Tag Archives: Behavior

How to occupy your cat and improve his well-being : how to put food available in a way which increases the cat’s level of activity ?

Last Caturday, Claire followed a training about cats again ; this time, the course was given by Philippe Bocion, behavioristic veterinarian. There were so many interesting things that’s we’re going to need 3 articles to tell you everything !

According to a study of Bonnie Beaver (Feline Behavior, 2003), the approximate time dedicated to various activities by a free cat is the following one :

sleeping : 40% (9 hours)
resting : 20% (4-5 hours)
bathing : 15% (3-4 hours)
hunting : 15 à 40% (4 à 9 hours)
moving and feeding : 5% (1 hour)
other activities (game, marking, elimination) : 5%

Unfortunately, numerous indoor cats are sub-occupied and spend their days sleeping to pass the time, while they would need at least 4 hours of activities a day (hunting, feeding, playing, interactions), according to a personal estimation of Mr Bocion, to respect their natural needs.

For example, we eat between 7 and 15 times a day when we are free ; it is thus essential to split our meals. Besides, the zoos staff knows that having to make an effort to obtain his food is generally appreciated by animals : we call it contrafreeloading. Hey yeah, looking for his food, it takes time !

How to put food available in a way which increases the cat’s level of activity ?

You can realize this very easily :

by tinkering a device by means of cardboard rollers, egg boxes, plastic cups,… (warning on the used glue!)
ADVANTAGE : it does not cost anything ; INCONVENIENCE : it’s little hygienic

by buying a device in a store
ADVANTAGE : it’s hygienic ; INCONVENIENCE : that costs between 20 and 70 CHF

by hiding food in various places of the apartment

Any device must be presented to the cat at its lowest level of difficulty (open drawers or open lids, food effortlessly accessible). The level of difficulty will then be gradually increased : closed lids or closed drawers, food more difficult to reach,… At the beginning, the cat must be helped and encouraged.

Claire had never perceived the importance of this phenomenon, then necessarily, it gave her ideas.

Without particular device, the food can be hidden in places where we don’t see it at first glance, or in places where it will be necessary to catch it before being able to eat it (under a piece of furniture, between a piece of furniture and a wall, …). Obviously, as you eat kibbles, canned food, or raw meat, certain devices will suit better than on others !

How does your human do to split your food ? Have you to be active to get it ?

Help ! My cat does not pee in his litter box !

Little Bibine, 3-4 months, has just been adopted by the son of Christine, a colleague of Claire. And Christine addressed our domesticated because her son has the following problem :

Bibine has two boxes for her alone ; she once uses a box, once the other one, then makes the rest in the bathtub and in other places of the apartment. She is healthy, has the opportunity to climb, to scratch, to look outside, and her humans play gladly with her.

Why does this ladycat not pee in his litter box ?

We asked Claire to pass on the following questions to Bibine’s human :

Is the litter box in a quiet, accessible, and clear place ? We appreciate certain peace to do our business (just like you !), and we have to have the possibility of running away in case of danger.
Is the litter box covered ? Some cats don’t appreciate at all a stuffy space.
Is it far enough from the food ?
Is there a thick enough layer of litter ? We must be able to scratch, dig, then cover : if there is not enough litter, it’s not possible, and moreover, we have paws height of it !
What kind of litter is used ? We like clumping litter : it avoids that urine spreads in all the box(when we scratch, and makes the litter box maintenance easier. It also absorbs the smells better. You will find a post about our favorite litter here.
Speaking about smells, is the litter perfumed ? Our sense of smell is 14 times more developed that that of humans, and these flavors assault us, just like the smell of our excrements if the maintenance of the litter box is neglected. We prefer a not perfumed litter in a regularly emptied box.

Bibine’s human had several points to be improved : we hope that it will be enough for letting the little Bibine come back to the litter box.

How to clean after a cat wee-wee ?

At once : mop with some paper towels.

Then : clean with a rag soaked with the following product : 1/3 white vinegar, 2/3 water, 1 soup spoon of bicarbonate of soda for 500 ml. When you add the bicarbonate, leave the bowl open until the chemical reaction stops. Rinse well with water, then wipe with a rag soaked with product again.

This mixture is natural, ecological, and biodegradable.

If the smell of urine persists, clean the place with an enzyme cleaner.

Do you have other suggestions ?

We love to answer your questions about cats : do you wonder why your cat does this or that ?
Check out our Living with cats section, or send us an email at swissneko AT gmail DOT com 😊

What is a cat ?

Claire followed on Saturday a training given by Colette Pillonel, behaviouristic veterinarian, and organized by Philippe Bocion, also behavioristic veterinarian. Who is the cat ? Where does he come from ? How does he live ? What are his needs ? Why ?

It was fascinating ! Here are in brief some points of this presentation :

Family tree

The current carnivores (wolf, dog, fox, cat, tiger, lynx, bear, otter, weasel, badger, raccoon, genette, chive, hyena, …) have all one distant common ancestor : the Miacidae, a small primitive carnivore which lived 60 million years ago. Incredible, right ?
The first wildcats, the ancestors of the domestic cat, appear 2 million years ago.
The « domestic » cat appears 10000 years ago ; his ancestor is the wildcat of Africa. It looks like the cat got domesticated by himself, and that the human and him found a mutual profit in this cohabitation.

Domestication

This process involves a controlled detention, the breeding, the abolition or the control of some behavior considered as unwanted (flight or aggressiveness), the control of the sexual behavior, the training, the possibility of manipulating the animal, of communicating with him, and the control of his strength.
We do not meet all these criteria, and all the domestic cats are not at the same stage of this process : 15 % of them are even resistant to any manipulation : the wildcat is not far !
The purebred cats (except the recent experimental crossings with wild cats, forbidden in Switzerland) are often better domesticated than their alley cousins, because the breeders select the “best” individuals to reproduce.

Anatomy

We are more successful than humans : we see in the daytime and at night, we perceive the ultrasounds, our sense of smell is 14x more developed, our sense of balance is ultra successful (except when we sleep), our tactile hairs are sensitive to the slightest breath of air, and we communicate in a very precise manner by chemical messages (pheromones).

Needs

Hunt, play, climb, eat, drink, eliminate, have a wash, sleep : that seems easy, right ? The Swiss Protection of Animals gives you details here.
A cat can be perfectly happy in apartment, as far as his environment fulfills ALL his needs. It is thus necessary to adapt the environment to the cat, and not the opposite…

Society

The cat is a solitary who can be sociable. There is not really hierarchy by cats, but rather some sense of opportunity : the one who arrives first, who is placed the highest, who is in the best place, or still who will know how to be the most curious in a given circumstance will have the advantage.

Territory and schedule

The cat is territorial, and follows a ritualized time organization. Each part of his territory has a very particular function ; it also depends on the moment of the day. Any modification of his spatial or temporal organization is usually very stressful for the cat.

Good to know

Unwanted behavior appears when the cat’s needs are not respected. If all the future cat owners inquired in detail about our needs, and about the various manners to meet them, there would be almost no more rescue cats…