Cat Behavior — Common Questions

The first step is always to rule out a medical cause — urinary tract infection, crystals, or stones can all cause this. Once medical causes are excluded, common behavioral triggers include a dirty box, the wrong litter type, too few boxes (you should have one per cat plus one extra), location of the box, or stress from changes in the household.

Cats need to scratch — it sheds claw sheaths, marks territory, and stretches muscles. Provide several scratching surfaces (both vertical and horizontal), place them in social areas (not hidden in the basement), and reward use with treats. Soft Paws nail caps are a humane alternative to declawing.

Cats are territorial. Common triggers include a new pet or person, illness in one cat (the other may sense it), an outside cat at a window, or a stressful event (vet visit, fireworks). Try separating them and re-introducing slowly using scent-swapping and feeding on opposite sides of a closed door before reuniting.

Cats are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk). Don’t feed or interact when they wake you — that reinforces the behavior. Try an automatic feeder set for early morning, more interactive play before bed, and a substantial meal before sleep.

This is often "petting-induced overstimulation" — short tolerance for repeated stroking. Watch for warning signs (tail flicking, skin twitching, ears back) and stop before the bite. Keep petting sessions short, focus on cheeks and chin, and let the cat initiate.

Some hiding is normal, especially in new environments or after stress. But a sudden increase in hiding, or hiding combined with not eating, lethargy, or other changes, can be an early sign of illness. When in doubt, schedule an exam.

Options in order of preference: hide in a pill pocket or sticky treat, use a pill gun (we can show you), compound the medication into a flavored liquid or transdermal gel (ask us), or as a last resort manually pill. Never give human medications without asking your vet — many are toxic to cats.

Overweight cats are at high risk for diabetes, arthritis, and liver disease. Schedule a weight-loss consult — we’ll calculate target weight and daily calories, recommend a therapeutic diet, and set a slow, safe loss rate (no more than 1% body weight per week). Rapid feline weight loss is dangerous.