KITTIES ON THE COUCH

“Well, Dr. Purr, my mom remarried and my new dad is very loud and I’m a bit scared of him, so that’s why I pee in the bedroom…..” Oh, if only I could talk to the animals like that ! Human therapists must have it easy – they can ask people what is bothering them. Veterinarians have to just try and figure it out.
I tell people “there are no BAD CATS, just POOR COMMUNICATORS!!!”. Most of the time I discover that what people interpret as “cat behavior problems” are just the cat’s way to attempt to communicate with its owners. Can you say “Lost in Translation”?
Feline behavior issues are a large part of what I deal with as a cat veterinarian. This necessitates a “holistic” approach - interpreting the behavioral and psychological aspect of the cat in relation to its physical and medical health. All too often we find cats that are “acting up” have an underlying physical problem. Until this is discovered, every behavior modification trick in the book can be tried to no avail.
Sometimes people think there is nothing that can be done to alter their cat’s behavior. Actually, we get good results with most feline patients when we couple understanding with time, patience and medical management.

Communication with our feline friends is the key – they’re trying to tell us something – we just need to become more adept at figuring it out!