Many people think their cat's behaviors are because the cat was
abused or neglected. I want to clear this up for you. Abused cats are
rare. Most cats are just wary of strangers. Bad behavior is usually
because they were never taught correctly or played with aggressively.
So, how can you identify an abused or neglected cat? Let's look at what
cat abuse and neglect look like and then we can talk about the cat's
responses:
Cat Abuse can be intentional or unintentional.
Usually, unintentional abuse is called "neglect" and is addressed by
humane societies all over the world. There are actually three levels of
abuse. Neglect, Over-Discipline (over use of discipline tools) and
Intentional Abuse. This article addresses the Neglect, which is the
most benign form of abuse.
Description of Neglect -
Neglect
means not addressing the animal's primary needs for survival - water,
food, shelter, rest and hygienic elimination. Then there is the more
severe type, where a cat is forced to live in filth, confined to a cage
all the time, or denied companionship with people or other animals.
Many times, this can be caused by not spaying or neutering your pet.
Unwanted kittens, or too many cats, is the primary cause for almost all
of this type of abuse. Sometimes, a person is too ill or has allergies.
Maybe a person is trying to keep a cat in an environment that makes it
impossible to properly care for a cat.
I remember many years ago,
seeing a homeless man walking down the street with his belongings in a
shopping cart. Homeless people were harder to find then, so he stood
out. He was pushing the cart with one hand and had a carrier with a cat
in it, in the other. I felt sorry for both, but being a child, I
didn't know what to do. The cat was experiencing neglect, but felt much
love. The man, I'm sure, didn't know he was doing harm to the cat. He
just knew that he couldn't let his beloved cat go into a shelter - at
that time all the shelters I knew of were kill-shelters.
An older
cat (over a year) has little chance of coming out of a kill shelter.
Most people want a kitten. The grown cats are often given no more than 2
weeks to find a home and then euthanized. This heartbreaking situation
often occurs when people lose their homes, develop allergies or find
that they just don't want to deal with the discipline and behavior
problems that developed in the cat. The single biggest reason people
give up a cat is inappropriate elimination. Next, come allergies,
followed by death of the cat's owner. Some cats are surrendered because
the person moves and is unable to find pet-friendly accommodations.
I
understood the man's feelings of love and concern for his feline
companion. I also understood that the cat couldn't live in that carrier
for long. There was no safe place for them. No homeless shelter would
take a man with a cat. In this case, I think the abuse is
unintentional - neglect, by description. However, I think the heart of
both the cat and the man were in the right place, just that the
situation was unfortunate.
In news reports, we sometimes hear of
breeding farms where cats are bred to the point of exhaustion and kept
in sub-optimal conditions. We hear of people who just keep bringing
home strays until they are over-run and can no longer take care of them,
and the cats become a neighborhood problem. All of these situations
can produce neglect.
Now, let's turn to the cat's response to
neglect. How does a cat respond? Why does it do that? By
understanding the specific situation and response, we can address the
resulting problem behaviors with love, patience and training.
Effects of Neglect
A
cat left in a cage with other animals nearby is often skittish and
afraid of people. It expects food and a clean litter box on occasion,
but cuddles and attention may make it uncomfortable. These cats often
have no privacy issues in the cage, but once free, they are very private
about their litter habits. If the cat was kept in a small carrier, it
may soil itself, or hold back elimination until it is very
uncomfortable. It may be dehydrated and need medical attention. The
cat will be overweight from lack of activity. It may be apathetic when
play is offered, not knowing what is expected. Electric lights may be
something that set off a fear response in the cat because it means that
people are coming. In other cases, darkness may be scary at first.
Once the cat's eyes adjust to the light level, it will be all right, but
when the lights are turned off or on, the cat may cry or hiss. In the
case of a cat kept in the dark except when people are coming, it may be
fearful the entire time the lights are on, while also expecting food,
water and a clean litter box to be provided.
What Can We Do to Help These Cats?
These
cats don't do well with handling. The less you try to pet, hold or
cuddle these cats at first, the better. Let the cat come to you. It
will, given time. Be sure to care for it's creature comforts - food,
water, bed, clean litter box - but don't expect a cuddly cat for a
while. That will come when the cat feels that it can trust you. It may
be afraid of the sound of your feet on the floor. It may run when you
come into a room. As time goes on, the cat will stay and just watch
you. Another time, you may be able to approach and offer a scratch
behind the ear. Eventually, you will be able to give a full cuddle. Do
not try to pick the cat up, but you can pet it and the cat won't run
away or feel assaulted. When the cat responds with a purr, an offer of a
cheek or an ear, or you can stroke the spine and the cat isn't trying
to run away, then you have a cat that is only cautious of you. Continue
until the cat comes for cuddles, which may already be happening. Still
do not try to pick the cat up. If it wants your lap, it will come.
This cat may still run from you if discovered in a windowsill, on a
dresser or surprised in the litter box. Say your cat's name in a
conversational tone and the cat will eventually not run away and perhaps
allow a stroke. In the case of the litter box, just say the cat's
name, but never try to cuddle a cat in the litter box. If you can
provide a privacy screen, the cat may stay in the room.
These cats
need socialization. They need to learn to live with others outside of a
cage. They need gentle discipline and may not know the meaning of the
word "no." They will love feeding time but be afraid if you need to
walk near their food bowls, and run from the food. Give them time, move
slowly and talk gently in their vicinity. They need to learn what
people are about in a good way.
Once your cat has learned to trust
you a little bit, enough to not run away when you enter a room or even
starts to come to you, then you can begin to bond with your cat. A
tickler wand is your best friend for this. Gently shake the wand so
that the end twitches. Your cat will be interested, but may only watch
at first. If your cat goes for it, excellent! When your cat gets hold
of the business end of the wand, allow your cat to feel the success by
keeping the wand steady for a few moments. When the cat lets go, you
can start to twitch it again. The cat will play with you in this manner
for quite a while. When the cat tires, put the wand up out of the way
so that your cat is forced to play with you, not just the wand. If
your cat grabs the wand in it's mouth and tries to run away with it,
offer resistance and don't let go of the wand. Some cats want to take
the wand and hide it under a couch or in a corner so they can worry over
it for a while. Don't allow this - the cat needs to play with you, not
just the wand. After about ten days of playing with the wand, you will
see your cat become more accepting of its new circumstances. Your cat
should assimilate into the household well. There may be people it does
not accept, and those persons can also play with the cat to promote
bonding.
Under no circumstances should you perpetuate the abuse or
neglect! Any discipline needs to be done gently and with care. A
squirt bottle, long a favorite tool for discipline, should only be used
in the beginning stages of training, while the cat is learning the word
"no." After that, you should not need it. Redirection is your best
training technique. When your cat gets into or expresses interest in
something that you don't want to see it getting involved with, redirect
it's attention to something that it is allowed to be involved with or
have.
Some of these cats can be clicker trained, but the bond with
the person needs to be present, first. Concentrated training to
condition the cat to the clicker will be needed. Some cats may be so
skittish that even the best treats will not condition the cat to the
clicker. If your cat runs from the clicker after a week of
conditioning, do not continue. Your cat will never be comfortable with
the unexpected noise it makes. You are better clapping your hands and
saying "no" to stop bad behaviors than trying to clicker train for
positive behaviors.
These cats will be extremely grateful for good
treatment. One expression of that love, biting, may not be acceptable -
especially if the cat bites hard and uses the canine teeth. Push your
hand or finger into the mouth instead of pulling out so that the cat
will not be able to bite down and cause you injury. You can push in
hard enough to cause the gag reflex, but never harder. Never cause the
cat injury in response to an injury to your person. Hitting is never
acceptable - but raising a flat hand so that the eyebrow whiskers can
feel it is acceptable.
If you must pick up your cat, as in putting
the cat in the carrier or removing it to another room, pay attention to
the cat's body. Be sure to pick the cat up by the ribs and the hind
legs at the same time to minimize stress to the cat. If the body is
stiff, don't hold the cat to your chest. Allow the cat to struggle, but
stay out of the way of the claws. When you place the cat down (don't
let it jump), stroke its back if you can. Talk to the cat. It will
stop a few paces away and look at you. The cat may come to you for a
scratch if offered. Always talk softly and lovingly to your cat.
In Closing -
With
all these admonitions and dos and don'ts, you may think that a
neglected cat is too much trouble. Not that much, really. They take
some time getting used to people, but once they trust you and know you
have their best interests at heart, these cats will come to love you
very much. The early stages with a neglected cat are the most critical.
After that, you may find a loving, caring, demanding cat. Demanding
because it may never want to be separated from you. Demanding because
whatever it was denied before it will crave from you. Moreover, you
will be loved, very deeply. It will care about you in its fashion. If
your are down or blue, possibly sick, the cat will worry over you and
try to find a way to comfort you. These cats are very responsive to
their people. Hypersensitive is a good description. Empathic is
another good description of their behavior. Some cats even approach a
symbiotic relationship with their people.
Give love and patience,
and love and patience will be returned. Give concern and care and those
are returned. A neglected cat is one of the best pets for a single,
older person. The cat will be tuned to that person in short order. It
will give love and affection to ease the loneliness and loss these
people sometimes experience. When the person is ill, the cat will
understand and be there to comfort, while allowing the person to care
for him or herself.
