feline behavior question
Jan. 31st, 2008 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioThis is a new problem for me, but (I gather) old hat for some others. So, advice please?
Starting about a month ago, every couple days I have found a "deposit" (solid) on a particular section of carpet. (Usually this is in the morning.) When I say "section of carpet", I mean it's always within the same area of about two square feet. None of the cats seem to be having other litter-box issues and the placement is pretty consistent, so I'm guessing this is a behavior problem, not a continence problem. I haven't yet been able to determine which cat it is, but if we apply Occam's razor and assume it's just one, I can eliminate Erik based on the most recent incident, which happened tonight while he was with me.
In late November I had a visiting cat for about a week, and Baldur wasn't too happy about that. However, this problem began a month or so after that cat went home, so I don't know if that's related. (I found no evidence of marking/spraying while that cat was here.) There's been nothing else weird going on that I've noticed -- medical, dietary, behavioral.
I actually have two questions. One is about how to change this behavior, but the other is this: is there something I can and should do to that carpet to make it less of a target? If so, what? Or will doing that merely relocate the problem? Yeah, it's annoying, but at least I know where to look and it's not, say, on the couch. Placement could be worse.
Starting about a month ago, every couple days I have found a "deposit" (solid) on a particular section of carpet. (Usually this is in the morning.) When I say "section of carpet", I mean it's always within the same area of about two square feet. None of the cats seem to be having other litter-box issues and the placement is pretty consistent, so I'm guessing this is a behavior problem, not a continence problem. I haven't yet been able to determine which cat it is, but if we apply Occam's razor and assume it's just one, I can eliminate Erik based on the most recent incident, which happened tonight while he was with me.
In late November I had a visiting cat for about a week, and Baldur wasn't too happy about that. However, this problem began a month or so after that cat went home, so I don't know if that's related. (I found no evidence of marking/spraying while that cat was here.) There's been nothing else weird going on that I've noticed -- medical, dietary, behavioral.
I actually have two questions. One is about how to change this behavior, but the other is this: is there something I can and should do to that carpet to make it less of a target? If so, what? Or will doing that merely relocate the problem? Yeah, it's annoying, but at least I know where to look and it's not, say, on the couch. Placement could be worse.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-01 11:42 am (UTC)Before this, we tried -- unsuccessfully -- to break her of the habit by using repellent sprays and Feliway.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-02 01:37 am (UTC)We used it on the heraldic files (that my predecessor's cat used) and it got rid of all the odor.
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