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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: 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: 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.

• Cat: Moving House

  Some cats seem to take house moves in their stride, but for others the loss of their familiar territory can be very traumatic and settling in can pose problems for owners and cats alike.

• Cat: Playing Effectively

  Play is a very important part of the feline world and kittens need the opportunity to play in order to learn vital adult skills both in communication and in hunting.