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Inappropriate Elimination - Cat (view source)
Revision as of 15:38, 18 March 2014
, 15:38, 18 March 2014no edit summary
feline that is more likely to present with problems of marking behaviour and individuals that do not cope well with change in their environment are going to be predisposed to the use of urine deposits that are designed to increase home security. In addition, cats that are living in a hostile social environment, where there is underlying tension between feline housemates, may use marking behaviour in an attempt to increase distance between them and to avoid overt
feline that is more likely to present with problems of marking behaviour and individuals that do not cope well with change in their environment are going to be predisposed to the use of urine deposits that are designed to increase home security. In addition, cats that are living in a hostile social environment, where there is underlying tension between feline housemates, may use marking behaviour in an attempt to increase distance between them and to avoid overt
physical confrontation. Therefore, an assessment of the compatibility between cats in the household is an important part of the investigation process. Likewise, the relationship between the cat and the owner should be considered and questions about the owner’s reaction to the discovery of deposits within the home should be included in the consultation. It is perfectly understandable for people to find it unacceptable that their pet is depositing urine or faeces within their home but the use of punitive techniques may be a factor in perpetuating the behaviour and confirming the cat’s perception that the house is no longer a secure core territory.
physical confrontation. Therefore, an assessment of the compatibility between cats in the household is an important part of the investigation process. Likewise, the relationship between the cat and the owner should be considered and questions about the owner’s reaction to the discovery of deposits within the home should be included in the consultation. It is perfectly understandable for people to find it unacceptable that their pet is depositing urine or faeces within their home but the use of punitive techniques may be a factor in perpetuating the behaviour and confirming the cat’s perception that the house is no longer a secure core territory.
Owners often misinterpret relationships between cats in multi-cat households because they are unaware of the significance of certain behaviours. For example, cats will often be described as ‘getting on well’ because they eat and rest in proximity to one another on the owner’s bed or couch. Unfortunately, this apparent tolerance may exist only because the cats are forced to be close to each other when they are feeding or resting. They have no other choice because there are no other feeding stations or equivalent resting places. The cats may be very wary and hesitant whilst feeding and the owner will report that there are frequent bouts of hissing or spitting around the food bowl. Likewise, as one cat leaves a resting place or feeding area, it may be pursued or attacked and cats may attempt long distance intimidations, such as staring eye contact, to frighten each other away from resting places or latrines. Some cats will try to pull food out of a dish with their paws so that they can take it to eat in private. The same desire for privacy will drive them to make a toilet of their own somewhere in the house.
It is important to make a formal assessment of the relationships between cats in the household. A diagram should be constructed to illustrate the relationships. The social function of cats that have died or been re-homed may be important so it may be necessary to draw more than one diagram to illustrate the changing relationships as cats have departed or been added to the group.
Positive affiliative reactions that should be noted include allorubbing and allogrooming, tail up and trilled greeting between cats. [[Aggressive behaviours]] include active threats such as chasing, hissing or spitting and physical attacks, as well as more passive or distant threats such as staring eye contact, threatening body or facial posture, or spraying in front of other cats. These classes of behaviour and their direction should be noted on a diagram of interactions, as illustrated in the ''figure below''.
This may enable certain factions to be identified within the household. Combined with the information already obtained about where cats spend most of their time in the household, this makes the allocation of resources easier during treatment. It may also help to identify feline despots. Making an assessment of this kind is important even when looking at a multi-cat household with what appears to be reactionary spraying due to conflict with outside cats. If resources in the home are sparse, then certain cats may perceive there to be a local overpopulation problem which is made worse by competition with outside cats. Sorting out internal conflict is likely to improve the cats’ general welfare as well as help to resolve elimination and marking problems.
ELIMINATION
Once the initial history taking has been completed and the case has been categorised as one of elimination, it is important to spend time investigating the potential trigger factors which lead to the onset of the behaviour. Only once the underlying reasons for the alteration in toileting behaviour have been identified can effective behavioural therapy be instituted and the cat taught to return to more acceptable patterns of elimination.
In some cases, the cat may never have achieved a state of successful house training but these are relatively uncommon. In the past, a belief that kittens needed to observe their mother’s eliminatory behaviour in order to learn how to toilet appropriately was thought to be supported by the over representation of certain breeds, such as Persians, and the occurrence of house soiling issues within familial lines in those breeds. However, research suggests that
observational learning is not involved in this process and that a lack of opportunity to explore and experiment with suitable substrates early in life is more likely to influence a failure to house train successfully. Obviously this access to suitable litter is going to be influenced by the mother’s behaviour since kittens will follow her when she goes to use the tray and will thereby come into contact with an acceptable substrate. Kittens from mothers with poor toileting skills are therefore likely to have less interaction with a suitable
substrate and may develop problems as a result but, even when the mother is a very clean individual, lack of suitable facilities near to the nest will have a similar effect. Failure to provide suitable substrate can also lead to the development of undesirable substrate associations.
COMMON
==Diagnosis==
It is very important to properly identify the culprit[s] for the indoor housesoiling. Clients frequently blame a particular animal, usually because they have seen it eliminating in the house. However, other cats may also be involved. It is possible to use fluorescein dye to identify the urine of each cat in the household so that the identity of the soiling cat can be confirmed ''[see box below]''. ''Recent research has shown that the fluorescence of urine spots from fluorescein treated cats may vary with urine pH. The fluorescence of fluorescein varies with pH, such that it only strongly emits light under UV illumination when it is in a neutral or alkaline solution. In acidic solution it may hardly glow green at all. Spots should therefore be sprayed with a buffer solution of sodium bicarbonate [baking soda], which will produce a pH of around 8, before testing with a UV lamp. ''If faecal soiling is involved, then a small amount of indigestible material is added to each cat’s food for several
days and the faeces are inspected. Crushed sweet corn works very well because
it is easy to identify in the faeces and does not upset digestion.
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[[Category:To Do - Behaviour]]
[[Category:To Do - Behaviour]]
[[Category:To Do - Behaviour References]]