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| Lesson 9: Health-Related Behavior  |  Some of the topics covered in previous lessons have mentioned certain contributing health and/or age factors. This ninth and final lesson rounds off the Behavior 101 Course with advice on helping disadvantaged cats (such as blind cat, Beanie) to make their lives easier.
Congratulations for caring enough about your cat to stay the course! Today is graduation day and you are well on your way to becoming an expert on cat behavior. | | | Health and Age-Related Cat Behavior | 7 Tips for Solving Old Cat Litter-Box Problems
From Amy Shojai, CABC: "Old cat litter box issues develop whether your cat learned faithful toilet etiquette as a kitten or developed hit-or-miss potty problems as an adult. While many senior citizen felines never have problems, it's a good idea to be aware of potential toilet challenges and help your old fogy cat retain "old faithful" status." Learn more with Amy's helpful tips.
| Understanding Feline Hyperesthesia
Amy Shojai writes: "Cat aggression due to hyperesthesia may not seem to have an identifiable cause and is referred to as "idiopathic" aggression. In most cases, though, the cats have a very good reason to aggress (based on kitty sensibility)." Learn the symptoms and causes of feline hyperesthesia, which cat breeds are most susceptible to it, and ways of treating it with this excellent article.
| 8 Ways to Help a Blind Cat
From Amy: "A blind cat can have a wonderful, happy life. It's not at all uncommon for pets, particularly older ones, to suffer vision loss. Normal cat vision is close to humans, or perhaps just a little less. Pets have more problems focusing on near objects than people do, though, which is why Kitty may have trouble seeing the last few kibbles in the food bowl." Learn much more about blindness in cats, and the ways you can make their lives more comfortable.
| 5 Ways to Help a Deaf Cat
That loud meowing we covered in a previous lesson can sometimes be directly related to deafness, particularly when it occurs in an older cat. From Amy's article: There is no reason your deaf cat shouldn't have a happy, fun-filled life. Some pets are born deaf, or are genetically predisposed to deafness. For example, blue-eyed white cats can be born with a condition that results in deafness at an early age. But she doesn't know she's different, and with a few accommodations, shouldn't have any trouble in most households."
| Old Cat Behavior and Senility
Amy writes: "Old cat behavior can be due to senility, technically called Feline Cognitive Dysfunction. Signs of kitty senility can be vague and confusing, and mimic other disease or behavior conditions such as feline separation anxiety or petting aggression. These kitties, usually over the age of fifteen, often develop litter box problems." Learn more about FCD and why it is considered a medical condition.
| Ask Amy: Can Cats Be Mentally Retarded?
Cookie was adopted from a feral cat rescue group at the age of four months, and suffered a head injury as a kitten. TJ is concerned that he might be mentally retarded because he doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. Read Amy Shojai's expert reply, along with some encouraging advice.
| | Some Important Pages to Bookmark | Useful Resources for the Future
Please bookmark these pages to help you with future questions on cat behavior:
| | Coda: Feedback on the Course | How Did You Like the Cat Behavior 101 Course?
Your feedback is important to me in helping to make this class as complete and understandable as it can be. I'd like to know your opinions. Did you like it? Was it too long or too short? Were there any important basics that you felt were missing? Please complete the form linked here, and I'll be in your debt. Although the form asks for a name and email address, you can choose to remain anonymous. In any case, I'll respect your privacy, and you won't be added to any mailing lists by virtue of completing the form.
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