Problems and how to solve them

A cat never acts out of spite. There is a reason behind everything it does, and the reason is usually a plain one. The largest section of the site is built accordingly: first four articles on where problems come from and what can change behaviour at all, and then the cases one by one — from aggression and spraying to the cat up a tree, the raid on your dinner plate, meeting the dog, meeting the baby, and the long hours alone.

• The motives behind cat behavior The cat eats your houseplants, claws the sofa, wakes you at dawn. Every such habit has a motive, and understanding it beats fighting it.
• How problems develop A cat's behaviour changes all its life. A habit that appears suddenly and one that grew over years mean different things and need different answers.
• How to change a cat’s behavior There are two ways to change a cat's behaviour: make what you do not want unpleasant for it, and what you do want pleasant. How each of them works.
• The means of changing behavior Changing a cat's surroundings, combined with praise and reward, is the best way to change its habits. The tried and tested devices that help.
• Aggression Cat aggression ranges from a playful pounce from behind the sofa to a full-force attack. Where it comes from, and how far it can be prevented.
• Households with many cats A house with several cats is usually no great trouble: they get used to one another in time. How many litter boxes, and what else smooths it.
• Traveling with a cat Cats seldom enjoy travelling. What to do so that a move or a long journey passes more easily and more safely for both of you.
• Dogs and cats A cat and a dog can live in peace given time and clear ground rules. You cannot make a cat like a dog: each of them adjusts at its own pace.
• The cat that hates being touched Cats that cannot stand being touched usually fall into three groups: badly treated, never handled at all, or handled far too insistently.
• The cat has climbed a tree A cat that has climbed a tree usually comes down by itself — on its own schedule, not yours. When it is still worth stepping in.
• The cat climbs on everything A cat climbs on every surface it can reach. The simplest way to keep it off certain places is to make those places unattractive to it.
• Hyperactivity The cat tears around the house, leaps out from under the furniture and wakes you at night. Usually it is a matter of age and of daytime play.
• Designs on your dinner plate Food on your own plate is not an invitation to join you. How to explain that to a cat, and why it is easier never to let the habit start.
• Meowing and other demanding behaviour At least three cats in four meow partly in order to give their owner instructions. A cat is a remarkably patient and persistent teacher.
• Taming a feral cat A cat that grew up without people is hard to tame, and rarely tames completely. What can still be done with a feral animal.
• Timidity Shyness of new people and places is normal in a cat, especially a stray or one that has only just come to you. How to help it stop being afraid.
• Anxiety at being left alone A cat that takes being left alone badly is under stress: it howls, wrecks things, ignores the litter box. A few ways to help it.
• How to make an outdoor cat an indoor one How to convince a cat who spends a lot of time on the street, to become a domestic
• Babies and cats Having a baby is no reason to give up the cat. Which rules of hygiene to keep, and why a baby should never be left alone with a cat.
• How to teach your cat not to spray A tom does not spray out of spite or revenge: it is the instinct to guard territory. Why he does it, and what actually stops him.