As cats become
older, they may be more apt to change their behavior or develop certain
behavioral problems. With the correct diagnosis and treatment, many of
these behavioral problems can be resolved. It may take some patience on
your part, but your longtime feline friend is worth it!
Inappropriate
elimination
Inappropriate
elimination (urinating or defecating outside of the litter box, and/or
spraying ) is the most common behavior problem of older cats. There are
numerous causes for this behavior, many of them medical, so a cat who has
inappropriate elimination should be examined by a veterinarian. Laboratory
tests will need to be performed in most cases.
Medical conditions
which result in an increased frequency of urination or defecation may be
the underlying cause for this behavior problem. These conditions include:
colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism,
kidney or liver disease, and feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD).
Medical conditions
which cause pain urinating or defecating, or make it difficult for the
cat to get in and out of the litter box, may also result in inappropriate
elimination. Such conditions include arthritis, FLUTD, anal sac disease
, loss of vision, and some forms of colitis. Treatment of these medical
conditions may help to resolve this behavioral problem. In addition, using
litter boxes with lower sides, placing the litter box in the area in which
the cat spends the most time, and increasing the number of litter boxes
may be helpful.
Stress can be
a major cause of inappropriate elimination in cats of all ages. Older cats
may not be able to handle stressors as well as younger cats.
Stressors such
as moving, changes in routine, or changes in the makeup of the family can
result in inappropriate elimination.
Reducing these
stressors or decreasing their impact on the household will benefit your
cat (and probably you, too!). For instance, when moving, attempt to keep
the cat in a quiet portion of the home when packing and during the actual
moving day. At the new residence, confine your cat to a quiet room at first
(probably a bedroom), placing her food, water, litterbox and favorite sleeping
material (bed, sweatshirt, etc.) in the room. Spend time with her in that
room and feed her and clean the litter box at the usual time.
Gradually let
her become accustomed to the rest of the house.
There is a product
called 'Feliway' which was designed to help reduce anxiety in cats, and
thus decrease spraying or urinating inappropriately. Feliway contains phermones
from the cat's face.
Phermones are
chemicals which are used to communicate with other members of the same
species. You may notice your cat rubs her face and chin on vertical surfaces.
She is leaving a scent there which contains these phermones. The phermones
from the face have a calming effect on other cats. When Feliway is sprayed
onto multiple vertical surfaces which your cat may spray, the cat receives
this calming effect and in many cases spraying will be reduced.
Cats of all
ages may develop an aversion to the litter box or substrate (material inside
of the litter box). Trying different types of litter including clumping
litter, sand, newspaper, and no litter are things that could be helpful.
Other tips on
controlling inappropriate elimination and spraying include using enzyme
cleaners to clean areas which have been soiled with urine or feces, feeding
the cat in the area in which she is inappropriately eliminating, and using
upside down carpet runners (the ones with the spikes on the bottom), double
sided tape, motion detectors, pet repellents or scat mats to limit her
access to the area where she inappropriately eliminates.
Aggression
Cats may become
aggressive toward people or toward other animals in the household. Again,
this aggression may be the result of a medical problem such as one causing
pain (arthritis), vision or hearing loss which results in the cat being
easily startled, or diseases having direct effects on the nervous system.
As with inappropriate elimination, stresses such as moving can cause irritability
and subsequent aggression in some cats. A combination of counter-conditioning
(teaching the cat a different response when exposed to a certain stimuli),
desensitization (gradually reintroducing the cat to the stimuli), medical
therapy, and Feliway may help change the cat's behavior. Consult your veterinarian
and an animal behaviorist if your older cat is becoming aggressive.
Fear/anxiety
As with the
other behavioral problems discussed above, loss of hearing or vision, stress,
pain and neurologic disease can contribute to fear or anxiety in a cat.
Treatment includes determining, if possible, the cause of the fear and
reducing it, providing appropriate therapy for any medical condition, and
prescribing various antianxiety medications.
Change in activity
patterns
For their entire
life, some cats tend to be active during the night, keeping us awake, and
then they go into sound sleep as soon as we get up. Some older cats will
develop this altered sleep-awake cycle, as well. Pain, the need to urinate
or defecate more often, the loss of vision or hearing, changes in appetite,
and neurologic conditions can contribute to this behavior. Playing or grooming
your cat prior to bedtime may help her to sleep. Experiment with changing
feeding times to see if that makes a difference. You may not be able to
change the cycle, so in those cases, you may want to keep the cat out of
the bedrooms.
If in addition
to staying awake at night, the cat vocalizes as well, you may need to use
something aversive to stop the vocalizing.
'Remote correction',
such as throwing a pop can containing a few coins or pebbles toward the
cat (not at the cat!), may startle her and stop her from vocalizing.
She should not
associate you with the correction or she may increase her vocalization
just to get your attention. In some instances, medications may be used
in an attempt to change the sleep-wake cycle.
Summary
Many of the
behavioral changes we see in older cats can be due to medical conditions.
If your cat's behavior is changing, have your cat examined by a veterinarian.
Your older cat is more easily stressed, so attempt to reduce stress by
making any necessary changes in routine gradual, and decreasing the exposure
of your cat to stressors. With patience, understanding, and treatments
recommended by your veterinarian, you can help make your cat's older years
a quality time for you and her.
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Copyright 2002 by United
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