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• Reducing Fear of Veterinary Visits for Cats

  For many cats, a visit to the veterinarian can be stressful. Familiarize your cat with being inside a carrier: make the carrier a cozy and pleasant place to be – it is essential for your cat’s safety. Upon arrival at the veterinary office, try to relax and talk calmly to your cat. Bring delicious, favorite treats and a familiar towel that your cat can snuggle in during her examination.

• Scratching Behavior in Cats: Various Approaches

  A cat’s claws are an integral part of their anatomy. Scratching behaviors are normal and serve many purposes, yet cats can cause damage and injury with their claws. By gaining an understanding of the reason that your cat uses her claws, you can provide her with alternative outlets and prevent her from causing damage to your property.

• Socialization and Fear Prevention in Kittens

  Socialization is the process during which the kitten becomes familiar with people, other animals, and many aspects of their environment. Kittens are primed for socialization when they are between two and seven weeks old. As soon as kittens have settled into their new home, they can begin gentle exposures to a wide range of stimuli that they may encounter as adults.

• Successful Toothbrushing: Training for Happy Dental Care

  Many pets are sensitive to being restrained for grooming. With slow progress and positive rewards, your pet can learn to accept or even enjoy having their teeth cleaned.

• Take Him or Leave Him: Where Your Pet Should Stay When You Are Away

  When leaving home for vacations, pet owners are confronted with the problem of what to do with their pets. Should they take them along or leave them at home? Reviewing a summary of boarding options and travel guidelines will make the decision easier while safeguarding the well-being of your pet and providing your own peace of mind.

• Teaching and Training a Deaf Cat

  Deafness does not affect a cat's learning abilities, but it does impact what kinds of cues they can learn. The keys to success are choosing a set of consistent signs and signals and learning what the cat finds rewarding. Deaf cats need special supervision such as leashing or a catio if allowed outdoors, and may startle more easily than cats that can hear, but otherwise can be trained with all the same methods used for a cat with normal hearing.

• The Guilty Look: Do Pets Know When They Have Done Something Wrong?

  Is your pet's doleful look an indication of guilt? Do they realize they did something wrong, or could their “guilty look” be a reaction to your emotional response upon learning of the crime?

• Undesirable Behavior in Cats

  Behaviors that people sometimes consider undesirable are often a cat's natural and evolved behaviors that are essential for their mental and physical health. Rather than trying to stop your cat from engaging in instinctual and naturally rewarding behaviors, provide your cat with substitute behaviors and outlets that satisfy their needs.

• Using Food and Treats for Training Cats

  Treats are a wonderful way to provide positive reinforcement to your cat during a training session. Limit high-calorie treats and keep treats within 10% of your cat's daily calorie intake. Keeping training sessions short and engaging while providing appropriate foods as treats can be a wonderful way to strengthen the human-animal bond.

• Using Reinforcement and Rewards to Train Your Pet

  Pets readily learn to engage in appropriate, desired behaviors through positive reinforcement methods. Reward-based training improves communication and provides enrichment for pets and people alike.