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• Cat: Controlling Undesirable Behaviour the Role of Punishment

  Punishment is the application of a stimulus that decreases the chance that a behaviour will be repeated. It should coincide with the undesirable behaviour, and must be unpleasant enough to deter the cat from repeating that behaviour.

• Cat: Destructive Behaviours - Chewing and Fabric Sucking

  During exploration and play, kittens (and some adult cats), will chew on a variety of objects. Not only can this lead to damage or destruction of the owner's possessions, but some chewing can be dangerous to the cat.

• Cat: Diagnosing and Treating Aggression

  Aggression can be a serious and dangerous behaviour problem for cat owners. There are many different motivations for aggression and making a diagnosis, determining the prognosis (the chances of safe and effective correction) and developing an appropriate treatment plan are usually best handled by a veterinary behaviourist.

• Cat: Excessive Nocturnal Activity

  Some cats are active at night or awake very early in the morning. Since many owners are out at work or school during the day the cat may spend the daytime hours in rest and relaxation, especially if it is the only pet in the household.

• Cat: Fear of People, Other Animals and Places

  There are many reasons why cats develop fears, for example there may have been limited exposure to people and other animals when the cat was young.

• Cat: House Training: Using the Litter Tray

  Most cats do not need to be actively trained to use a litter tray with an appropriate and appealing substrate in it.

• Cat: House-Soiling - Inappropriate Elimination

  Feline inappropriate elimination is one of the most common behavioural complaints of cat owners and can involve either urine and/or faeces deposited outside of the litter tray.

• Cat: Inappropriate Play

  Although play is usually considered in connection with kittens, adult cats will also indulge in playful behaviours. In some cases, play can include a number of components of the cat's predatory behaviour including the stalk, pounce, and bite, which can lead to problems if this is directed at people.

• Cat: Introducing a New Cat to the Household

  Problems of aggression between cats in the same household can usually be prevented or minimised with early socialisation, patient and slow introductions of new cats and provision of adequate space and appropriate distribution of resources such as litter trays, resting places and water and food bowls.

• Cat: Keeping an Indoor Cat Happy

  For many people the thought of keeping a cat totally indoors seems to fly in the face of everything that the species stands for and certainly there is a lot to be said for cats having the freedom to roam around a wider territory and to come into contact with other cats and with natural prey.