Cat Health

Many Animals respond to stress, anxiety and depression with peeing in inappropriate places. Here I will focus on cats; why they may be experiencing anxiety and what steps to take to resolve the situation. (I will focus on dogs in a future article.)

Causes:

Stress and depression are fairly common in pets (as well as animals in captivity, such as at zoos). It can be caused by a variety of circumstances or events. One of the most noted events that disturb cats is the expansion of your family. When a new spouse moves in (or out), a new baby comes home, making a move home to the parents, or parents moving in with your family: these events cause your animal stress just like it does to people. Many people's response to stress is depression. And that seems to hold for cats - many react to stress with a bout of depression.

This stress, depression, and/or anxiety can lead to a physical problem in the urinary tract (this may also affect people but it is still being investigated).

In cats this disorder is called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis or Feline lower urinary tract disease (in people it is called interstitial cystitis and, like in cats seems to be triggered by psychological stress or some sort of stressful event). The symptoms of this disorder are: peeing outside of the litter box, crying while urinating, excessive licking of their private parts, blood in the urine, and difficulty going pee (such as straining, frequent &/or prolonged urination). Note that not all the symptoms need to be present, just one or more.

There are many possible causes of stress and anxiety for your cat that can lead to anxiety and/or a depressive episode that causes or contributes to a pee problem. The list below is not exhaustive:

- to get the owner's attention (perhaps the cat is sick, unhappy, or just feeling neglected)

- the owner or friends/siblings are away

- pet is lonely/bored

- litter box isn't clean enough or cleaned often enough

- new pets in the household (being territorial)

- outdoor cats are taunting and teasing them, possibly through the window

- any big change such as moving, new spouse, child or roommate

- something as simple as moving the furniture can upset some animals

- kittenhood trauma like being one of 3 alive in a gunnysack of 10 kittens - sad and hopefully rare, but true

In addition to these environmental factors veterinarians and researchers have identified a correlation between depression in cats and a hormonal imbalance in the brain of the particular animal. This hormonal imbalance makes the animal more sensitive to stressful situations or environmental factors. Likewise, many people have a genetic or inherited component to their depression that may be as a result of an imbalance of hormones or neuroreceptors (such as serotonin and dopamine), synaptic gap issues, or perhaps an insufficient number of receptor sites to obtain the optimal brain chemical balance.

Treatment:

Research on people has shown that most often there are both biological and social or environmental conditions that trigger a bout of depression. The treatment for this kind of effect ideally entails both medical (anti-depressant or other medications) and social treatments (such as counselling, lifestyle and environment change). The treatment for your pet will likely be quite similar. Short-term medication is not unusual while environmental changes or enrichment is a must.

First see the vet to rule out any medical problems such as urethral obstruction (which has similar symptoms to Feline Idiopathic Cystitis but where the animal does not pass urine, or not much urine - this is a medical emergency for your pet and a vet should be sought immediately), and eliminate other factors like diabetes or other medical problems that may be causing the behaviour.

Once your vet has eliminated all other medical possibilities and has identified stress, anxiety, depression or Feline Idiopathic Cystitis as the issue then two challenges need to be met. First the current episode of illness needs to be addressed, then prevention of future episodes. Again the treatment is quite like in people.

First there may be medications, anti-depressants, anxiety, and/or pain medications, for example, then the lifestyle and environmental changes. Cats need stimulation like people. They may sleep most of the time but when cats are awake they need security, love, exercise, proper and consistent food, toys, and some simulation of their historical environment in the forest (i.e. a post to climb or to allow the animal to stretch out vertically). When the painful physical symptoms have been treated, and environmental adjustments made, your cat will be happy again they will stop the bad peeing behaviour.

And, as with any other pee problem, make sure to thoroughly clean up the urine spot with a black light and enzymatic cleaners to ensure your cat does not smell it and use the spot again not out of distress but simply because their urine odor is already there. Good Luck!

Sonya Dann is notoriously clean and admittedly likes things very clean... and tidy is nice too. Sonya has been a friend and companion to several animals over the years and currently lives with a 3 year old ginger cat.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

If you are the owner of a cat, you will need to train it well so that it does not have complex behavioral issues. Training a cat is not a very hard task and you can do it yourself without professional aid. There are simple and practical ways in which you can make your pet a well-disciplined one without any destructive behavioral issues.

The following are some helpful tips on training your cat in a stress-free and easy manner.

Never scold your cat. A cat is a very emotional pet and generally does not respond well when punished verbally. Never hit or beat a cat. This will lend it to distrust you. It is always wise to be kind and understanding. These qualities will help you in positive reinforcement training of your cat.
If you frighten your kitten at a very early age you will face behavioral problems with your cat when they grow into an adult. When you are training your cat never use fear. It usually destroys the bond that both of you share. The best policy is to use reinforcement in a positive manner. This is constructive and an integral part of any cat training program. Remember cats tend to become destructive in they do not receive loving and kind attention from their owners.
Cats love playing. Do not forget to play with your cats on a regular basis. Playing games with your cats will help them follow your behavior. You are able to teach them skills in social interaction in a positive and fun manner.
Keeping your cat on a regular schedule helps it to be well-trained. Like human beings cats too tend to keep a routine. They embrace it in their daily lifestyle. As the owner of your cat you are in complete control of their routine. Try to establish the best possible schedule for your cat. You have the power to do this. Feed your cat at regular intervals so that they do not become hungry between meals. Do not forget to praise your cat regularly. They respond well to praises as they are always looking for ways to please you with their behavior.
Make sure the environment you give your cat is cat-friendly. Do not smoke indoors as smoking tends to irritate the respiratory system of your pet. There are chances that your pet gets asthma if you smoke on a regular basis.
Cats are very sensitive to surfaces that are abrasive. They often may use your furniture as a scratching post. In order to avoid them scratching at your furniture use a double-sided sticky tape on the outside of the furniture. They do not like sticky surfaces and that stops them from scratching. There are special cat scratching posts available in the market and you can buy one for your home. In this manner you can help to avert the destructive behavior in your cat.
When you are training your cat and it responds to you well, give them little treats. This helps a lot. They understand that you are happy and make an attempt to please you. They are practical and they respond well to cat treats in the form of little food bribes.
Litter training comes naturally to a cat. This is good news for you. A new cat needs to be shown around a few times before it gets to know the right place for disposal. This will take a few days as they pick up well and remember the place too.

Thus, the above tips on training your cat help you to make it disciplined and obedient. In this manner you can be relaxed and not worry about behavior issues of your lovable pet.

To learn more about training and caring for your cat, go to the Lifestyles100 web site or pick up the Nook book, "The Cat Owner's Handbook" at Barns and Noble, or the Kindle book at Amazon.com.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Cats are independent by nature, and like to be in control of things. When they are not, they can become quite distressed. Common causes of stress in cats include moving to a new house, travelling or being crated, visits to the vet, or the presence of other cats within its territory.

Obvious signs of stress include wild eyed frenzy accompanied with the desperate need to escape; irritability, including persistent meowing; urinating or scent marking; and scratching on furniture, bedding, or carpets. Some of these symptoms are often mistaken for errant behaviour, but in order to cure the behaviour, one needs to reduce the levels of stress being experienced by your cat.

Feliway Feline Facial Pheromones (try saying this after you've had a few) is a product recommended by vets to calm and comfort stressed cats, and alleviate unwanted stress related behaviour. This product uses artificial feline pheromones that cats naturally give off from their facial area to mark a safe territory once they feel comfortable and secure within the confounds of the area. Cats do this by rubbing their faces on objects within their territory, giving off facial pheromones to mark the area with their scent, which acts like a kind of kitty comfort blanket that gives them a sense of security and well-being.

The spray replicates the natural scent that cats leave when they conduct this scent marking routine, and in so doing, offers a sense of security to alleviate stress and calm the cat down. Feliway feline pheromones offer an effective solution to reducing stress in distressed cats by replicating the cats natural mechanism that it would use to relay a sense of comfort and well-being, in order to help him deal with a stressful situation.

This product can be purchased in a spray bottle, which is ideal for applying directly onto objects, for example spraying inside a travel crate to offer comfort and reassurance and alleviate stress associated with crating and travel.

The Feliway Feline Facial Pheromone Diffuser offers a novel method of keeping a well-adjusted, happy cat that always comes home to snuggle up in a cosy corner, or just laze contentedly around the house. The diffuser plugs into an electrical wall socket, giving off a constant burst of pheromones. Your cat will truly believe that there is no place like home. Besides relieving stress and anxiety in cats, this product is also affective for controlling behaviour such as territory marking by urine spraying, and clawing at furniture, which are often related to stress associated with the introduction of another cat or pet into your home (or rather, the cats home). The diffuser fills the room and the calming action of the pheromones reduces anxiety and alleviates the behaviour associated with territory and scent marking.

The Feliway Feline Facial Pheromone diffuser comes with a 48ml vial, which lasts up to four weeks. Refills for the diffuser can be purchased separately. Feliway Feline Facial Pheromones are also available in a 60ml spray bottle and a 15ml travel bottle for easy portability when needed away from the home environment.

At http://www.petpromenade.co.uk/ we understand how important it is to not only have the latest cat toy, or the trendiest dog collar, but also to make sure the boring bits are covered.

That's why we have a variety of flea, worming and fur treatments.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

ByJames Pswarai

If you're trying to stop your cat urinating everywhere in the house but the litter box then this article is definitely something you need to read as it will help you understand how stress can be a major factor that is causing your pet to use your house as an alternate litter box; the sofas, the bed, the carpet etc. These are all spots (plus more) where you may find cat urine and as mentioned stress could be a reason for all this.

Cats hate stress and they can't communicate to us to tell us this. Babies will cry when they want something and cats will meow but when that is not enough you may find that the next step taken by your pet is to urinate all over the house.

If you find this happening you must make sure that you don't shout or hit your pet for this as this can upset your cat and cause even more problems for them. The first thing that you want to do is take them to the vet. The reason being cats can get an infection such as urinary tract infection which hinders the bladder of your cat. They can also get something like urethra blocking which makes it harder for them to urinate. These problems are actually things that need to be treated ASAP by your vet but they are easily treatable and could be a good underlying reason for all the urination.

When you are sure that your cat doesn't have an infection the next thing to look at is stress. Cats can get stressed for many different reasons.

If you have multiple cats and don't have many litter boxes then you will find that at least one cat will be stressed due to the fact that they will have a feeling of being overcrowded. One of your cats will be the most dominant and they will mark their territory for the litter box leaving the others to go somewhere else.

Another reason could be the location of the litter box. Our pets don't have the luxury of having doors in their litter boxes which means that if you place the litter box somewhere where a lot of people walk past then they may get uncomfortable and move to a different location such as a bed in one of your rooms.

One more reason you may find your cat urinating everywhere is because of new smells. Cats will spread their own scent through the house by rubbing themselves against furniture, beds and even on you. This creates a comfort barrier for them and when this is disturbed by new scents such as a new carpet, bedding, guests or even pets then you will find urine around more often.

Cats can become very stressed out and since they can't communicate they have to try and get their message across one way or another. By following the above tips you should be able to reduce stress of your cat and therefore urine but if you can't there are many other tips on stress and more tips on the litter box which can help stop your cat urinating everywhere.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert