Changes

==Behavioural Assessment==

==Behavioural Assessment==

[[Inappropriate Elimination - Cat|Inappropriate elimination]] and [[Indoor Marking - Cat|indoor marking behaviour]] may be difficult to differentiate in some cases, and in many they occur together. It is important to collect all of the information needed to make a judgement:

It may be difficult in some cases to differentiate between [[Inappropriate Elimination - Cat|Inappropriate elimination]] and [[Indoor Marking - Cat|indoor marking behaviour]], and in some cases these two problems may occur together. It is important to collect all of the information needed to make a judgement:

[[File:House plan Housesoiling.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Example of a house plan]]

[[File:House plan Housesoiling.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Example of a house plan]]

* Age of onset

* Age of onset.

* Previous record of house training

* Previous record of house training.

* Pattern of deposits – location, frequency, volume.

* Pattern of deposits – location, frequency, volume

* Orientation of deposits – onto vertical or horizontal surfaces.

* Orientation of deposits – onto vertical or horizontal surfaces

* Posture and behaviour of the cat during deposition.

* Posture of cat during deposition

* Relationships between animals in the household.

* Relationships between animals in the household

* Presence or absence of the owner or other animals around the time of soiling (including other cats seen outside).

* Presence or absence of the owner or other animals around the time of soiling (including other cats seen outside).

* Owner’s reaction to the deposits

* Owner’s reaction to the deposits.

* Events in the household or the neighbourhood coinciding with the onset of the behaviour

* Events in the household or the neighbourhood coinciding with the onset of the behaviour.

* Assessment of the cat’s emotional reactions to novelty in the environment and to strangers

* Assessment of the cat’s emotional reactions to novelty in the environment and to strangers.

===Using a House Plan===

===Using a House Plan===

One of the most useful tools when investigating a problem of feline house soiling is a plan of the house in which the cat lives. This does not need to be a detailed scale drawing but rather a basic plan indicating the layout of rooms in the house, the position of windows, doors and major furniture and the location of major resources such as feeding and watering stations, sleeping  locations and play areas. Each individual cat’s favourite resting places and rooms they prefer to inhabit should be noted on the diagram. The client should mark onto this diagram the location of urine and faeces that they have found (see figure).

Owners should be asked to draw a floor plan of the house, indicating when and where urine and faces have been discovered. The owner should mark onto this diagram the location of urine and faeces that they have found, as well as the location of major resources (food and water locations, litter trays, cat doors), and the position of doors and windows (see figure). This can be annotated during the consultation with information about the cat(s) preferences for resting locations, and the frequency , volume and characteristics of deposited of urine/faeces. The client should also be asked to indicate in which locations urine/faeces was first found, and how this spread to other locations.

The pattern of urine and faecal deposits can point to the source of the problem. For example, if the first deposits were found close to external doors and windows, this suggests that the perceived threat is from outside the home, whilst initial deposits furniture and internal doorways and passages would suggest that the problem originates in the relationship between resident cats in a multi-cat household.

 

The pattern of urine and faecal deposits can point to the source of the problem. For example, if the first deposits were found close to doors and windows, it is suggestive that the perceived threat was coming from outside the home whilst initial deposits in the centre of rooms or onto new pieces of furniture would suggest that the disruption of the cat’s security was coming from within the household.

Once all of this information has been collected, it is then possible to make judgments about the nature of the problem, whether it is a matter of '''[[Indoor Marking - Cat|indoor marking]] or [[Inappropriate Elimination - Cat|elimination]]''' and what the motivation may be.

Once all of this information has been collected, it is then possible to make judgments about the nature of the problem, whether it is a matter of '''[[Indoor Marking - Cat|indoor marking]] or [[Inappropriate Elimination - Cat|elimination]]''' and what the motivation may be.