Cookie's Column
Here's some advice from our very sensible, laid-back cat expert...
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Dear Cookie,
My next-door neighbour is making a big fuss about my cat, Smoochie, who
has been using her flower beds for a toilet. What can I do? I've tried talking to Smoochie and even offered him special treats if he would stop, but he just stares at me as if he thinks I'm from another planet or something. Can you help?
A Good Neighbour in Nanaimo
Dear Good Neighbour,
I'm sure it makes no sense to Smoochie that he can use your yard for a big litterbox, but not your neighbour's yard. If you don't want Smoochie to dig in the garden, here's what you can do (and tell your neighbour, too!):
Give Smoochie a litterbox on your patio, so he has somewhere to do his business
when he's outside. Then, sprinkle regular pepper, ground red pepper and
cayenne all around your flower beds. This will make Smoochie sneeze and he won't like your flower beds anymore.
If your neighbour does composting, tell her that Smoochie won't like her flower
beds if he gets coffee grounds, citrus peels, egg shells, teabags and veggie skins all over his feet.
Some pet stores sell stuff that we cats find repulsive. I've heard that Ropel
Dog & Cat Repellant is pretty awful. It's made from thymoil, peppermint oil and white pepper. If your favorite pet supply store doesn't have anything like it, you can send an email to info@planetnatural.com.
Don't do anything to your garden before your neighbour does, or Smoochie
will spend even more time visiting next door!
Smoochie may not want me to say this, but we respectful felines don't have to snoop around everyone's yard.
There's a lot of pretty dangerous stuff out there (my fur stands on end whenever I think about it). I'm sure you don't want anything terrible to happen to Smoochie.
Maybe you could build a nice "cat run" for him, so he could go outside but not get into anymore trouble.
Dear Cookie,
Our cat, Mr. Euripides, often sits on top of our kitchen fridge and stares down at us.
Here's our problem, Cookie: when my husband tries to make him come down, Mr. Euripides hisses and then pees on the top of the fridge. Needless to say, this causes us a lot of stress, especially when guests are coming over for dinner. We don't want them to think we aren't very hygienic by letting the cat be so close
to our food. What can we do about this?
Perplexed in Puyallup
Dear Perplexed,
Why do humans always try to control their pet friends? We aren't stuffed animals, after all.
Mr. Euripides loves that fridge top. It's his domain, where he feels safe from the stresses of HIS life (yes, cats have stress too!). When your husband tries to pry him off, he is no longer sure that the fridge is his territory, so he has to put his scent on it to reassure himself.
I suspect that Mr. Euripides isn't crazy about the people you bring into your home. Perhaps they scare him a bit. He needs a safe place to get away from them and high up is best as far as we cats are concerned.
If your husband insists on moving your cat, I suggest he lure him off with something tempting, like catnip or his favorite treats. And tell your guests that cats are the cleanest of creatures.
Dear Cookie,
My cat, Charlie, has been jumping into our baby's crib. No matter how often I spank him, he keeps doing it. Last week he pooped in the crib. My husband thinks we should get rid of Charlie, but I don't want to do that. What can we do to solve this problem?
Worried Parents in Wichita
Dear Worried,
Spanking is a very bad thing to do to cats and it won't solve your problem with Charlie.
He was probably just curious about your baby, but every time he tried to get close he had a bad experience.
I think he pooped in the crib because now he thinks the baby is a bad thing (because being near the baby makes pain happen) and he is trying to warn the baby to stay away from him.
We cats bury our poop to hide our scent when we don't want anyone
to know we are around, and we leave poop exposed so that other animals will know they are in our territory and they should go away.
If Charlie is a nice cat, you shouldn't worry about him hurting your baby. Most cats won't. We think babies are strange smelling and noisy, so we try to stay as far away as possible.
When a human baby is very small and is sleeping in its crib, parents should just close the baby's bedroom door and listen to it through a baby monitor. If a cat bothers an older baby, the baby will holler and push away from the cat.
You can chase Charlie away from the crib with a water spray bottle, but don't spank him anymore. Give him lots of love when he is near your baby, so he will think your baby is a nice animal and will want to be its friend.
Dear Cookie,
My new cat, Picasso, is scratching our couch. How can I get him to stop?
Frustrated in Fredericton
Dear Frustrated,
We cats need to scratch to keep our claws in good working order. Maybe you could plant a nice, big tree in your house. If not, your cat would enjoy a really good scratching post, or two. You can buy or build scratching posts, but they must be long enough for us to stretch out while we scratch.
I really like the Cosmic Catnip Alpine Scratcher. It's made from cardboard and smells so-o-o good. My people liked the low price at the pet store. By the way, Picasso called me and complained that you never trim his nails.
He hates the way they clickety-clack on your floors and get caught in your carpets. He has been scratching the couch to try to get your attention. Buy nail clippers at your pet supply store and trim Picasso's nails regularly.
Dear Cookie,
Help! I'm really bored and I'm getting fat. There's nothing to do around here!
My people took me to the vet and he made them feed me this yucky diet kibble.
Dinnertime was my one pleasure in life, and now it's gone. I'm so depressed.
Pudding in Seattle
Dear Pudding,
You poor thing. You must find a way to get your people to play with you, so you can have fun and exercise, too. Have they given you any new toys lately?
You must take charge if you want your nummies back. Remember that we cats are great hunters and search for things that your people could play with - a piece of rope, maybe, or a bathrobe sash. Bring toys to your people and stare pleadingly at them.
When you were little, you probably played the Sneak Attack and Chase Me Game. That's a great game for all ages. Your people have probably just forgotten about it.
Exercise is really important. If you can't get your people to play with you, you must be resourceful and find other ways to make them want to chase you.
Dear Cookie,
My darling Shasta has been peeing all over my apartment. Is she mad at me?
How can I get her to stop? Do your people know how to get rid of the odour?
Shasta's Mommy in Miami
Dear Shasta's Mommy,
You must take Shasta to your vet right away. Girl cats don't pee around their homes very often when they're mad. Is she squatting a lot and only leaving a few drops? She probably has a urinary tract infection and that's very painful.
If her urinalysis doesn't show an infection, ask your vet about Idiopathic Interstitial Cystitis. Shasta might have painful lesions in her bladder. Many cats with this disease have only been eating dry food. She may need a moist diet and some medicine, too.
My people use something from the pet stores called Nature's Miracle to get rid of pee smell. I don't know why they don't like it, but I guess that's people for ya. I hope Shasta feels better soon.
Dear Cookie,
Whenever my two cats have been apart for awhile, the female seems to always need to smell the male's rear end. Why does she do that?
Just Curious in Juneau
Dear Curious,
She's just making sure it's still him.
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Keep your cat indoors
Preventing or solving scratching problems
Watch for signs of illness
Spay and Neuter
Ask a cat
How you can help a stray or feral cat
Finding your lost cat |
