Environmental Influences on Cat Behavior

Although I had always leaned more towards the environmental influences on behavior, I actually acquired the perfect test subjects for a study to prove this theory when I brought home the litter of kittens I found at the lab 13 years ago. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that we kept three of the kittens for ourselves and gave one of the males to some friends of ours. This turned out to be a perfect opportunity to observe how much influence the nurture part of the equation really would have in the personality development of these four kittens.

Early on, my friend had trouble with her kitten. She and her husband had two neutered middle aged cats already, both of whom were very nice. She would call me in a panic a few times a week over her inability to control this small kitten. "He's growling at everyone when I feed him!" She complained; when I told her to pick up his food and not let him eat it until he stopped growling, though, she refused. "He's got a sock in his mouth and is growling! He won't let me take it!" Take the sock away, I said. She claimed she couldn't. When he got bigger, he would beat up on the other males. One of them actually ran away for a while because she and her husband would not stop this behavior.

Mind you, we had three of these kittens at our house, all doing the same things but being taught the difference between what was acceptable and what was not. By the time these cats were a year old, our cats were sweet and friendly, while their brother, having learned he could do whatever he wanted, terrorized the other two cats in their household and drew blood from anyone silly enough to try to pet him. Of course, when people would ask my friend if her cat would bite or scratch, she would invariably say, "no", despite the livid marks on her own arms. If I was there, I would tell them the truth and let them make their own decision. She never cared for that!

Certainly, this proves that environment and training have more impact on the behavioral maturity of animals than heredity does. This makes perfect sense to me, since, now matter how well-bred an animal may be, there is no way for it to know the house rules unless taught. Young children and animals need direction and training to teach them how to behave later in life, when their youth and immaturity will no longer be an adequate excuse for bad behavior. Only an exemplary individual would be able to discern proper behavior in the absence of education.

While it is true that the older an animal gets, the harder it is to break bad habits (seems I've heard this about humans, too). It is not impossible, however, and patience and persistence on your part will reap great benefits if, for example, you adopt an older cat with ingrained habits you don't approve of. Be firm, gentle and loving and your cat will respond. Cats are smart, and will soon realize that doing things your way is the path to happiness!
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Are There Really No Bad Cats?

Many books have been written about how to change nasty behavior in cats. Some tips are better than others, certainly, and the general idea seems to be that you can change a cat's behavior simply through training. By necessity, these books have come down squarely on the "nurture" side of the famous "nature vs. nurture" debate, since there is not much you, as a cat owner, can do about the genetic makeup of your pet. The question is, though: Are they correct?

As usual, the answer is, "Yes, and No". Very few things in life are black and white; most are shades of grey. Something as complicated as animal behavior most assuredly fits into the latter category. I remember studying the nature vs. nurture theory in college psychology classes, and thinking how ridiculous it is to even suggest that all of one's essence stems from either genetics or the environment. Anyone with several decades on this planet and an ability to observe the behavior of others knows that every individual is a product of both her heritage and her background. It is true of people, and just as true of animals.

If I had to lean more in one direction than the other, though, I would definitely give environment more weight in the formation of an animal's nature than genetics. True, genetics are very important, so much so that breeders strive for those behavioral characteristics they know are desirable in certain breeds. Look through any book on cat breeds and invariably there are listed identifiable traits associated with particular breeds. Of course, none of these traits are "bad" ones, but you get the idea.

The question remains, though, whether you could place a cat bred for a mild temperament into an environment that would turn him into a hellion, and vice versa. I believe that this scenario is entirely possible, and, in fact, probable. We'll start off next week looking at this very issue, so tune in.
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Soiling Outside the Box: Behavioral Causes

If a physical cause has been ruled out by your veterinarian, then you must look for another, non-organic reason for the litter box aversion. If your cat is not sick, then you probably have not noticed any blood in the urine, diarrhea or hard stool when you were cleaning up the messes. Therefore, there must be a behavioral problem here.

Let me define what I mean by "behavioral". I don't mean that your cat is trying to punish you for something, like not buying his favorite food, having a baby or not paying enough attention to him. Animals react to their environment, no more. They don't plan retribution; that is a characteristic of human beings only. Punishing or trying to psychoanalyze a cat that is soiling the house will only prolong the agony, believe me--much as punishing a toddler only makes toilet training that much harder.

What I do mean is that the cat is reacting to changes in his circumstances and/or environment that are messing with his happy little routine, and he doesn't like it. Cats love routine and don't like change, just like most humans. The difference is that humans can understand the reasons behind the disruption, while the cat cannot. Think about what might be going on in your and your cat's life. Moving, getting married, domestic arguments, having a baby or adding another pet to the household can all upset your cat. If you bring another adult cat into the home, for instance, your cat may start spraying in order to protect his territory.

Other, more mundane problems may be dirty litter boxes, or not enough boxes for the number of cats in the household. One per cat is de rigeuer, though we have two for three cats and it works fine (I clean them at least twice daily, though). Keep the boxes in the same location once the cats know where to find them. Hooded boxes really turn some cats off, since it captures smells inside. Changing litters can also be a problem; if you want to switch to a natural brand, for example, add a little at a time to the usual litter so that the change is gradual. Don't use deodorants or scented litter. Most cats don't like perfume-y smells.

How do you stop this behavior? Clean the messes well, using white vinegar in water to rinse. Don't make an issue of it; the cat won't understand, anyway. Keep kitty under surveillance and, when you see "bathroom" behavior start, scoop him up gently, cooing and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Put him in the clean box, help him paw the sand (as if he's a kitten again) and praise him constantly as he does the right thing. Then, give lots of attention so he knows this is what you want him to do. Even though he's not doing this for attention, you should give him extra anyway. Something's upsetting him, and TLC is always good for that. It never hurts anyone to be treated like a king (or queen) sometimes!
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