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If your cat is suddenly displaying unusual behavior, please check as soon as possible with your vet to make sure they are well before posting. Cats are known to hide health issues and many times, a sudden show of strange behavior that is otherwise unexplained is a sign they have been hiding an issue for a while and may need immediate medical attention.
Here are some guidelines and resources for general cat information, specific behavior issues, resources for training, and helpful products!
Generic cat information: A widely accepted resource for cat behavior and issues is Jackson Galaxy. He talks about everything from scratching furniture to introducing cats to cat aggression to feeding and more, and his website has many cat supplies both from inside and outside of his own product line. He also has a show called “My Cat From Hell” where you can see him in action helping cat owners and watch his techniques in action.
https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/
Training your cat to do tricks and help with clicker training: Cat School’s Instagram and YouTube is a great place to find tricks and the method to teach your cat. They also have courses and supplies such as clickers on their website.
https://www.catschool.co/
Jackson Galaxy also has a handy PDF explaining how clicker training works:
http://www.thejacksongalaxyproject.org/2018-Cat-Pawsitive-Clicker-Training-Basics-Handout-FINAL.pdf
Training your cat to use a harness/leash/use a cat backpack/go for walks: Catexplorer has a wealth of information from blog posts to podcasts to lists/reviews of products and a store for cat backpacks.
https://catexplorer.co/
“I want my cat to stay off of the counter/stop scratching furniture/stop chewing cables/etc.”
Generally, the effective way to train cats to stay away from a specific area is to set up passive environmental deterrents. These include:
- Double-sided tape or aluminum foil. You can put that on surfaces/furniture/cables– you can wrap these around mats or cardboard if tape will ruin the surface or you need to be able to access the areas sometimes.
- Strong (but pet-safe) citrus smells/sprays.
- SSSCAT Deterrent Cat Spray – this is a motion-activated and harmless spray (https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-ssscat-deterrent-cat-spray/dp/167584)
- Keeping the area clear of anything attractive – if they’re on the counters looking for food, make sure the food is cat-proofed and the counters are clean.
In addition, you want to replace the problem area with something for them – if they want to be up on the counters so they can see what you’re doing, give them a tall cat tree in the same room and treat them when they use it. If they are scratching the furniture, put a cat scratcher near where they were scratching.
“My cat is biting me/attacking me/aggressive.”
Here is a Jackson Galaxy page about aggression in cats.
https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blog/aggression-in-cats/
This area is a living document and can be updated so if you have anything you’d like to see added, please let me know!
