Cats

Front 1

A two year old male neutered cat has started to urinate on the kitchen workbench. Lives in an apartment with a sole male owner, not allowed outside. Defaecates in the litter tray. Not anxious and has access to the whole apartment. Cat is healthy. List 4 possible causes of this problem.

Back 1

1) Territorial - bold, confident cat.
2) Location preference/aversion
3) Substrate preference/aversion
4) Sexual advertisement -bold, confident cat.

Front 2

A 4 year old neutered male cat is presented to you because it attacks its owners after sitting on her lap for about 4 minutes. What motivates this problem?
how would you treat it?

Back 2

Status aggression - Cat shows aggression in situations of control.
1) Remove from lap before aggression occurs
2) Startle cat when it shows aggressive behaviour via positive punishment.
3) Set times for attention to control when the cat is allowed on lap.
4) Randomly put outside without talking to it - asserts dominance.
5) Control the time spent on your lap - be the one that chooses when the cat is put back on ground

Front 3

A 2 year old male neutered siamese cat has started to defaecate on his owner's bed. Lives in an apartment and not allowed outside. He still urinates in the litter tray. List four possible causes and how you would determine the exact cause.

Back 3

1) Location preference - will use litter tray if placed in preferred area.
2) Location aversion - if tray is moved out of current area, will use it.
3) Substrate preference - will ignore variety of litters near preferred substrate.
4) Substrate aversion - will use another litter if given choice.

Front 4

How would you treat substrate preference?

Back 4

- Vary litter substrates as a kitten.
- Preventing access to the preferred substrate (bedcovers).
- Make preferred substrate unattractive/unavailable.
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Front 5

How would you treat substrate aversion?

Back 5

- Supply other substrates, finer grain/sand litter.
- Good litter box management - daily cleaning.

Front 6

How would you treat location preference?

Back 6

- Make location unattractive by placing food bowl there.
- Place litter tray in location and move 5cm per day towards preferred location.
- Clean and de-odourise where the cat inappropriately eliminated

Front 7

How would you treat location aversion?

Back 7

- Make location attractive by giving it privacy.
- More the litter tray to a new location.

Front 8

Give 7 possible causes for inappropriate elimination in cats.

Back 8

Substrate aversion/preference, location aversion/preference, litter box management, litter box dimensions, medical problem, multi-cat household, poor house training.

Front 9

Give 6 pieces of advice on how to house train a kitten.

Back 9

1) Place kitten in litter pan after each meal which is inside a small room or large cardboard box that the kitten cannot escape from.
2) Reward use of litter pan by attention and petting.
3) Gradually allow kitten to roam around larger area when it starts to use pan.
4) Change litter daily
5) Vary litter type regularly
6) Do no wean kitten earlier than 8 weeks - may not have learned enough toilet manners from queen.

Front 10

Give 4 theories as to why cats mark.

Back 10

1) To make an area smell familiar and increase confidence, esp for anxious cats.
2) To identify territorial boundaries - attract oestrus females and signal to other males his existence.
3) Means of identification - sex, physiological stats, hierarchial status.
4) Ensure avoidance of each other

Front 11

How does urinating differ from spraying?

Back 11

Urination:
- Squatting
- Large volume/puddle

Spraying:
- Stands with tail erect
- Sprayed onto vertical surface.
- Tail may quiver slightly
- Small volumes of urine every few minutes

Front 12

Give 9 different causes of spraying in cats.

Back 12

1) Renovations/redecorations
2) Loud noises
3) Multi-cat house hold
4) Change in family
5) Sight/smell/sound of neighbourhood cats
6) Cat door installed
7) Change in human behaviour
8) New cat/animal
9) Sexual maturation

Front 13

List 10 different ways to reduce inappropriate marking in cats.

Back 13

1) Pheromones - Feliway
2) Litter trays - regularly cleaned, away from feeding area
3) Cleaning - clean marked areas with vinegar and water/citrus sprays/odour neutraliser
4) Traps - upside down mouse traps
5) Restricting access to affected areas
6) Reduce number of cats
7) Pharmaceutical anxiolytic drugs
8) Neutering male cats
9) Family behavioural changes - increased attention, avoiding punishment with anxious cats
10) Environmental modification - Seal cat doors

Front 14

List the 10 different types of aggression in cats.

Back 14

1) Status-related
2) Maternal
3) Fear
4) Play
5) Inter-cat
6) Pain
7) Territorial
8) Redirected
9) Predatory
10) Poor socialisation

Front 15

How would you treat play aggression in cats?

Back 15

- Startle kitten when it shows any aggressive play
- Reward for good behaviour
- Mimic queen by neck pink, hissing when aggressive
- Redirect aggression towards toys

Front 16

How would you treat fear aggression in cats?

Back 16

- Densitisation and counter-conditioning to situations that cat shows fear in
- Reward calm behaviour
- Anxiolytic drugs

Front 17

How would you treat inter-cat aggression?

Back 17

- Ensure cats are desexed
- Separate cats when not supervised
- Identify the problem between the cats
- Startle cat that shows aggressive behaviour
- Desensitisation and counter-conditioning of aggressor to victim.

Front 18

How would you treat status related aggression in cats?

Back 18

- Startle cat when aggressive
- Do not reward aggressive behaviour
- Identify how long cat can stay on lap before aggressive, then take cat off before this occurs.
- Encourage cat to jump onto lap rather than picking up via + reinforcement, pat, give treat, put down.

Front 19

How would you treat predatory aggression in cats?

Back 19

- Put bell on collar
- Declawing
- Confinement
- Keep cats away from prey species

Front 20

List 3 common OCD in cats.

Back 20

Wool chewing
Over grooming and self-mutilation
Excessive vocalisation
Over attachment