OkcPets Magazine July 2023

28 OKC Pets • July / August 2023 and might lead to aggression toward you. Cats can become reactive and perceive you as a threat. Humans screaming at their cats, particularly children, will worsen the situation. Never reach between two fighting cats. You might be accidentally injured while trying to prevent injuries to your cats. Watch your problem cats closely when they are together. Keep pillows, blankets, broom, cardboard, water bucket, or some other item handy to separate the cats safely. Your breakup tools need to be easy to find in the heat of a cat fight. Remember that once separated, cats will generally calm down enough to allow you to remove the aggressor. The aggres- sor cat should be locked in a neutral area with water, food, and a litter box. It can take cats as long as 48 hours to become truly calm. Also remember that frightened animals can bite. Avoid being bitten by using low-stress handling techniques (blankets, boxes, crates) to separate cats. Create Separate Zones A feline living environment should have safe zones and security. Give each cat its own food bowl, separated from other cats. Cats are not social eaters, and eating in close proximity can create unnecessary stress. Litter boxes should not necessarily be shared. The rule is one litter box per cat and one extra. Place the boxes in different rooms. Each cat has a preferred area. Scratching is a normal cat behavior, and each cat should have its own scratching post in its own area. The same applies to a resting spot. Cats enjoy a vertical or high area to perch on. Cats are the ultimate predators and possess a need to be above their environment, which allows them to view their prey. It will also give them a sense of safety from aggressor cats. If the perch is positioned near a window, it also enriches the environment because the cat can watch birds or outdoor activities, nap in sunshine, play, and climb. It is important to note that all cats are unique, and there is no cookie-cutter answer. When aggression has reached con- cerning levels and things are going horribly wrong, the following are basic treatments that are researched and effective with most cats that exhibit aggression among other household cats: Keep all cats involved in aggressive acts separated at all times when you cannot supervise. If you can identify the aggres- sor cat, it should be confined to the less desirable room. A spare bedroom, pen, or basement would work. Confinement should not be in your bedroom or kitchen because those are desirable locations that cats usually appreciate. The other cats should have free range. Bell the cats with bells of different sounds. Breakaway collars work well with bells. The bell alerts you and the other cats when a cat is approaching. The bell also will alert the victim cat that the aggressor is approaching or the cats are close togeth- er. Bear bells are great for cats. Reinforce the order of the cats based on which cat is behaving the most appro- priately. Remember that reinforcement is not about rewarding the pushiest cat. It is about rewarding the cat that is behav- ing the most appropriately. That sends a message to all cats that obnoxious behav- iors are not rewarded. Nonthreatening behaviors should be clearly appreciated and rewarded. Feed the well-behaved cat first. Let him out, play with him, groom him first. That encourages the normal social deference exhibited by cats in a normal environment. By reinforcing the cat with the most appro- priate behavior, you encourage the fluidity of the normal social system. Other passive encouragement for the aggressor is to understand that the victim cat has gained more status. You are not spoiling the cat but allowing access to preferred spots as a type of currency. Using a harness with cats when they are together gives you a quick way to intervene as needed. If you see the aggressor staring, the harness will help you to gently turn its head away from the other cat to focus on you instead. Interrupt staring between cats. Reward them when they look away from each other. Spaying and neutering might help by decreasing hormone levels and pheromones in the urine. Antianxiety products and medications might help some cats. Medication is to be used in addition to behavior modification, not instead of it. It is important to be patient when you help your cats change their association with each other. It will take time. The decline in their behavior did not happen overnight, and it won’t improve overnight. Happy Tails, Karen Holman Three Oaks Animal Behavior Counseling NOTE: If you are interested in educat- ing yourself further on feline behavior, a great book to read is Decoding Your Cat by members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. It was edited by veterinary behaviorists Dr. Meghan Her- ron, Dr. Debra Horwitz, and my friend and mentor Dr. Carlo Siracusa.