Cat Behaviour Archives

Train your cats to stay off countertops through rewards-based training

clicker training ginger cats to do high 5

16/06/2019
Chirpy Cats
24 Comments
Cat Behaviour
clicker training, rewards-based training

Last updated September 14th, 2020

Clicker training your cat is a wonderful form of cat enrichment, providing mental stimulation as well as a way to help you understand your cat better.

As a cat owner you’ve probably said it many times “No, Mr. Floofles, get off the counter now!” Mr. Floofles looks at you indignantly, as if it was the worst insult to his sensitive feline dignity, and proceeds to nonchalantly lick his paw.

The kitchen is the place where everything is happening, the cats get fed in the kitchen, it’s where the humans eat, it has the fridge storing all sorts of delicious human and cat food and it’s where we spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning. So of course, for our cats, the kitchen is the place to be! But what cats love even more than kitchens, are the countertops! We can’t really blame them. If I were a cat I would want to be counter surfing too.

But how do we keep them away from this interesting yet forbidden territory?

George the cat love useing his scratching tree to get treats.

28/04/2019
Chirpy Cats
20 Comments
Cat Behaviour
anti-declaw, cat behavior, cat tree, scratching post

Last updated August 11th, 2020

When your cat won’t use his scratching post or cat tree you may feel at your wit’s end. But perk up, because cats love learning, especially when the learning involves something that they were born to do. There are ways to turn your indifferent cat into a tree hugger.

I am a bit of a tree hugger. I cannot see a world without trees. I have pleasant memories of my childhood climbing our mango and avocado trees with my gangly long limbs trying to maneuver as high as I could. I felt happy and free like I could do anything, perched like a happy cat in a tree.

31/07/2017
The Lady Cat
24 Comments
Cat Behaviour
cat health, pet water fountain, pethydrationmonth

Last updated July 28th, 2018

Out in the Serengeti, Sly Pie’s friends are not quite sure about the watering hole.

Water is the essence of life on earth. 71 Percent of the earth’s surface is water, 50-65% of the average human body is made up of water. But did you know that the body water content of your cat is as high as 70-80%? Our pets need 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight for optimal health, cell and organ function, but most domestics cats are nowhere near that quota. Why is this the case?

'Today I'll chug a full bow of water' said no cat ever! Cats have a very low thirst drive, so what can you do to ensure they drink up?Click To Tweet

Our four-pawed fluffy house hunters are descended from the African wildcat (Felis Sylvestris Lybica) living in and around the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. They have evolved to derive most of their water requirements from the prey they consume and have adapted to conserve water efficiently; resting in shaded bushes during the heat of the day, hunting in the early evening or morning and drinking water when available. Our domestic cats have kept many of these traits despite living in an environment far removed from the wild. For this reason, we have to offer up some inviting hydration “watering hole” solutions to prevent dehydration, which can lead to many serious complications and illnesses.

Multiple cats waiting in line to use the litter box

26/06/2017
The Lady Cat
28 Comments
Cat Behaviour
cat behavior, litter box problems, multiple cat

Last updated May 7th, 2019

Providing the right number of litter boxes per cat is one of the key factors in preventing inappropriate elimination or spraying behaviors before they start. Litter box aversion is one of the top reasons cats are surrendered to shelters.

There’s a long line for every situation in life; the line at the grocery check-out, the line at the boarding gate and that inevitably long line in the women’s restroom when intermission is about to end.

Don’t you hate that?

But there’s a restroom of a different kind in your multi-cat household, the litter box, where waiting in line should never be the norm. It’s a well-known fact that the key to a happy and confident cat is providing ample space for each cat to own, more so when they’re co-existing with fellow feline housemates. And even more so when it comes to their toileting habits.

When one of your cats start spraying ‘cat-fiti’ on your walls or doors or gifting you with puddles on your hardwood floor, take that as more than a hint that you need to make some litter box adjustments. Having too few litter boxes for multiple cats is like playing musical chairs; except in this instance, the eliminated cat becomes the eliminator, or rather, the inappropriate eliminator! Yes, that viscous yellow liquid under the chair in the kitchen is not your toddler’s spilled orange juice! (horror of horrors)

There are various factors that may cause a cat to avoid the litter box such as location, size, type (covered vs. uncovered), type of litter substrate, how often it gets scooped and cleaned, stress and the number of boxes.

What is Your Cat Really Thinking?

Last updated March 12th, 2018

Instead of our Marvelous Monday Haiku, we present something a little different on this marvelous Monday morning. We know humans are always wondering what us cats are thinking. You write books about “thinking like a cat,” you Google things like “Why does my cat do this or that?” But to tell you the honest to whiskers truth, there is no secret to know what we want. We’re constantly demonstrating our needs. We drop hints and signs everywhere, and if that’s not enough, many of us vocal cats (myself included) speak our minds! For the most part, you get us. There is no mystery to why we chase the red dot… it’s red, it moves randomly and we like to chase things.

We’re not very different you and I. Both curious by nature; perhaps that is why you are attracted to our species, Felis Catus, in the first place.

I think the human-cat relationship is something special because you have come to understand that one most vital thing about us; that we have never been fully domesticated and we are still very much in tune with our wild roots. We know you like that about us. So in honor of our special bond, here is a poem which summarizes my kitty thoughts …. just in case you were still wondering.

Are you letting your cat walk all over you?

Last updated March 12th, 2018

I lay here, unable to move, barely able to stretch my legs for fear of waking a sleeping pile of purring fur at my legs. My neck feels contorted, head shoved off the pillow, and then I open my eyes staring nose to nose at my oldest cat, me graciously accepting a raspy tongue for a second or two. Well wasn’t that a good night’s sleep?!

Our cats are always hogging our space, wanting to be with us, everywhere. Like many cat people, we practice an open door policy for the bathroom. There’s one cat asleep on the mat next to the shower, there’s another looking curiously from his ‘basin bed.’ I have accepted that cat hair, like invisible floating snowflakes, will always mysteriously land on my mascara wand when applying makeup. This is the complete cat package, one that we would never give up for the world.

11/12/2016
The Lady Cat
25 Comments
Cat Behaviour
cat behavior, cats and beds, funny cats, playful cats

Last updated September 11th, 2019

Most cat owners know all too well the daily struggle of making a bed with cats lurking about. There you are removing the bedding, shaking out the sheets and cats come from all corners of the house to make a mad dash for the bed to pounce and ‘tent’ under flying sheets. Cats have a built-in radar for hearing the rustle of sheets and bedding no matter where they are in the house.

“Someone’s making the bed, let’s go pawticipate!”

The more you shake out the sheet, the more excited your cat becomes, thinking this game is most definitively ten times better than that silly wriggly new toy you had bought last week. On a cat’s list of things to do, only ‘boxing’ or sitting in a box, tops ‘helping the human make bed’, which comes in at a close second.

These are the 5 things I learned about making the bed with the help of cats

27/09/2016
The Lady Cat
5 Comments
Cat Behaviour
litter box, litter box problems, litter tray, uncovered litter box

Last updated September 30th, 2019

The wonders of the litter box, cat toilet, cat washroom, kitty potty or whatever you wish to name it, is something most of us cat guardians love to hate. Sure, there is no dog walking involved and no poop to scoop up in a park, little Fluffy comes toilet trained. I was always fascinated with the cat’s innate ability to cover their waste. It’s just what cats do, it’s in their DNA. Put a kitten in front of a litter box and they immediately know what it’s for and start digging a hole to take care of business. These fastidious habits of washing up after eating and burying feces stem from their link to the wild before they were domesticated. In order not to attract any attention of potential predators they would wash off any remaining scent after eating and bury their feces after doing their toilet business.

When I look back at the cats I’ve had, I’ve only ever encountered litter box problems when they were frightened by something, bullied by another cat in a multi-cat household or sick. And now that my oldest cats are twelve and thirteen years old and I have never had a soiling problem ever – not even during the car rides to cats shows around Ireland and on two plane trips to two different countries!

Problems arise when we, as cat guardians, don’t recognize the signals that our cats are sending us. When your cat starts to eliminate in inappropriate places it is important to examine when and where the problem started and from there figure out how to stop the behavior. Remember that cats do not understand punishment, like rubbing their faces in their mess, or isolating them in a bathroom.

There are many factors that come into play when kitty starts to soil inappropriately and that can include any of the below:

17/09/2016
Chirpy Cats
24 Comments
Cat Behaviour, Caturday Doodles
cat enrichment, Catalyst Council, Caturday art, Happy Cat Month, scratching post

Last updated January 1st, 2018

Sly wants to play, but what does Ollie have up his furry paws?

Hello furriends, I’m Sly Pie and I heard via the cat vine that September is Happy Cat Month. I would not have deemed it necessary to have a month dedicated to our happiness, because every month should be Happy Cat Month. But when I reflect back on my life before I joined the Chirpy Cats crew, I understand why there is a need to highlight a month for us cats. You see, I was not always pampered and fussed over, I was living the thug life, free to roam but always wondering where my next meal is coming from.

31/08/2016
The Lady Cat
36 Comments
Cat Behaviour
cat behavior, multi-cat household, mutual grooming, scent marking, wordless wednesday

Last updated May 11th, 2018

In every multi-cat household, there is that one cat that unwittingly performs a very important task; sharing and maintaining the communal scent of the whole group through grooming. In our household of ten cats, this cat is none other than Mr. Jack, the groomer of all cats. Read More

Cat Behaviour

Train your cats to stay off countertops through rewards-based training

How to Train your Cat to be a Tree Hugger

Why your cat is not drinking enough water

The litter box rule that cat owners should not ignore

What is Your Cat Really Thinking?

Are you letting your cat walk all over you?

5 things I learned about making a bed with cats

These are the 5 things I learned about making the bed with the help of cats

Why does my cat refuse to use the litter box?

What is your cat teaching you about the perfect scratching post?

How to facilitate harmony between rival cats with this easy tip