Behavior

Here are ways to prevent your cat from making that mad dash out the door.

According to a recent Ohio State University, our pets can get sick from stress - just like us. The study found that otherwise healthy cats show signs of illness when stressed. And cats diagnosed with feline interstitial cystitis (FIC) became healthier when stress levels were reduced, the study showed. Twelve of the 32 cats in the three-year study were healthy, while 20 had FIC, a chronic pain syndrome that affects the cats bladder. According to researchers, lower urinary tract diseases occur in about 1.5 percent of house cats, and many pet owners cant tolerate the mess that accompanies it. As a result, millions of sick cats are put down or relinquished to shelters every year.

When Safflower, a 12-week-old female kitten, earnestly beckoned from her cage in a Manhattan animal shelter, Deirdre knew she was the one for her. The kitten settled in quickly with Deirdre and her two roommates in a small apartment. Safflower loved everyone; Deirdre was even jealous when Safflower would occasionally sleep on her roommates beds instead of her own. The growing kitten played and romped with visitors, and even greeted people at the door.

Cats are naturally solitary creatures; in addition, they are also naturally independent and self-sufficient — traits that we alter and/or suppress when we domesticate them. The idea of a second cat can be very alluring: "One cat is so entertaining and such a wonderful companion … two would be twice the fun!" Or, "I want to do my part to ease the burden on my local shelter and give one more cat a good home." These are common thoughts for cat owners and may, in fact, be true; however, the decision to add a second feline family member should not be taken lightly. A second cat can either add joy and companionship, or it can add strife and mayhem.

Cats are naturally solitary creatures; in addition, they are also naturally independent and self-sufficient - traits that we alter and/or suppress when we domesticate them. The idea of a second cat can be very alluring: "One cat is so entertaining and such a wonderful companion … two would be twice the fun!" Or, "I want to do my part to ease the burden on my local shelter and give one more cat a good home." These are common thoughts for cat owners and may, in fact, be true; however, the decision to add a second feline family member should not be taken lightly. A second cat can either add joy and companionship, or it can add strife and mayhem.

Some folks are "dog people," while others have an affinity for cats. But what do you do when enthusiasts of both persuasions share the same home? Despite the conventional wisdom that dogs and cats cant peacefully coexist, both species can inhabit the same space without the fur flying. However, introducing a cat into a dog-centric home requires planning, patience and a commitment to the process. How long it takes to successfully integrate a new cat with a dog depends on the situation, says Katherine Houpt, VMD, PhD, board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and emeritus professor of animal behavior in Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine. "It can take anywhere from days to weeks, and it varies a lot with the dogs reaction," she says. "I think its important to increase exposure gradually when doing an introduction so you can monitor both animals reactions. That usually happens over a number of days."

Who isnt charmed by the image of an adorable kid holding and petting a cute, fluffy kitten? Children can benefit from having a cat, and vice versa. "The experience of bonding between the child and the cat can be invaluable," says Larry Lachman, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist, animal behavior consultant and author of Cats on the Counter: Therapy and Training for Your Cat, "and a child learns to increase compassion and empathy for nonhuman life."

My main concern is that Buster, a fierce hunter of mice, will bring about an early demise to any small pets we bring home. Do you have any tips on keeping Guinea pigs (or other small creatures, since Im sure that, once we bring home one, others will follow) safe from cats in the home? And will these precious little beings be stressed, living in the home of a proud hunter? I wouldnt want them to live an unhappy life!

Buddy, a streetwise stray cat that had been rescued from a vacant parking lot, took great exception to a male cat spraying the front door of his adoptive home. To even out the turf war, Buddy decided to launch a counter attack - by spraying the inside of the door. "I saw Buddy positioning [to spray], so I tried to scoot him away from the door," explains Nancy Peterson, information specialist for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C. "He bit me. It wasnt just a little tooth scratch, either. It was a nice bite," she says. As a former veterinary technician, Peterson was quite aware of the health risks that a cat bite poses -even when the cat is up-to-date on its veterinary care and is vaccinated against rabies.

Whenever cat owner Susan Lomond turns on her printer, her cat Sylvester dashes over to sit on it, lie on it and watch in fascination as the paper comes out. But when Susans friend Diana turns on her printer, her cat, Petra, flees in terror. Cats respond differently to noise depending on their personalities and experiences - and even their genetics. When cats get scared of noise, we often feel the need to protect them. Heres what you can do to help your cat cope with noise. Scary Sounds. Cats differ from dogs when it comes to being frightened by noise. Dogs are notoriously afraid of thunder and fireworks, and will often try to escape from the house in a panic.

When it comes to nosing around, a cat has a major advantage over its human caregiver. The adorable feline that occupies your house has a whopping 60-to-80 million olfactory cells compared to a humans five-to-20 million cells. Because of their well-equipped noses, cats may use their sense of smell as the primary way of interacting with their environment. "They have a large olfactory area in the nose and do a lot of sniffing," says Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, PhD, the emeritus James Law Professor of Animal Behavior at Cornells College of Veterinary Medicine.

Does your outdoor cat regularly deposit small, dead rodents on your doorstep? Or does your indoor cat seem to take pride in hunting down large, ugly bugs in your apartment and leaving them at your feet? Believe it or not, your cat is not bringing you a gift, according to animal behaviorists. "Your cat is actually bringing you a mouse to teach you to hunt and kill it," explains Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, the former James Law Professor of Animal Behavior at Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine. "Its the same thing the mother cat does for her kittens." Cats are born with a chasing and hunting instinct, but not necessarily the skills to go along with it. The mother cat teaches her kittens to kill and eat prey. (Indoor cats may chase and kill mice, but they will rarely eat them.)