-
What are the three genera of the family felidae?
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What is felis?
- smaller cats
- domestic cats
- jaguars
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What is panthera?
large cats (lions, tigers, panthers)
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What is Acinonyx?
cheetas
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How many species of cats are there?
38
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What is the sand cat?
siberian tiger
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Which type of cat is the only one who lives in groups?
lions
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When were cats domesticated?
1600BC
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Where were cats domesticated?
Egypt
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What were cats initially used for?
rodent control
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It use to be a crime to take a cat out of Egypt, how did they get out?
smuggled out by 300AD
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How many cats are there in the US and what percent are in homes?
-
What is the average lifespan for a indoor cat?
12 years but some can live over 20
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What percent of animals are adopted from animal shelters?
22%
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What percent of cats are spayed/neutered?
87%
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What percent of females have a litter before being spayed?
18%
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What percent of breeds are purebred?
about 7%
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What is the only thing that changes between breeds?
- color/length of hair
- skeletal structures of all cats are relatively the same
-
What are mixed cat breeds called?
dsh or dlh
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What are the different characteristics of cats?
- solitary
- territorial
- nocturnal
- predatory
- gets into places dogs can't
- hear and see (at night) > dogs
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What are the different aspects of cats social behavior?
- form groups
- have perferred assoicates (pick who they want to hang out with)
- rear young cooperatively (take care of each others babies)
- allogrooming
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What is allogrooming?
groom each other
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How much do cats sleep?
2/3 of the day
-
How much do cats groom?
1/3 of awake time
-
What is the flight distance of a cat?
about 6 feet
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What do cats usually do when they are stressed?
not use the litter box
-
How do cats exercise claws?
- extend front feet and rake it down
- marking behavior - visually marks things with the claw marks and leaves sweat from their paws on where they have clawed
-
Do cat's pant well?
no, easily over heat
-
What is the size range of cats?
7 - 15 pounds
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What do cats do in their "home range"?
-
What will cats do in the "base" territory range?
- defend it
- this range is within the home range
-
What range do the cats feel the most safe?
in the base territory range
-
What are the different ways cats communicate?
-
What does a dominant cat look like?
- ears up, rotated out
- hind limbs extended and stiff
- base of tail elevated, rest droops
- head up, eyes stare
- approaches
- bats with paw
- mounts other cat
-
What will happen if there are two dominant cats together?
there will be a cat fight
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What does a submissive cat look like?
- ears down and back
- tail down
- tail to side
- crouched
- avoidance
- head down, turned aside
-
What does the vocal expression of a cat allow?
- allows for individual spacing
- prevents direct confrontation
-
What are the three different phonetically distinct sounds for cats?
- murmurs - mouth closed
- vowel patterns - open/closed mouth
- strained intensity - open mouth
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Which type of communication do cats primarily use?
postural communication
-
WHat are distance reducing postures?
- rolling over (play)
- active approach with tail up
-
What are the two types of distance increasing postures?
- offensive threat
- defensive threat
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What does the offensive threat look like?
- direct stare with miosis (pupils dilated)
- body straight forward
-
What does the defensive threat look like?
- halloween cat appearance
- arched laterally/piloerection
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What are some ways cat communicate by smell (olfactory)?
- used to mark territory
- rub sebaceous glands on different things
- mark by urine spraying
- tree scratching - scent from sweat glands, also a visual mark
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What is the flehmen?
vomeronasal organ in hard palate of mouth - picks up odors in the air
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What is the flehmen used for?
used to pick up odors in urine or strange tastes
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What controls purring?
oscillatory CNS mechanism
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How do cats purr?
regular, rapid, alternating activation of intrinsic laryngeal m. and diaphragm causing them to vibrate
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When do we seeing purring the most?
when there is human contact
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When do cats reach puberty?
7 - 12 months
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Are cats seasonal polyestrous?
yes
-
What influences a cats cycle?
photoperiod
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When do outside cats cycle?
february to august
-
When do inside cats cycle?
all year due to the lights in the house
-
What causes ovulation?
cervical stimulation
-
When does ovulation happen?
25 - 30 hours after mating
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What is superfetation? And can it happen in cats?
- litter of kittens fathered by more than one male cat
- yes
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How long is the average cycle of a cat?
13 - 15 days (may range from 8 - 30 days)
-
How long does estrus last?
- 4 - 6 days if bred
- 10 days if no mating occurred
-
When can a pseudopregnancy occur?
after a steril mating
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How long does a pseudopregnancy last?
30 - 40 days
-
Do cats have heat cycles during pseudopregnancies?
no
-
Do breeders use pseudopregnancies to stop cycling of cats?
yes
-
What are the different signs of heat?
- behavioral signs only
- vocalization
- crouching and treading
- very affectionate
- rolls over often
-
How do cats breed?
- tom mounts and grapes nape
- straddles queen and copulates
- queen yeowls and may strike tom
- queen licks vulva
- may repeat in 10 - 60 minutes
- may breed 1 - 7 times a day
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How long is the gestation period in cats?
63 - 65 days
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How many litters can a cat have per year?
2 - 3
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What is lactational anestrus?
in estrus - 2 weeks post weaning
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How do we prepare a cat for queening?
- provide box out of the way of high traffic areas
- know the signs a cat may exhibit (there are not many - the cat may just disappear)
- cat may move her litter to a different spot after 2 weeks (survival mechanism from the wild)
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When do kittens wean?
5 weeks
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Once the kitten weans what does the mother do?
- brings the kittens dead prey
- then will bring the kittens live prey to kill themselves
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What are the different developmental stages of cats?
- neonatal 1 - 3 weeks
- transitional at 3 weeks
- socialization at 4 weeks
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Can cats be trained?
yes, harder than dogs, but can be trained as long as we can figure out what is rewarding for the cat
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One pair of cats can produce how many kittens in a 7 year period of time?
420,000
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How many feral cats are in the US?
15,000,000
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What percent of cats are killed in shelters?
80%
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How many households feed stray cats?
25%
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What does TTVARM stand for?
trap, test, vaccinate, alter, release, maintain
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What are the different cat colonies?
- Feral Cat Coalition
- Alley Cat Allies
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What do cat colonies do?
TTVARM
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What is the purpose of cat colonies?
can create stable populations in the wild
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More cats = more _____.
behavior problems
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How do we introduce new cats into the household?
- introduce gradually
- use carriers/cages
- separate rooms
- may use drugs in few cases
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What are some behavior problems we see in cats?
- elimination problems
- aggression
- destructive behavior
- overactivity
- vocalization
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What are some causes of behavior problems?
- genetics (usually in pure bred cats)
- improper socialization
- normal feline behavior that owners don't understand
- emotional upset
- medical condition
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What is the most common behavior problem? Second most common?
- elimination problems are the most common
- aggression is the second
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What are the different types of aggression?
- intermale
- pain induced
- fear induced
- redirected
- territorial
- competitive
- predatory
- learned
- petting induced
- play induced
- maternal
- medical problem
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What kind of males have intermale aggression?
intact males
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When do we usually see intermale aggression?
- increase with overcrowding
- during mating season
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How can we prevent/treat intermale aggression?
neutering
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How do intermales fight?
ritualized fighting - slow approach, head turned, usually bite neck or bit in rear end while running away
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When do we see fear induced aggression?
- when critical distance is violated
- usually defensive aggression
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How do we treat fear induced aggression?
desensitization and counter conditioning and meds
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Before a cat will be aggressive due to fear what will they try to do?
run away
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What are somethings that can cause pain induced aggression?
- hair pulled/tail stepped on
- injections
- medical procedures
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What can pain induced aggression result in?
redirected aggression
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Where do we usually see territorial aggression?
- intercat
- attack directed at an intruder
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How do we treat territorial aggression?
- separate and then gradually introduce
- meds
- desensitization
- counter conditioning
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What is maternal aggression?
- queen protecting her litter
- seen more in cats than in dogs
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How do we avoid maternal aggression?
minimize visitors the first week
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What is infanticide?
killing of kittens
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When does play aggression usually happen?
in young cats left alone
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Describe play aggression.
- sudden attacks on feet/legs
- may attack only 1 person or at a set time
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How do we treat play aggression?
- give kitten play stuff or a second cat
- redirect
- water spray
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What kind of aggression could cause a sudden household change?
redirected aggression
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How do we prevent redirected aggression?
- avoid cat when they are upset
- separate two cats when one cat is upset so the aggression doesn't get redirected towards the other cat
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How do we treat redirected aggression between two cats?
separate and gradually reintroduce
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What is petting induced aggression?
suddenly claws, bites, or jumps down when being petted
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What causes petting induced aggression?
- the cat may have reached it's "petting threshold" and doesn't want to be petted anymore
- the cat may have fallen asleep and then woken up and was scared by the petting
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What is the prevention/treatment for petting induced aggression?
learn how much petting it wil tolerate/or avoid the scenario
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What is predatory aggression?
going after prey
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Does the cat always kill its prey in predatory aggression?
no, but can leave a bad bite that can become infected
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How do we prevent predatory aggression?
- keep cats indoors seasonally
- have the cat in a large outdoor enclosure
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A sudden change in a cat's attitude may be due to _____.
a medically related problem
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What are some medically related problems that can cause the cat to become aggressive?
- hyperthyroidism
- epilepsy
- neoplasia
- post anesthesia (especially from ketamine)
- other drugs such as valium
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Is competitive aggression common in cats?
no
-
Do cat's have a set heirarchy?
- no
- first come, first serve mentality
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When could we see competitive aggression amongst cats?
if the owner interfers with the "first come/first serve" - if the owner pushes a cat away from the food so that the other cat can get to it could cause the initial cat to become aggressive
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When does learned aggression usually begin?
due to some type of pain (tail pulling by children, physical punishment, rough handling by techs/vets)
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How do we treat/prevent learned aggression?
- TLC
- reward cat when they are being nonaggressive
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What is the most common complaint by owners of cats?
elimination disorders
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What is housesoiling?
cat urinates or defecates in the house outside of the litter box
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What usually happens to the cat due to housesoiling?
cat may be tossed out, given away, or killed
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Are cat's easily trained to use the litterbox?
yes
-
When does housesoiling tend to increase?
when there are more cats in the hosue
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What is a way to identify which cat in the household is not using the litter box?
- give the cat (one at a time) 0.3cc 10% fluorescein by mouth in the evening
- use a woods lamp on the urine to see if it lights up
- if it does then you know it was the cat you gave the fluorescein to
- if it doesn't light up then try a different cat and you know it wasn't the cat you gave the fluorescein to
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Is getting a history from the owner time consuming when trying to understand housesoiling?
yes
-
What kind of questions should we ask when getting a history from the owner about housesoiling?
- what is the cat doing?
- where is it doing it?
- what is owner's response?
- where is the litter box?
- what litter is used?
- how often is the litter box cleaned?
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What is spraying?
marking behavior
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How and why does a cat spray?
- backs up to a vertical object and sprays a small amount of urine on it
- usually due to territorial or anxiety based
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What happens to spraying behavior when you add more cats to the household?
increase in spraying behavior
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Spraying behavior is normal in _____ and _____.
- intact males
- females in heat
-
What are some reasons a cat may spray due to anxiety?
- new roommate, baby, cat
- new cat in the neighborhood
- moving, remodeling
- inappropriate punishment
- new odors in the house
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What is the treatment for spraying cats?
- neuter if intact
- alter cat's exposure to stimulus
- alter cat's response to stimulus
- use feliway (helps if it is due to anxiety)
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What is Feliway?
a feline facial pheromone
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How do we use Feliway?
spray on objects the cat may be anxious about or objects the cat marks
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How often can we use Feliway?
daily to once a week
-
How does the vet clinic use Feliway?
use it with a diffuser in the exam rooms to calm down the cats
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Feliway claims it can calm the cat by _____%.
95
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What can we do if spraying is due to an outdoor cat?
- discourage the outdoor cats visits (booby traps, scat mat, mostion detector, spray with hose, remove attractant, trap and remove)
- close drapes so your cat does not see the outside cat
- clean up urine odors from the outside cat using F.O.N (feline odor neutralizer)
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What should we do if a cat is spraying due to too many cats in the house?
- separate the spraying cat from the others
- decrease cat population (allow access to more space for the cats)
- increase access to outdoors
- drug therapy (diazepam, buspirone)
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What is the difference between spraying and inappropriate eliminiation?
- spraying: cat stands up and backs up on an object
- inappropriate elimination: cat squats to defecate or urinate outside of litter box
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Can we see spraying and inappropriate elemination at the same time in a cat?
yes
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If a cat suddenly stops using the litter box it could be due to...
- organic or disinfectant odor that they don't like
- pain associated with eliminating
- unacceptable litter material
- too much waste present
- negative experience in the box
- too much traffic around the litter box
- found a more preferable place
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How can we know if the litter box is okay and the inappropriate elimination is caused by something else?
- if the cat defecats in the box but urinates outside of the box then the box is okay and it is due to something else or vice versa (urinates in box and defecates outside of box)
- if urinates on owner's things
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What could it mean if the cat is defecating in the box and urinating outside of the box?
- prefers other locations/surfaces to urinate
- needs more privacy to urinate
-
What could it mean if the cat is urinating in the litter box and defecating outside the litter box?
check the cat for constipation/colitis
-
What does it mean if the cat urinates on the owner's things?
- anxiety
- may be intermittent (only happens every now and then)
- separation anxiety
- could see other behavior changes as well (hiding, aggression)
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What is the treatment for inapproriate elminiation?
- eliminate cause, if possible
- re-establish litter box habit
- keep cat from soiled area
- clean litter box more often
- increase boxes
- change size or type of box
- use acceptable litter
- move litter box to a less trafficked area
-
How do we re-establish litter box habit?
- need to confide the cat somewhere with the litter box (bathroom, crate)
- 1 week confinement for each month of soiling
- reward cat with food after it uses the litter box
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What should we do if confining our cat to a small area with the litter box to re-establish litter box habits does not work?
- put the cat in a crate and add perches to the crate walls for the cat to sit on
- cover the entire floor of the crate with litter so the cat is forced to use the litter
- gradually decrease the amount of litter in the bottom until it is all in a litter box
-
How many litter boxes should we have in the house?
- 1 + # of cats
- example: 4 cats should have 5 litter boxes
-
How can we tell if the cat doesn't like the type of litter?
- the cat will perch on the edge of the litter box and not want to touch the litter
- or use not use the litter box at all
-
What kind of cat litter do cats prefer and not prefer?
- prefer clumping litter
- doesn't like "tidy cat crystals" or scented litters
-
Should we medicate our cats when they are using the litter box?
no, they will relate being medicated to the litter box and then will stop using the litter box
-
How should we clean the litter box?
- use hot water to clean
- avoid disinfectants
- allow to sun dry for 24 hours
-
If we use a covered litter box, what do we need to watch for?
- ventilation
- if the cat box becomes too stinky, the cat won't want to go in there
-
What should we do to a previously soiled area to stop a cat from using that area to urinate or defecate?
- feed cat there
- put plastic runners upside down over the spot
- scat mat
- plastic sheeting
- lemon scented room deodorant
- aluminum foil over spot
- if it happens in a sink or bath tub, leave it fill with an inch of water
- place litter box in the spot
- remove odor
-
What are some products that help us remove the odor?
- F.O.N
- Cat-off
- Outright pet odor eliminator
- White vinegar:water (1:1)
- avoid products with ammonia smells
-
How long should we use drug therapy to treat inapproprate elimination problems
more than 8 weeks
-
Can the inappropriate elimination behavior start back up again once we stop the use of drugs?
yes
-
If we are using drug therapy to treat what else do we need to do?
have a behavior modification plan
-
In summary, what should we do for a cat that is inappropriately eliminating?
- identify which cat is soiling
- if medical cause then treat it
- remove stimulus
- modify response to stimulus
- re-establish use of litter box
- prevent resoiling
-
What kind of behaviors does a cat with separation anxiety exhibit?
- inappropriate urination
- inappropriate defecation
- excessive vocalizing
- destructive
- psychogenic grooming
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____% of affected cats urinated exclusively on their owners bed.
70
-
What is the third most common behavior problem in cats?
destructive behavior
-
What are some destructive behaviors cats do?
- clawing objects
- eating plants
- chewing objects
- knocking objects off shelves
-
Is clawing objects normal cat behavior?
yes, its instinctual
-
How do cats claw objects?
extend forelegs and claws
-
Why do cats claw objects?
- marking (visual and olfactory)
- remove outer sheath of claw
-
How do cats remove the out sheath of their back claws?
chewing them off
-
What are ways to prevent a cat from clawing objects?
- give them a scratching post
- Soft Paws
- declawing
-
Describe the characteristics of a good scratching post?
- sturdy
- at least 1 ft tall, 8 inches wide
- loosely woven fabric or rope that can be periodically replaced when it gets torn up
- at least 1 ft off the floor
-
How do we encourage a cat to use a scratching post?
- place near sleeping area
- introduce to cat when they are young
- reward when using the post
- prevent cat from using other objects
-
How do we prevent a cat from using other objects?
- block access
- squirt them with something whenever they go to scratch other objects
-
What are Soft Paws?
plastic covers that are glued onto nails
-
What percent of cats are declawed in the US?
25%
-
How do we keep cats from knocking stuff off?
- keep cat off shelves, tables
- give cat things to do (interactive toys)
- limit access to sacred areas
- use barriers to keep it off
- correct when you see this behavior
-
Is punishment an effective way to train a cat?
no
-
What usually results from punishing a cat?
the cat learns to avoid the owner or does not do the bad behavior when the owner is around
-
If we are going to use punishment to train a cat, what is the best kind?
remote (squirt gun, toss object near cat to distract them)
-
Why should we keep cats from eating house plants?
- destructive
- dangerous (can be poisonous)
-
What is the treatment for a cat who is eating house plants?
- provide cat with safe plants
- limit access to other plants
- spray aversive chemicals on plants (first check to see if chemical is aversive to the cat)
-
Why do cats like to eat house plants?
- eating grass is normal cat behavior in order to get fiber
- if an indoor cat is not able to get outside to eat grass, then they will eat house plants
- provide them with pet grass to satisfy their need
-
What usually causes phobias?
poor socialization
-
What is the typical response to a phobia? What will a cat do if the phobia is constant?
- hiding
- litter box problems
-
How do we treat phobias?
- desensitization
- counterconditioning
-
What is catnip?
member of the mint family
-
Do all cats like catnip?
no
-
Do cats <8 weeks old like catnip?
no, they are afraid of it
-
What do we use catnip for?
to entertain the cat
-
What does the cat do when it has catnip?
- sniffs, licks, or chews it
- head shaking, gazing off, face rubbing
- cat may rub body on the ground
-
How long does the response to catnip last?
5 - 15 minutes
-
Is catnip harmful to cats?
no
-
What can cause compulsive behaviors in cats?
- genetic component (seen in some breeds)
- stress related (environmental changes)
-
What are some compulsive behaviors cats do?
- wool sucking or chewing
- excessive grooming
- self mutilation (chewing skin)
- chewing (other objects)
- sudden agitation and head movements
-
What is wool chewing?
sucking or chewing on fabrics
-
Which breed did wool chewing exist in first?
siamese
-
What are some agitation/actions cat will do with compulsive behaviors?
- head flicking
- rapid licking
- dashing away
- freeze in positions
- pouncing on imaginary prey
-
When we treat compulsive behaviors what do we need to first decide?
- is it worth treating?
- is it interfering with the health of the cat?
-
How do we treat compulsive behaviors?
- best if you can correct cause, but sometimes you can't
- drug therapy, but behavior may return once drugs are stopped
-
What are the signs of cognitive dysfunction in cats?
- social interactions affected
- disorientation
- attitude change
- litter box errors
- less active
- abnormal wake cycles
-
How do we treat cognitive dysfunction in cats?
Anipryl
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