Case study one: Litter tray problem

Problem: My client had two lovely adult cats but unfortunately she made the mistake of getting one cat after the other cat had already established it’s territory around the home. The cats were not related and took a dislike to one another instantly. After a while she noticed that one of the cats was poo-ing outside of the litter tray, just beside it. The litter tray was quite small and my client was using one for both cats.

My advice: 2 litter trays so that the cats can choose where they want to go to the toilet and it’s possible when one of them smelled the scent of the other it would mean they would not use the same tray.

Outcome: The problem was solved instantly. The cats never went to the toilet outside of their tray again and were happy to use separate trays!

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Case study two: cat become distant in new property

Problem: My clients moved into a new property with their young rescue cat. The cat was very affectionate and quite needy when first brought home from the rescue centre after a bad start in life. With time and patience my clients won the cat’s trust and they were enjoying a very loving relationship. When my clients moved into the new property the cat became quite withdrawn. It would, however, become very needy at night, wanting attention and affection, and so my clients decided to stop their cat sleeping with them in the bedroom mainly due to sleep disturbance! This had an adverse effect on the cat who became more distant.

My advice: Take special dedicated time out each evening for quality playtime. This means no watching TV with one eye and half heartedly playing with the cat but full attention on the playtime. This is very important for bonding with your cat. A lot of people don’t take enough time out, if any, to play with their pets. I also advised them to allow their cat into the bedroom at night again. Cats love to sleep near their owners smell and also, being a new home, the cat would have been feeling in need of reassurance and TLC. The cat was very much used to this bonding time and affection in the old home so to cut off that attention from them would be confusing and distressing for the cat.

Outcome: The cat is much happier now. It is back to it’s usual playful self. My clients now set aside time each night to play the cats fav game - laser light!!. The cat is also back in the bedroom and everything has settled down, with everyone happy and bonding well again.

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Case study three: indoor cat howling the place down

Problem: My client had a male adult Bengal cat and had hired me to sit the cat. I noticed straight away that the cat howled way too much focusing on the window overlooking the client’s garden. It seemed very distressed and un-settled. The cat, in normal circumstances, was left for long periods of time during the day before it’s owner returned from work.

My advice: Simple - this cat needed to go out before it went crazy with boredom and frustration! Bengal cats are highly intelligent and active cats who need a lot of mental stimulation and a space big enough to exercise and run off all of their excess energy. They do not like being left alone for long periods. They bond very intensely with their human owners. They are normally very vocal cats but there is a difference when the vocalising seems distraught and constant aimed at one particular area. My client had a lovely garden and quite simply the cat wanted to go out and use it! I persuaded my client to put a cat flap in leading to the garden and to allow his cat out. I really believed that the cat would be very very unhappy to be inside all of it’s life only to look out onto a lovely garden and also, being left on it’s own for so long, going outside would be a welcome relief.

Outcome: My client thanked me for my encouragement during this ‘difficult’ decision as they were very unsure about letting a pedigree cat outside . He decided to give it a try and had a cat flap fitted. His cat absolutely loved going out and my client told me it was the best decision he had made which took into account the cat’s wellbeing on a long term basis. Before long his cat was the king of the garden and very very happy about it too. It made looking after his cat very easy and we had many many sunny afternoon playing fetch with a sponge ball. The cat has been going out now for years and my client has had no problems what so ever - apart from the odd mouse being carried in and offered as a present!! ;-)

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Case study four: Nervous cat who wouldn’t leave the bedroom

Problem: My clients had a rescue cat, very timid and afraid of humans. The cat would not enter the living room to sit with them. It very much stayed in the bedroom.This went on for nearly a year.

My advice: With cats who have had a terrible start in life and are of a nervous disposition one has to step very carefully and be very patient working at the cats pace.. not your own. I suggested not trying to force the cat out from the bedroom but to sit quietly with her and spend time there until the cat felt safe enough to venture further afield. It obviously felt very safe in this room as it was the first port of call when she arrived, having run under the bed. I suggested moving the food bowls from the hallway towards the living room area until the food bowls reached the desired spot.

Outcome: The cat has turned into a lovely pet. She is still a little nervous of strangers but she is a totally different cat to the first one I saw cowering in a corner under the bed. She has bonded very strongly with her human owners and sits with them on a regular basis on the sofa and, of course, has her feeding station in the living room where she happily eats everyday! She no longer is afraid of the living room!

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Case study five: food bullying

Problem: My clients had two in-door cats. They were using one bowl and feeding station for both cats and were complaining that one cat would bully the other one and so both cats were getting very unequal shares of food resulting in one fat cat and smaller timid one. They were also constantly crying for food!

My advice: The most obvious rule of thumb with two cats is to have two separate feeding stations.. for instance, either end of the kitchen. The first thing that happens with two feeding stations is that both cats can eat at the same time rather than the weaker one waiting until the more dominant cat is finished! Obviously changing the pattern of the dominant one takes time so I advised my clients to try watching over them when putting the food out, when-ever possible, and try to stop the dominant one from wandering in-between both stations eating everything in sight. The dominant cat should be continually placed back to the first bowl it starts eating from so that the weaker cat gets enough food. Sometimes food stations should be kept well apart ie in different rooms. The next question was why they were always crying for food. The cats were fed on biscuits only which I personally think gets boring for a cat and their portions were too small! I asked my clients to try and give the cats a choice of wet food and a small amount of biscuits for breakfast and for dinner. I suggested Almo which has a huge variety of fish and chicken flavours with 85% meat and no offal/bones/ash included!! The client worried very much about their weights but biscuits are the fattening culprit here not the wet food!!

Outcome: The cats not only took to eating at separate stations thereby eliminating the food bullying but they loved having a choice of what they ate and with the correct portions the constant crying/begging for food ceased to exist!