Frustration-Related Feline Aggression Towards People

Introduction

Frustration results when a situation fails to produce an outcome that is line with the individual’s expectations. Frustration is believed to have the same emotional basis as fear, with the difference that in humans there is an ability to label the emotional experience differently according to the kinds of events that precede the emotional state. In other words, we are able to label frustration differently from fear only because we are able to rationalise the circumstances leading up to the frustration. Frustration is also able to evoke the same kinds of behavioural responses as fear, including escape and aggression.

Expectations are conditioned by previous experience, with the heaviest emphasis on experience gained during the sensitive period. Anecdotally there is an association between hand rearing and frustration-related aggression. This presumably results from inappropriate expectations about human contact and some deficiency during the weaning process in terms of teaching kittens to cope with the withholding of potential reward. The process of transferring from a liquid to a solid diet is successfully accomplished during hand rearing but the behavioural component of the weaning process, which is designed to teach the kitten to be an independent adult, is often lacking.

The weaning process is an important part of the kitten’s behavioural development and changes in the queen’s behaviour toward the kittens at this time will have a significant effect on their behaviour as adults. For the first three weeks of life the queen spends up to 70% of her time caring for the kittens and, at this stage of development, they receive reward for their suckling behaviour on a continuous schedule. From the third week onward this behaviour begins to change and the kittens begin to show more demanding behaviour toward the queen who in turn becomes less tolerant of them and begins to spend increasing amounts of time away from the nest. At this stage, the queen may discourage the kittens from suckling by adopting certain body postures and even when she allows them to commence suckling she may move away before the feeding routine is complete, leaving the kittens to drop from her nipples one by one as she exits the kittening box. In effect, the kittens have now been placed on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement and the reward of a full feed is not always available to them. This results in a sense of frustration but the kittens learn to deal with that emotional response and return to a steady state of emotion without recourse to aggression. As the kittens develop further and become more mobile and independent, the mother begins to take a back seat in the feeding process and the emphasis moves from the provision of milk by the queen to the supply of nutrition from prey items, which are brought back to the kittens. In the early stages prey will be killed by the queen, but later the kittens will need to learn how to dispatch their own prey, thus disabled and then active live prey will be supplied by the queen. The killing of prey also contains elements of delayed reward and frustration so kittens learn to tolerate what is essentially a normal emotional state. In this situation frustration is also focussed on the natural process of killing prey, rather than at the parent or other conspecifics. By the end of this stage of the weaning process, the kittens are far more independent and look away from their mother in order to find food. She is no longer the provider of their nutrition and, as their relationship in the context of feeding alters, so does the level of social dependency. The kitten is now ready to act as a solitary hunter and to start to practice the adult behaviours that will ensure its ultimate survival. During the hand rearing process the first stage of continuous nutritional reinforcement is adequately fulfilled, but the process of feeding on demand is often continued past the third week of life because people are concerned about ensuring the kittens receive enough food. This means that early tolerance to frustration is not conditioned. When the time comes to introduce solid food, they often find that the kittens are reluctant to sample the new food and, in order to encourage them to eat, hand rearers will often put food onto their fingers. One reason for the lack of interest in solid food may be that in mammals some chemicals and flavours derived from the mother’s diet will find their way into her milk and provide the first step in conditioning food preference. Replacement milk does not contain any such flavours so hand-reared kittens fail to recognise the solid food they are presented with. There is also a lack of maternal feeding behaviours for the kittens to model. One of the consequences of this is that the person remains the focus of the feeding experience and, instead of encouraging the kitten to function independently, it is encouraged to remain in close contact with its rearer. This can lead to problems later when the owner is unable to deliver rewards when they are expected. The kitten also fails to develop a tolerance to frustration because the feeding process does not involve any delayed reinforcement or predatory behaviour.`12

Obviously hand rearing is not the only risk factor for developing aggression associated with frustration and cats that have been weaned normally by their mothers can go on to develop aggression of this sort if they are continually rewarded for demanding behaviour during kitten hood.

Preventing Frustration-Related Aggression Towards People

Hand rearing of kittens should mirror natural weaning as seen in domestic cats:

• Very small amounts of liquidised solid food should be mixed into replacement milk so that the flavour of solid food is familiar before weaning begins.
• By 3 weeks of age some feeds should end before the kitten is fully satiated and some meals should be replaced with solid food.
• The first few solid meals may be composed of a dish of replacement milk with small amounts of solid food placed in it. Gradually the milk is withdrawn for these meals.
• Dried food is also made available.
• From week 4-5 onwards feeding should also begin to involve some aspects of play. Games that involve food finding are a good way to train some simulated predatory behaviour: a fishing toy can be used to playfully lead the kitten to some food treats or a small bowl of food.
• Direct human involvement in feeding is phased out over this period, in favour of play.
• If possible the kitten should be shifted towards activity or automatic feeding. Activity feeders can be made out of old plastic drinks bottles with holes cut in [so that dried food rolls out]. Electronic feeding bowls that automatically uncover a portion of food, or which dispense a small activity ball containing food every hour are another good way to reduce human involvement in feeding.

Diagnosis

Frustration occurs when an anticipated event does not happen or fails to meet the individual’s expectations. For example when the owner does not open a door or a can of food quickly enough or when a person tries to walk away from a cat when it expects interaction to continue. Often the aggression is not an isolated behaviour and the cat also displays other frustration-related behaviours, such as excessive vocalisation or indoor marking in situations where it appears to be thwarted by circumstance. Frustration-related aggression may be made worse if motivation is abnormally increased by illness. For example, in cats that are suffering from polyphagia due to hyperthyroidism or diabetes mellitus. There is also usually a history of hand rearing or a pattern of regular reinforcement of demanding behaviour throughout the cat’s life.

Treatment

A fundamental problem for these cats is that access to important resources is controlled by the owner who is often inconsistent Most cats will not willingly tolerate having to wait for access to food or access to different areas of their territory, but they are able to cope with this frustration. Cats with a low tolerance for frustration may lash out.

The first step in treating these cats is to reduce human involvement in the provision of the resources and activities the cat requires. The cat should be given back control.

For example, giving the cat ad-lib food access perhaps using activity or automatic feeders, together with independent indoor-outdoor access. Food may be topped up, but should always be available. Play should be substituted for cuddling and other tactile interactions, which may place the cat close to the owner at times when frustration could trigger a dangerous attack. Some cats become frustrated when play ceases abruptly, so all play should involve fishing toys, laser pointers and other devices that distance the owner from the play. Hand and foot movements should be minimised so that play does not become directed onto the owner. If possible, play should end with some kind of consummatory act, such as the toy leading the cat to a pile of favourite food treats. This simulates a normal end to predatory behaviour. The owner can then leave the context and put away the toy whilst the cat consumes the food.

Summary of Treatment of Frustration-Related Aggression

• Give the cat control over access to resources and activities [food, outdoor access etc].
• Provide automatic and activity feeders.
• Stop all games that involve the cat interacting directly with hands and feet.
• Substitute play for cuddles and tactile interactions.
• Use fishing toys and other toys that focus play away from the owner.
• End games with the cat getting a small amount of food.
• Provide a wide range of environmental enrichment including a regularly changed collection of lightweight toys for object play.
• Avoid picking the cat up, as this removes control and can trigger aggression, especially when the cat is put back down again.

Prognosis

Prognosis depends on the severity of the attacks and whether at-risk individuals are present. It is absolutely essential to make a detailed list of individual attacks so that their pattern and severity may be accurately appraised. Cats with frustration-related aggression require ongoing management and, unless handled appropriately, there will be a risk of biting and clawing in the future. The severity of attacks varies hugely, with some cats inflicting multiple deeply penetrating bite and scratch wounds and others only inflicting minor injuries. The severe attacks can sometimes occur even when the victim is resting or sleeping so that avoidance is impossible. In some instances, the bites may be directed at the face and neck, which increases the risk considerably. However, the character of the attacks is usually quite consistent in each individual case so a prognosis may be provided. If the character of the attacks is predictable and preventable and they are of low intensity, then the prognosis is good. If the attacks are severe, and at-risk individuals [children, elderly, infirm] are involved then the prognosis is poor.