Questions for Marilyn, the Cat Coach, on Savannah Cat Behavior

[AmyAndSimba]

Marilyn, I love your advice. I have just bought your book, and I am trying to study it hard! Thank you for making yourself available to us!

 

[Sue]

We have 3 cats, Nadia ( 10 yr Russian Blue), CJ (6 yr Scottish Fold) and Tink ( 2 yr F6 ). CJ is my problem. He is scared of everyone. As soon as anyone comes over , he runs and hides. Also, he has an issue with sometimes not using a litter box for his poop. The female cats are always out and about and always use the litter boxes. CJ even hides under a chair when we give treats after dinner. Every night CJ jumps up on the bed for a few pets and bedtime treats and will even lay on the bed for awhile. The girls get their bedtime treats and are off the bed and out of the bedroom immediately. I can usually only get a few pets in at bedtime with CJ. If I try to pet him any other time , he runs and hides. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I have also enjoyed reading all of the questions and answers. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Sue

 

[The Cat Coach]

Hey everyone... there are so many wonderful questions coming in, I want to be able to answer at least one question for everyone... so... my apologies, but for those posts containing multiple questions, I am going to answer only one. Your question might be asked by someone else during the week...

 

[The Cat Coach]

Hi Marilyn:

So I have a couple questions, actually and I apologize for the length! I have 1 and a half year old F5 neutered male SV, Gilliam, and a 10 year old unknown generation neutered male Chausie, Kubrick. They get along fairly well - but not great. Gilliam will groom Kubrick, which Kubrick seems to enjoy - but Kubrick never grooms Gilliam. They will sometimes curl up next to each other, pressed against each other - but never totally together. They play together - but fairly often it turns into true wrestling, roughhousing and both are so powerful....no major injuries yet, but Kubrick gets pretty upset sometimes. Perhaps as a result, Kubrick started mounting Gilliam a few months ago. He only does it when we go outside to the back porch (the door is glass and they can see us). Gilliam will run up to the door and watch us, sometimes howl, through the glass - Kubrick will come up from behind, making this awful wailing noise, and mount Gilliam. We've tried spraying him with water but it does not matter one bit. What to do? Why does he do this? Is it a dominance thing?

Thanks!!!

Angelic

Hi Angelic, I am going to answer this first question. Yes, the mounting behavior is a dominance display. There are other ways cats can show there dominance. One is through vertical territory. Make sure you have high places for the cats to climb (vertical territory). Can be shelves, cat trees, furniture, etc. If possible, should be located near the areas where the dominance displays are occurring. Scratching mats and posts in the areas may help too since cats scratch to mark territory and they scratch when they are stressed.

 

[The Cat Coach]

Hi, Marilyn, and it´s good of you to spend time with us here on the Savannahcatchat. It´s appreciated!

Now, just a short one: how long would you expect it to take for a four month old kitten to get used to its new environment when it moves to a new slave family, and will it take longer if they are two kittens moving in at the same time?

Thank you,
Per

Depends on the kitten, the environment and how the introductions are done. Kittens typically integrate faster when brought into new situations then older cats do. Also, they usually make friends with other kittens pretty easily. I can't give you a time line...

 

[The Cat Coach]

Marilyn, I love your advice. I have just bought your book, and I am trying to study it hard! Thank you for making yourself available to us!

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the book.

 

[The Cat Coach]

Marilyn - How does one train a cat to allow for nail trimming? I usually have to catch my boys when they are sound asleep to trim a couple of nails at a time. It takes a while to get all 36 nails done and with a third kitten joining us in June, I don't think I will be able to make it 54. I play with their feet, but they pull back when I go to cut when awake. Thanks for you help.

Through counter conditioning and desensitization. The goal is to make the experience positive. Start by just touching the cat's legs or paws. If the cat pulls back, be lighter, or touch higher. As you touch a leg, give the cat a treat. Many sessions... gradually working down to the paws, always reinforcing the cat with yummy treats. You want to be able to touch paws and claws and finally be able to gently extend each claw without the cat becoming agitated. It may take a week or two or more to get to this point. After the cat is accepting the claw handling, CC/DS to the clippers--first letting him touch the clippers with his nose (give him a treat) and then getting him used to the feel of the clippers on his legs and paws. Always make the experience positive, with treats. Finally trim one nail... accompanied by a tiny treat. If he's fine with the one nail being trimmed, then trim another... if he objects, then stop and do another nail later. At first will take multiple sessions until all nails are trimmed.

 

[The Cat Coach]

We have 3 cats, Nadia ( 10 yr Russian Blue), CJ (6 yr Scottish Fold) and Tink ( 2 yr F6 ). CJ is my problem. He is scared of everyone. As soon as anyone comes over , he runs and hides. Also, he has an issue with sometimes not using a litter box for his poop. The female cats are always out and about and always use the litter boxes. CJ even hides under a chair when we give treats after dinner. Every night CJ jumps up on the bed for a few pets and bedtime treats and will even lay on the bed for awhile. The girls get their bedtime treats and are off the bed and out of the bedroom immediately. I can usually only get a few pets in at bedtime with CJ. If I try to pet him any other time , he runs and hides. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I have also enjoyed reading all of the questions and answers. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Sue

Hi Sue, which of the two questions would you like me to address? The socialization or midden marking?

 

[admin]

Marilyn, I have a question...I am home all day working on various projects. Sometimes I cannot play with Zuri first thing in the morning - it has to wait an hour or two. She whines and moans and taps me and chews paper - anything to get my attention...she just wants to play...she is almost two years old and has not slowed down one bit.

So...is it just best for me to put everything on hold and play with her before I sit at my computer? I try to ignore her, but she is very persistent...thanks!

I am pleased to say that I went back to Marilyn's original advice for me a while ago. This morning I played with Zuri for 30 minutes before feeding her...I fed Taj but Zuri would rather play than eat, so that was not a problem.

She eats whole prey and so I fed her after the 30 min play session, she ate her whole prey and some canned (I give her for nutritional purposes) and she has been quietly resting since...

Thanks for reminding me of what needs to be done Marilyn. Seems like Zuri is just one of those high energy cats that needs her play time before eating or anything else.

Taj could care less...he is laid back...eats and goes to sleep...plays whenever he wants...the difference is really quite amazing.

 

[Sue]

Hi Sue, which of the two questions would you like me to address? The socialization or midden marking?

It does not matter to me. If you think one question is more important, answer that one. Or if you think someone else will ask a similar question, go for the other question. I am happy to get either answered. Thanks. Sue