A Common Cat-Astrophy!

I had a behaviour consultation the other day for a couple who had two beautiful Birman cats; a three year old male called Pierre and a two year old female called Mischa. The problem was with Pierre who had recently started urinating inside the house, anywhere except his litter tray and usually on the leather furniture. Pierre’s owners were at their wits end with having to clean up after their once house-proud cat.

After we sat down and had a chat it came to light that several things had occurred in the recent past which may have contributed to Pierre’s abnormal (and inconvenient) behaviour; Pierre’s owners moved house several months ago; Pierre had recently reacted anxiously (and very vocally) to the presence of a cat in the front yard, and; Pierre’s owners had bought some new items of furniture and placed them close to where Pierre’s litter tray was located. Another thing worth mentioning was that both cats shared the one litter tray.

So why would these events cause a cat to stop using his litter tray I hear you ask? It all has to do with territoriality. Cats are territorial creatures, some breeds more than others, and they tend to get stressed and anxious when they perceive their territory is under threat. Moving house, for example, can be very traumatic for some cats because they lose their territory and must gain a new one moving from one house to the next.

A neighbour’s cat encroaching on their territory can also be percieved as a threat, as can the addition of new items of furniture to the house. Cats are creatures of habit and even small changes within their environment (such as the addition of new items of furniture) can stress them out. In Pierre’s case, new leather chairs with a strong “new furniture” scent placed next to his litter tray was too much to bear.

Pierre’s owners were advised to provide each cat in the household with their own litter tray (located in a quiet and private area), food bowl and toys to minimise competition for resources within the territory and; that they should be aware that any changes within the cats’ environment can cause stress and anxiety and should be done gradually.

Nursing home cat predicts deaths of patients

Animals have some truly remarkable abilities. Recent discoveries that dogs are able to accurately detect many forms of cancer and illness in people are amazing scientists and doctors alike. So what happens when we take this a step further? … A cat that can predict death in people may sound like science fiction, but it isn’t.

Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter by staff from the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in the US. Growing up in the third floor dementia unit where patients are treated for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses; Oscar has accurately predicted the deaths of 25 patients. At around six months of age, Oscar began making his own rounds of the hospital, just like the doctors and nurses do. He'd sniff and observe patients, and those he curled up next to and stayed with would wind up dying a few hours later. Oscar is so accurate that staff members notify the family of patients if Oscar indicates they might not have long.

Nobody knows exactly how he does it, however there are several theories. One is that Oscar can smell subtle chemical changes in the bodies of dying patients. Another theory is that Oscar reads the body language of the nurses attending to terminal patients and has learned when patients are close to death. However, at the end of the day nursing home staff are not concerned with explaining Oscar’s ability, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to their loved ones.

University survey - please take part!

My name is Amy Richardson, and I am currently in my third year of the Bachelor of Animal Science at the University of Western Sydney. As part of my degree I am required to carry out a project, in conjunction with a client in the Animal industry, for this project I am working with the Petcare Information and Advisory Service. 

The purpose of my project is to determine some trends within pet ownership, from aspects such as the acquisition as well as the owners themselves. I ask you to read through the following questions and select the most appropriate answers.

 
Participation in the survey is optional, however participants must be over the age of 18

Click Here to take survey