lion learn a cat trick, then surely your housecat can too.

Now that you know the general approach, you have all the tools you need to train many fun behaviors. To see video of this trick, go to Dr. Yin’s Cat Tricks page at http://www.AskDrYin.com/Cat_tricks.php.

Are there cat tricks you’re interested in learning how to train? Email Dr. Sophia Yin at www.AskDrYin.com

By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS  June 12, 2009

As every kid knows, while America is a democracy, the American family is not. It’s a dictatorship and even the youngest family members are savvy to the balance of power. One such youngster explained it to me, “In this house,” he said, “the dogs are the lowest. The kids come next. The parents are above the kids. And the cats are on top.”
Indeed with over 60 million cats in the U.S., cats are at the top in more ways than one.

In their insidious manner, they’ve quietly surpassed the dog as America’s number one pet. It’s easy to see why. They are small, they don’t bark, they are independent, and they’re like having a bit of the wild in your house. Well, sort of. In many cases maybe it’s more like having a fat blob of something wild in your house. Because while their wild counterparts spend up to eight hours a day foraging and solving life’s problems, for the typical housecat, every day is Sunday and the couch is his best friend. Forget foraging. If he yells loud enough, someone will deliver.

It’s not that cats purposely fall into this rut. The wave of lethargy just sets in. But as second in command, you don’t have to accept this as fact. You can release your cat’s inner kitten by training simple tricks. Yes, really.

You’re probably thinking “My cat’s not smart enough. This training is only for abnormally smart cats.” But intelligence is not the issue. As long as your kitty likes to eat you have it made.

Cat Trick Number 1: Come When Called

If Kitty can hit the kitchen at the sound of beef and liver being liberated from a can, surely he can learn to zip over at the sound of his name. Here’s how you start. First make sure Kitty’s hungry and will take treats by hand. If you use canned food, trust me, start by putting it on a spoon. Some cats can’t tell the difference between your finger and a T-bone steak. Next say his name once (and only once or he’ll think his name is Kittykitty or Kittykittykitty ) and then immediately give him a small treat. Repeat the exercise five to ten times and then take a break. After you’ve paired the treat with his name a bunch of times he should start to make the association. When you say his name and he responds by turning towards you, he’s on his way. If he has this down pat, you can add some distance. Call him when he’s several feet away. Systematically increase the distance. Pretty soon he’ll be dashing from the other room.
How long does it take? Not to put any pressure on you, but my chicken Thelma learned this in two days (she likes to eat), and my rat took four. Hint: if it takes much longer it’s not your cat’s fault.

Cat Trick Number 2: Touch a Target With the Nose

For this exercise, you need a pencil with an eraser or a ball on the end and a word to tell Kitty he’s on the right track. Best to use a word or phrase he rarely hears. For cats, that would be, “Good” or “Yes” stated in a distinct way.” Now hold the pencil in front of him and when he investigates the target with his nose, say “good” or “yes” once and immediately give him his treat. Repeat the exercise in short sessions until he actively seeks the target out and touches it. Now you can use the target to lead him wherever you want, such as onto a chair for the next exercise.

Cat Trick Number 3: Sit and Stay

Hold a treat up to Kitty’s nose and move it up and back so he shifts his weight to the rear, causing him to sit. A feisty cat might try to paw you. Just remove you hand whenever he does this until he sits and then give him the treat.

Unlike a sitting dog whose derriere springs up like a waffle out of toaster, cats are masters of the sit position. Since they tend to hold their hiney down for a few seconds following the treat, sit-stay is really easy to teach. Once Kitty knows how to sit, say “stay” and just wait a few seconds. Then give him another treat while he’s still sitting. You can then start adding distance from him by taking a step away and quickly coming back with his reward before he gets up. Systematically increase the time and distance over several sessions.

Putting it Together

Now you have the tools for training almost anything you want—jumping through hoops, fetching a ball, playing the piano. Use the target to lead Kitty around and reinforce the behavior you want using food at first and later using praise or petting instead, if Kitty likes those things. Just be careful what you reinforce. A cat playing the piano all day could get on your nerves.

For more tricks go to www.AskDrYin.com/cat_tricks.php