Feline Attachment Problems
Introduction
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Treatment Summary:
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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.
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
Cats have a uniquely direct relationship with their environment, being able utilise resources as and when they need. In a domestic setting, outdoor access and resources such as food are often under the control of the owner, with the cat only having access by negotiating with the owner. This can be frustrating and stressful, since owners are unpredictable and may spend long times away from the home. Attachment problems in cats are therefore often accompanied by frustration related aggression and stress-related urine spraying.
Owners are often inconsistent in their responses to a cat, sometimes reinforcing attention seeking behaviour and at other times punishing or ignoring it. The unpredictable nature of human interaction creates uncertainty and a lack of control for the cat, leading to increased anxiety.
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 neighbourhood cats and refuse to go into 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.
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