Feline Attachment Problems

Introduction

Key Points
Treatment Summary: Provide an enriched environment Return complete control of resource access to the cat (ad lib activity feeding etc) Give the cat outdoor access or a range of distracting activities in the home Reduce reinforcement of attention seeking behaviour Stop soothing of the cat when it is anxious or fearful Resolve underlying fear and anxiety problems

Normal primary attachment in felines is to location and territory, rather than to other individuals. This is because cats are solitary hunters and do not require other cats to help them to gain the resources that they need to survive. Cats that are anxious or fearful may come to depend on their owner(s) for security and reassurance, either because their environment does not offer them sufficient opportunities to regulate their own emotional state, or because the owner has repeatedly reinforced dependent behaviour. Keeping cats indoors is observed to increase the level of interaction between cats and their owners, and it might be expected that attachment problems would be more common in these individuals.

Prevention

• Provide indoor cats with a wide range of environmental enrichments: activity feeders, opportunities to hide and climb, and opportunities to play.
• Provide indoor-outdoor access: to a garden enclosure if freedom must be curtailed for some reason.
• Continually change toys and add novelty to the environment to prevent boredom.
• Do not reinforce attention-seeking behaviour.

Diagnosis

Cats with attachment problems may follow their owners, vocalise and demand attention continuously. They may become anxious as the owner prepares to depart. When alone they may spray or eliminate on the owner’s property.

There are a number of underlying reasons for attachment problems in cats:

• Lack of environmental stimulation and novelty
• Lack of opportunities to exert control over resource access
• Owner reinforcement of attention-seeking behaviour by the cat
• Owner comforting of the cat or offering it security when it is fearful or anxious

Owners are likely to be inconsistent in their responses to the cat, sometimes reinforcing attention seeking behaviour and at other times admonishing the cat for being a pest. This only serves to make the cat more anxious, especially if the owner is responsible for controlling access to resources such as outdoor access or food. Cats have a uniquely direct relationship with their environment, being able utilise resources on demand. They therefore find waiting for human intervention to be frustrating and stressful. Attachment problems in cats are therefore often accompanied by frustration related aggression and protest urine spraying.

Cats are also likely to show increased dependence on their owners if the presence of that person guarantees safety in an otherwise stressful environment. For example, the cat may be safe from attack by other cats in the household only when the owner is present, so that the cat cannot eat, drink or eliminate in safety when the owner is absent. A similar situation is seen in cats that are terrorised by local despots and refuse to enter the garden unless the owner is present. Specific underlying fear or anxiety problems must therefore be identified and addressed.

Treatment

The aim of treatment is to return the cat to a normal relationship with its environment and reduce the importance of the owner. The cat should be given back control over feeding and outdoor access. Activity feeders help to use up the cat’s time and activity budgets in useful work. In longstanding cases, or cats that show generalised anxiety then this may be treated with a suitable anxiolytic drug such as clomipramine. Care must be taken if there is any possibility of disinhibiting an already frustrated aggressive pattern of behaviour.

Specific fear and phobia problems should be treated according to diagnosis.