Training your cat to a harness and leash

Posted on May 22, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

cat gets harness and treat — Gus enjoys a treat while being harnessed

Training your cat to a harness and leash can come in handy even if you don’t plan to take him adventuring.

Training your cat to a harness and leash: Benefits

Enrichment for your cat
Extra security if you are traveling
Useful for introducing your cat to other animals

ENRICHMENT: With one of the broadest hearing ranges of any land mammal, a keen and discriminating sense of smell, and vision that tracks fast moving prey, the great outdoors is stimulating for a cat. Even if your kitty has a catio, leash time is special time, allowing him or her a chance to investigate new places and to spend time with you.

SECURITY WHILE TRAVELING: If you are traveling, having a leash and harness on your cat gives you some extra security during flight layovers, customs checks, or taking a break when driving. You can have an “extra hand” while changing soiled pads in the carrier or allowing your cat to stretch her legs.

INTRODUCING OTHER ANIMALS: Once you have passed the scent swapping stage and feel the animals are ready for the next step, you can have the them “meet” with a barrier in between. Having your cat on leash and harness can give you more control over encouraging calm behavior around the new arrival. If your cat wants to “rush” the barrier, gentle pressure on the leash can slow this down and avoid a hostile encounter. The leash can help us model the appropriate behavior of a slow, non-aggressive approach to the newcomer.

Training your cat to a harness and leash

I often hear that “my cats acts as if she were paralyzed when I put a harness on her – she just flops downs and won’t move”. There are a number of videos on the internet of cats being dragged along by the leash while laying down.

A Better Way

Zelda walking indoors on her leash.

Like any new item, introduce the harness and leash separately. Pick a highly valued treat and train when your cat is likely to want to eat.
Let your cat sniff the harness and offer him a treat.
Reward him for letting the harness sit on his back or for putting his paws through the arm holes.
Secure the harness, reward and remove.
Allow your cat to become accustomed to the harness being on for increasingly longer periods of time. Distract him with treats and toys. If he knows how to target, use the targeting stick to encourage him to move forward while wearing the harness.
Once comfortable with the harness, add the leash. Work with kitty inside at first, with the leash attached but not being held. It is a good idea to have your cat get used to dragging the leash behind so if you drop it mistakenly, the dragging leash won’t frighten her. You can use treats, a target stick or a toy on a wand to encourage her to move forward.
Pick up the leash and go for a walk! Start indoors and do some laps around the house.

Walking outdoors

Walking outside may not be for all cats. Cats who have spent most of their lives indoors may find the great outdoors overwhelming and frightening. It may never be their “cup of tea”.

To give this the best chance of success, start slowly. If you are just going to the backyard, start with brief trips outside in a carrier that is covered (have her harnessed and leashed). Leave the door open and let your cat smell and hear the outside. Let her come out on her own, if she wants to. Gradually work up to allowing her to meander around the yard with you at her side.

If you are planning on venturing further, it is wise to have a “mobile safe place” – a stroller or backpack. Introduce these items gradually but let your cat guide you – I have had cats that jumped right into the stroller and quickly learned that the stroller meant shade and safety.

Walking a cat vs walking a dog.

Cats do not have the stamina of dogs. Cats have evolved to move stealthily and quietly, with short intense bursts of activity: running and pouncing. They do not have the stiff-legged gait of horses and dogs, who can walk and trot for long periods of time – cats will get tired and will need some way of being transported.
Cats will want to run and hide when danger presents itself. The backpack or stroller will keep your cat safe and comfortable when on a walk.
Is your cat walking you? Walking your cat is often you going where she wants to go. If you feel you need to direct her path, target training can help.

An essential skill for the “adventure” cat is recall – train your cat to come when called. This can be invaluable if the worst happens and he somehow gets away. He most likely will hide and not respond at first – give him some time to calm down and let his training kick in. Keep calling him or giving him his recall cue.

Training your cat to a harness and leash can come in handy when traveling or introducing new pets. It also can strengthen your bond with your cat as you both enjoy the flowers in the garden together!

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Cat Music: Just for Cats

Posted on May 15, 2022May 15, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

“Music has charms to soothe the savage beast” is actually a misquote of the poem, The Mourning Bride, by William Congreve in 1697. The word “beast” is commonly substituted for the original word “breast”. But perhaps Congreve actually meant “beast” – a similar reference to “savage beasts” and music is found earlier with the Roman poet Lucan, whose work was translated into English by Thomas May in the 1620’s.

“…Whose charming voice and matchless musick mov’d

The savage beasts, the stones, and senseless trees…”

Music can arouse strong emotions in people – it can help instill a martial spirit, make us happy but also make us melancholy and sad. It clearly effects our mood.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin set out to find music that would affect the moods of our cats. Snowden, Teie and Savage created music for domestic cats that would calm the cats. They observed the responses of cats to the “cat music” and compared these with the cats’ responses to classical music that humans find calming.

Human Emotions and Features of Music

Specific features of music induce particular emotions in humans:

Slow tempos, a narrow frequency range, decreases in pitch, longer sounding of the notes are characteristic of “sad” music
“Joyful” music features fast tempos, increasing pitches and notes tend to be more staccato and not held very long.
“Angry” music is louder and has a higher fundamental frequency; “fearful” music also has a higher fundamental frequency but notes are not held as long.

Snowden and Teie hypothesized that music with the features described above would affect cats in the same way as people, as long as the frequencies and tempos are the same as what is found in natural cat communication.

Cat Music vs Human Music

The “cat music” used in this study had an average pitch that was 2 octaves higher than the human music; it was also 1 octave higher than the fundamental frequency of natural cat communication (“meows” and “howls” were excluded).

The “cat music” also included elements at lower frequencies for the listening pleasure of the cats’ human friends. One piece contained a pulse rate of 1380 bpm, similar to purring, with melodic sliding frequencies; another had a pulse of 250 bpm, similar to kittens suckling, also with melodic sliding frequencies.

Do cats like cat music?

Snowden, Teie, and Savage’s study compared the reactions of 47 spayed and neutered cats to the “cat music” with the cats’ reactions to the human music. Researchers watched for the following responses:

orient/approach behavior

orient head toward speaker playing music
move toward speaker
rub speaker
purring

Avoid/fearful behavior

leaving the room
hair on end
growling
hissing
arched back

results:

Cats showed more Orient/Approach responses to the cat music than the human music. They also approached the source of the cat music more quickly than the human music. There were few Avoidance/Fearful behaviors (9 out of 94 trials – same for both types of music).

Cats were more interested and responsive to music that was designed for them. These pieces were also composed to be calming, so perhaps it is not surprising that there were few “negative” behaviors seen in the cats’ responses to the music. So, when choosing music for your cat, consider the features of the music and what emotional state they may induce. Just randomly picking some classical music to play for your cat may not achieve the goals that you are looking for.

Trying Out Cat Music

In 2019, the cat music was tested in the veterinary clinic at Louisiana State University. Twenty one cats completed the study. The cats presented for 3 examinations, two weeks apart. Each cat was exposed to one of three soundtracks : silence, cat music or classical human music. Each session included an examination and blood draw. The chosen soundtrack was played throughout the session, until the cat was placed back in her carrier.

Cat Stress Scores (CSS) were measured when the cat arrived, during the exam and at the completion of the blood sampling. A Handling Score (HS) was also measured during the examination.

The CSS and HS were not very different comparing cats exposed to silence and classical music; however, CSS and HS were significantly lower for cats exposed to the “cat music”.

cats prefer species specific music

Cat music can help reduce stress-related behaviors. I have found “cat music” useful to calm my kitties

when work is being done on my house
when I am transporting my cats in the car.

The cat music developed for the studies above can be purchased at https://www.musicforcats.com.

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Cats and Signature Scents: Learning about New Things

Posted on May 8, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Cats live in a landscape of odors. Odors tell them about their world and its inhabitants. The signature odor or scent can play an important role when introducing a cat to something new – whether it is a another cat, dog, person or a piece of furniture.

Cats and signature scents

The signature scent is a collection of odors secreted by an individual animal. This signature scent is influenced by the individual’s hormones, diet, immune system and other animals that he hangs out with. Using her superb sense of smell, a cat can learn a surprising amount of information from the signature scent of another animal.

gender
health status
sexual receptivity
fitness
are you part of my social group?

The signature scent gives the cat a way of identifying an individual animal. But, like the resume submitted by a job applicant, it is not the whole story. There is more to be learned by a physical encounter. A young cat may pick up the signature odor of an older cat with kidney disease and find this scent a little frightening – he has never met a cat that smelled like that before. After he spends some time with this older cat, he learns that particular odor of disease is not going to hurt him.

Cats and signature scents: learning about other cats

Introducing cats to cats

Free-roaming cats live in colonies if there is enough food in the neighborhood. Each colony has its own signature scent. Members of the colony identify each other by this scent. This colony scent also marks the core territory of the colony, where the members feel safe, can eat, rest and play.

One of the first things we should do to introduce a cat to another cat is to swap scents. Each cat will pick up some of the other’s scent – it is the start to creating a sense of “colony”.

An easy way to do this is to exchange bedding between the two. Why choose bedding? We hope that the cats are relaxed and calm in their beds and so the scents and pheromones in the bedding should convey a message of calm and relaxation in addition to things mentioned above, such as gender and health status. On the other hand, bedding may not be the best choice if the cat is in pain and discomfort when in the bed. See below for other ways to collect your cat’s scent.

Exchange the scented items between the two cats before they have any visual contact. There may be some hissing and growling at the scented object but hopefully this will go away in a few days. You will need to renew the scented item every other day or so. If your cat ignores the item and just walks on by, then she is not disturbed by this new addition so far. You can proceed on to step 2 of Introducing Cats: “time sharing” the common areas and the newcomer’s room.

Collecting Your Cat’s Scent

In The Trainable Cat, Sara Ellis views scent collection as one of 9 key skills that form a foundation for training cats. She recommends getting your cat accustomed to the process. The goal is to make scent collection part of a pleasurable experience. There are several ways to collect your cat’s scent – use whichever way suits your kitty.

Use a clean, light-weight cotton glove while stroking the cat in front of the ears and under the chin and cheeks (behind the whiskers).
You can also collect hair from the brush you’ve used to groom your cat in these areas.
As mentioned above, you can place a small piece of cloth on your cat’s bed for him to lie on.

The more you touch/brush these areas or the longer your cat lies on the cloth, the stronger the scent.

from Bradshaw, John W. S. and Sarah L. H. Ellis. “The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat.” (2016).

Cats and signature scents: learning about dogs and humans

Scent swapping should be the first step in introducing cats to dogs and even humans.

A piece of the dog’s bedding is a way to start the cat-dog introduction. Follow the same steps used for introducing two cats.
Let’s say you have a pet sitter coming to care for your cat while you are away – you may feel awkward asking for a T-shirt prior to the pet sitter coming to your home but your cat may appreciate it!

Cats and signature scents: new items in the house

If you are able to collect your cat’s scent, applying it to a new piece of furniture just might keep your cat from scratching that new armchair ( Make sure to put a scratching post nearby!) Take something with your cat’s scent on it and wipe the new piece of furniture with it. Now, that chair or table smells familiar to your cat and its sudden appearance is not so scary.

Remember – Our homes are our cat’s territory; we are members of our cat’s colony. Our homes have the signature scent that makes our cats feel safe and secure. Please make sure to maintain the “colony scent”!

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Redirected Aggression in Your Cat – When It Becomes a Problem

Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

It is not uncommon for cats in a multi-cat household to engage in some redirected aggression. For example, cats waiting to be fed may engage in “boxing matches”. A cat watching birds at a window may swat at another cat who comes “too close” to her “bird-watching” spot. The cats are frustrated because the food or the birds are not available and they release their frustration through a physical motion. These incidents usually extinguish themselves and there are not lasting consequences.

when redirected aggression in your cat becomes a problem

One cat encounters an outdoor cat at the window, and becomes highly aroused, hair standing on end, hissing, growling, howling. He turns on his housemate who is passing by. If the aggressor associates the negative emotional state of a cat fight with his housemate, we may have a bully-victim relationship in the making. The aggressor cat (bully) may become aroused each time he sees the housemate and go after him. The housemate is now the victim and may become fearful of the bully. The bully may guard resources (litter boxes, food) from the victim, making the victim’s life miserable.

When the victim is not another cat

A cat may redirect his frustration and fear on whomever is closest and that could be you or the family dog. Let’s say you drop a ceramic dish, which explodes with a crash and terrifies your cat. You go to pick her up and she hisses and strikes out at you. She may be leery of you after that, slinking away when she spots you, associating you with that horrible noise and things flying through the air.

redirected aggression in your cat – first aid

If the incident involved two cats:

Place or “herd” the aggressive cat and the victim cat into separate rooms, with litter box, water and the lights off.
Once the cats are calm, see if there are any injuries and seek veterinary attention if needed.
If neither cat is injured, see if you can reintroduce them once they seem calm. See if they will eat or play on either side of a closed door. Work up to gradually opening the door – it is not a bad idea to have a barrier such as a baby gate in the doorway.
This may take anywhere from a few minutes/hours to days/months.

If the victim was the family dog or human, first aid is similar with some modifications. Assess the victim for injuries. A dog will benefit from a quiet room while a human will, most likely, take comfort in discussing the incident with other people. A slow and gradual re-introduction with the cat is still a good idea.

How do I tell if my cat is calm?

Is his body language calm – ears up, eyes open, muzzle relaxed, whiskers relaxed – not pinned against the muzzle?
Will she approach you in a friendly way – say, with tail up, relaxed posture ?
Will he eat a snack?
Will she play with toys?

redirected aggression in your cat – the aftermath

Try to identify the trigger.
If you can identify a possible cause, for example, a neighborhood cat at the window, be proactive and move to prevent future occurrences.
Coax the cat back to the place where the aggression happened. Allow her to thoroughly examine the area while providing a tasty snack and possibly some toys to make a positive association with the area.
If the incident involved a person, desensitize the cat to the area where the incident happened before having that particular person return to the area. Once the cat is calm, have the “victim” come back but approach the area gradually. If the cat remains calm, he can come a little closer. The “final” approach should allow the cat to choose if she wants to interact. Have some tasty treats on hand. Use of a harness and leash can be useful in this situation.
If the incident involved two cats, let each cat return separately and make a positive association with the area. When both of them are calm in the area, you can try having them there together after reintroduction – be prepared in case hostilities break out again.

If the victim continues to trigger aggression in the “bully” cat, consult your veterinarian regarding medication and/or referral to a veterinary behaviorist.

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