Mary Allen
One thing is clear: we love our cats very much – and yet sometimes they can certainly pull our nerves if they convince us of their wishes in their charmingly intrusive way. But what about our habits from the point of view of the cat? Does our behavior always meet with Miezi’s goodwill? The bitter truth is: unfortunately no! Here are the top 3 things our cats bugged about the US.
Top 1 – Hey, Stop Crawling!
To dig your hand into the soft fur of a cat, to stroke it and to bob it to your heart’s content – who doesn’t like to do that ?! Sometimes we overlook the fact that our fleece balls still cuddle with us, but do not want to be touched by us all the time. How does your cat resolve this misunderstanding? Does she get up and just leave or do you usually unexpectedly get a brave paw blow from her when you crawl all too unnoticed her little fur when you are couching at home? Depending on the temperament and past experiences, your cat’s solution may (meanwhile) be coarser than your skin can take and you have – zack – a claw in your hand. Your cat is just as annoyed with you as you are – probably – from the blow. The solution? Practice together to be friendly to one another again. Cuddle up together on the couch, deliberately stroke your cat’s head only once or twice, and then take your hand back for a moment. Observe the animal’s body language! Is she shifting her weight in your direction? Does she look up at you and maybe come with her head towards your hand? Then she seems to have enjoyed your touch and wants a little more of it. Stroke her a few more times and watch how your cat continues to behave. Does the tip of their tail twitch a little (or even noticeably), do their ears wiggle, or do they turn around? Is she moving her body away from you now? Then your touch is a bit uncomfortable for her and you should respect this wish. In this way, you both learn to look out for each other better or more kindly.
Top 2 – Wrong Game!
Cats are passionate, lifelong hunters. Whether hunting a live mouse or playing with a dummy, they practice their skills every day to ambush the prey in order to kill it at the perfect moment. A (healthy) cat hunts or plays for life and yet many owners have the impression that their own cat can hardly be motivated to play a “real” game. It is usually not because your cat is not in the mood for an exciting game, but rather because the type of game you play is more likely to be annoying or simply does not suit its natural needs. An adult cat loves to ambush its prey. She senses the direction in which the mouse is moving in her hiding place by means of the fine nerve cells on her paws and adjusts the moment in which she is successful with as little as possible with just one paw. The little hunter specializes in the fact that his prey hides from him, moves little, and almost silently or usually flutters on the branches at an unreachable height, leaving you only a tiny moment of weakness or inattention to catch the bird close to the ground.
And how do we often play with the cat? In wild movements, we wave back and forth in front of her nose for minutes and are everything – but not real-looking prey. The oversized and colorful toy flutters right in front of Mitzi’s nose or moves frantically in front of her paws. Let’s be honest – which mouse or which bird would behave like this in front of their natural enemy? As if that wasn’t annoying enough, we sometimes expect lengthy play units from the little snack eater – if possible only once a day and for a particularly long time. We wonder why our cat, bored (or exhausted), leaves the field after a few minutes. This is in the nature of the cat: many small hunting units spread over the day instead of a single long sequence.
So try to integrate several shorter play units into your day and move your toys around like loot. Here you can read up on cat lover number one.
Top 3 – Understand Me!
Cats are certainly masters at making their lives comfortable and pawing a bit of “super good” out of what is “good”. They need (and appreciate) rituals and boundaries that they can use for orientation – and which they can explore again and again. On the other hand, of course, they have individual needs that should be met. Unfortunately, we humans are often not that good at recognizing these needs and meeting them in good time (!). So in many households, there is frustration on both sides when the kitty organizes an extensive munching concert near the bed at around two-thirty in the morning and would like to have her hunger satisfied as a reward – and you as a person do not respond well to the overly weird tones with your need for sleep get under one roof. Both needs are justified – but your cat mostly depends on you noticing and fulfilling theirs. I get in a bad mood very quickly when I’m hungry – do you? Your cat, for sure. Several small, fresh meals will meet your cat’s needs. There are feeding games or machines (also for wet food) for feeding in absentia (for your cat this also includes your apparently infinite sleep).
How Does Your Cat Tick and to What Extent Do You Comply with It – on its Terms?
Time and again, my consultations focus on translating the individual needs of cats, their perception through their people, and embedding them in their very own everyday life. Many, rather shorter, play units – and just as many and small meals, regular fresh input, and maintaining personal boundaries and moments of closeness not only suit your cat and relax your life together, but are usually very easy to integrate into your own daily routine. Find a good mix of focused attention only for your cat at times when you can fully engage with it and offers for solitary occupation or even brief interaction with you, if, for example, an uncooked noodle does not end up in the pot while cooking, but straight across flies the kitchen floor and your cat chases after this strange prey for a brief moment.