Training Corner is Back With Q&A

We are back! Training Corner has been on hiatus for a bit, but we are ready to go, solving your issues or at least rolling our eyes sarcastically while we point out the obvious. This week, a few Crassers have specific questions for me; and I’m going try to give them some answers, and some tips for those who may be dealing with similar problems. 

PoBoyNation:

I’ve been feeding a stray (have taken her to the vet; turned out she was already fixed, so that was good). She is skittish around most people, but friendly with me, to the point where she likes to come in my door at feeding times. She enjoys rubs and scratches. Point being, she is not feral, and I have decided it’s time to adopt her, since it seems that as long as she lives outside it’s just a matter of time before she meets a bad end. However, she gets upset and scared if I actually close the door to my apartment and she’s boxed in. Is it possible to desensitize a cat to the indoors? And if I can, do you have any housebreaking tips?

Well, it sounds like you’re well on your way–getting the cat checked out is the first thing you want to do. And it does sound like she’s not feral (many people confuse undersocialized cats with true “feral” cats). But if she’s lived outside for a while, she may understandably be nervous about being confined to any space. She may, in fact, not be happy with it for a while.

Here’s the best plan for acclimating her: Cat-proof a room of your house (meaning, in this case, nothing she can scratch/destroy/ingest/hide in and not get out of), and set up a litter box with plain clay litter, toys, some food, and water. Make sure she has a place to be alone and semi-hidden (and a place to be up high if possible); while people spend a lot of money on cat trees, etc., boxes and blankets will do fine also. When she comes into your apartment, you’ll want to pick her up and put her in that room and close the door (if you can’t carry her because she’s skittish, you can use a cardboard box to move her). You’ll need to confine her in there until she’s calm and using the litterbox. This could take a few days or even a few weeks.

When she’s confined, she may at first cry, scratch, jump around, hide- that’s all normal. You obviously will want to spend as much time as you can in the room with her, petting her and calmly interacting with her. These methods are actually useful in acclimating any new cat to a household, even one who’s been indoors all its life.

A few more pointers: as of the day you take her inside, she needs to be indoor-only. Not only is the outdoors very dangerous to domestic cats, but she’s used to going outside and won’t adjust well to indoor life if still allowed out. Also, make sure she’s using the litterbox and not running or hiding before you start to let her explore the rest of the house. Otherwise, she may be likely to find places in your house that are dangerous or inaccessible to hide in. Also, if you’re having trouble getting her to use the box, you can check out my article on litterbox issues here.

SusanBAwesome:

Why did my dog start taking craps on the floor again after being potty-trained for six years? Also, how common is it for pets to die after a sick owner has passed? I am legitimately worried my dog will die of a broken heart after my mom goes. Is there any way to prevent that and comfort an animal after the owner has gone? I know the pooping thing is related to the anxiety my dog is feeling because my dad and I are so anxious right now. The dog is actually my dog, but after my mom was diagnosed and came home from an extended hospital stay (6 weeks), she latched on to my mom and watches her constantly. She is never far from her.

First off: it is generally a superstition that pets pass away when their “people” do. Everyone has a story, and I’ve heard a ton. But generally the animal in question is also elderly and sick. Correlation does not imply causation– and there’s just no empirical evidence to indicate that pets are more likely to pass away after an owner’s death. So there’s no need to worry.

However, pets do exhibit signs of grief, and some of the stress you indicate your dog is under may be due to the changes in home life and schedule that everyone is going through right now. Pets can often detect changes in body chemistry and minute body language cues that humans cannot, and so can not only be exceptionally compassionate in times of sickness, but very sensitive to the discomfort your mother may be experiencing.

Now and as things progress, you’ll want to keep your dog’s routine as close to normal as possible. If she has an accident, make sure to use a cleaning agent that removes pet odors throughly (like Nature’s Miracle) so the spot doesn’t become a personal favorite. You may want to take her to the vet just for a checkup, to make sure there’s been no acute issues affecting her, and keep an eye on her eating and drinking.

When your mother passes away, her appetite and mood may change, and she may show signs of separation anxiety. Communication with your vet during that time will be important, because she may need medications or other procedures to keep her healthy and balanced while she’s grieving with you.

Miss Anita Manbadly:

Here’s one for you — two boy cats, one afraid of everything, the other one as bright as a burned-out Christmas bulb. How do I get dumb-o to stop chasing scared-o? Do people still use squirt guns to discourage cats from doing things? Is that still a thing?

Short answer: yes, people do still do it. Long answer: It doesn’t always work. In your case, it’ll temporarily break them up but won’t necessesarily stop them from chasing. However, if it’s really an issue, by all means, squirt away. If the two of them aren’t actually hurting each other, though, it may be best to leave them be. I’m assuming you’ve had both cats for a while, and this behavior isn’t really new.

Other than squirting or ignoring the behavior, you can think of using a loud noise (but that probably isn’t the best choice with a scaredy-cat in the house), or rewarding them both with pets, treats or toys when they’re not running around like “dumb-o” is an overzealous cop with a vendetta. They will, over time, at least understand that they get rewarded for staying calm…whether stupid cat will actually stay calm is another matter.

In general, using a squirt bottle on cats is a “controversial” topic– most people feel that the cat will still do whatever it is you’re trying to discourage, just not when you’re around. This is probably true; and if you’re looking to discourage a cat from jumping on counters or scratching the couch you’re better off liberally applying sticky tape as a deterrent or using other creative solutions.

In the case that one cat is new, you can try separating the new cat in its own room and slowly re-introducing them, rewarding with wet food calm, pleasant behavior. Again, though, a new cat and an old one need to work out their own rules– if neither is actually being physically aggressive it may be best after that slow introduction to leave them to their own devices with periods of separation in between.

So there you are! Answers to your questions. Still have more? Ask them in the comments, find me on Twitter or email me at TrainingCornerNerds -at- gmail.

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