Close the Door

Sometimes Complex behavior problems have simple solutions.
I don't know how many times I've heard someone, both clients and personal acquaintances say something like, “I can't keep Fido off my bed no matter what I do! I've tried everything.”

Everything? Really? I had a lot of problems with my cats urinating on my bed. The very first thing I 'tried' worked very well. I closed my bedroom door.

My cats are very smart. But they're short, and they don't have thumbs. Closed door = problem solved. I often wonder why more people don't come up with this on their own. I didn't like keeping my door closed in the beginning. It was annoying to remember to close it behind me all the time, but falling exhausted at night onto a wet, stinky pillow is a very effective reminder. Now I'm used to it.

Years ago, shortly after we'd adopted our cat Sheeba, she began urinating all over the house. I wasn't surprised because that's why we adopted her - to prevent her from being euthanasia by her previous owners for urinating all over their house. I was actually more surprised that we'd gotten about 4 good months out of where she faithfully used her litter box. Things changed when our other cat, Magic, began attacking her.

Out of frustration, I eventually closed her into our bedroom to keep the two cats apart. Her urination behavior came back under control away from Magic, but making her live in one little room filled me with enough guilt that I broke down and called an animal behavior specialist. The behaviorist was kind enough to talk with me a little on the phone, so I ended up never needing to actually go in and see her in person. I told her my dilemma – the cats don't get along, but I felt bad keeping Sheeba in a small space all the time.

She told me not to feel bad. Often, she said, what I had done is exactly what they would have recommended. Just getting the cats apart. The stress of the fighting, or from trying to hide and avoid the fighting, was very upsetting for Sheeba. While the separated living situation wasn't ideal, it probably made her feel much safer and more relaxed. The fact that she stopped urinating all over when she was away from Magic was probable proof that she was much happier in the bedroom than she'd been with the run of the house.

It was nice to hear that my solution was really a solution, and not just another problem, like I thought. Behavior problems are tricky because the emotions, and preconceived ideas of the pet owner can really get in the way, just like mine did. That's why it's good to talk with a veterinarian. If nothing else they have more experience in dealing with these problems and have an outside, objective point of view that really makes a big difference.

Ask Your Pet Questions Here!

So far in this blog I've mainly been linking to pet health articles I've already written, or occasionally writing a new piece specifically for this blog. Since my main goal with creating a pet health blog in the first place was to answer some common questions many people have about their pet's health, I want to know if there's a subject you'd like more information on, or a question you're having difficulty finding the answer to.

I've found in my 10 plus years of working in the veterinary field that some veterinarians are better at explaining things than others. Also, some pet owners are hesitant to ask more questions when they don't understand something. Or maybe they don't even realize that they don't understand until they've had a little bit of time to think about what they heard from the veterinarian.

I am not a veterinarian. I'm a veterinary nurse with lots of experience. Before going into the veterinary field I was a wild animal trainer, so animal behavior is one of my very favorite areas of special interest. If I don't know the answer to your question, I'll do my very best to find out. Research is another favorite hobby of mine.

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