Recently I decided that I have great life experience dealing with cats and that people out there really need help with kitty behavior issues. So this is my start. As a quick background for those of you with kitty issues and not sure if I would be a good contact, I grew up with over 30 kitties as a child. I took care of all of them, from pregnant mommies to half-feral toms. I've bottle fed babies when mommy wasn't able to, and I became known as the cat girl. I had kitties following me home from school as a child and I wouldn't even have to touch them to do it. Although it was a major issue to my parents, no cat ever left me hungry, upset or in need of care.
Cats come in many breeds and through the years, I've had one of almost all of them. If I didn't own one, I've helped friends or family with them. I do want to state that I have no formal education in cat therapy or psychology, but that I have a great connection with cats and have helped many people in the past learn to communicate with their pets.
That brings me to my first topic: communication. Cats do not understand us. Although they may understand some basic things we say frequently such as their names, words for food, treats, going outside, special toys, etc, most things we say are not understood. This is pretty obvious to most people. What isn't obvious, is that things we do whether consciously or not, are always communicating something to our pets. Cats can become extremely attached to their owners. If you are having trouble bonding with your pet or are unable to even get past the terrified new pet stage, it may be something you are doing or not doing for your cat. Keep in mind that cats are all very different in personality as well as by breed. Some breeds are very affectionate naturally and others are not. What matters most is how you communicate to your kitty. Every cat needs the following things: at least 1 kitty bed or blanket in a special place for them, 1-2 litter boxes (for every 1 cat, you need at least 1 per kitty), 2 scratching posts, a food dish, a water dish (although I recommend more than one of these), and toys they enjoy. If any one of these items is missing or you do not have enough of them, your kitty may act up out of insecurities. Insecure behaviors in cats can range from running and hiding to scratching, biting and hissing. Cats may attack their owners if they are not secure.
Some cat breeds are also more clingy to owners and if suddenly lose time with their owners they can lash out. A very sweet loving kitty could become depressed (as shown by weight gain or loss, loss of appetite, inappropriate litter box-or lack of use, as well as lack of response to you) or anxious or even outright mean to members of the family. What might not even faze one kitty, could easily cause another cat to become emotionally unstable.
Please feel free to post comments and questions. I will soon be posting an email address to email me questions and issues directly. I will be posting more on both this topic as well as others very soon so keep checking back for more information!
