The territorial imperative

Cats are territorial animals. In the wild, a cat establishes its home base - where it sleeps and eats - and its home range - where it hunts and mates. Radiating from the home base, the territory size relates to food availability - contained if food is plentiful, but larger when food is scarce. During regular patrols, cats mark their territory by: scratching, leaving visual and scent marks; spraying urine or anal gland secretions separately or simultaneously; and rubbing.

Urine and anal gland secretions provide other cats with information on sex, age, and health of the marking cat, as well as when it was last there. Marking posts are read like a newspaper and read frequently. Although the marking behaviour doesn't repel others, it results in temporal territory spacing - or time-sharing.

Cats work hard to avoid chance encounters with other cats, which could lead to fighting and injury. As solitary predators, an injured cat can't survive. Marking allows several cats to share a territory's resources without competition. For instance, one cat may occupy a spot in the morning, but leave it for another cat to occupy in the afternoon.

Your cats establish territories similar to their wild counterparts. They'll probably rest on certain places at different times of the day. It also would be interesting to see which cats time-share with which other cats. A recent study of time-sharing in a house of 14 sterilised felines found that cats seem to choose their time-shared spots with specific individuals of the same gender. The exception was mother cats that time-shared with their male kittens.

When neighbours' cats or strays come into your house, it could result in a serious problem. For problem neighbouring cats, talk to your neighbours. Find out whether their cats are sterilised and what diet they're feeding them. Ask them to try keeping their cats at home. If they don't cooperate, keep your cats indoor at night, or remove the food to reduce temptation. Should your cat show behaviour changes such as fear, anxiety and elimination problems, speak to your vet – there are special sedatives to counteract these problems.

A wee problem

If your cat starts urinating in unusual places and not in the litter box or garden all of a sudden, it may be due to a bladder infection, tumour, or bladder stones. Or it could be an emotional problem. Most often, if the urination is a small puddle occurring frequently, sometimes containing blood, it might be a possible bladder infection and the cat should be treated by your vet. However, if the house soiling happens less frequently but in large puddles, then the problem could be emotional or hormonal.

If emotional, try to think of a recent change that may have upset your pet. A new family member, human or animal, is a common problem. Also outdoor animals habitually roaming your property, the increased presence of a new person in your life, changes to the family's routine or a dirty litter box are all possible emotional triggers and then a cat communicates by urinating. Ask your vet to recommend a good feline behaviourist if the problem persists.

Any change in your cat's urinating habits must be discussed with your vet as the only effective way to eliminate or diagnose causes is through urine tests and bladder scans.

Meowing for dear life

If your cat meows incessantly, ensure that the cause is not physical, emotional, or both. Attention-seeking behaviour may be because of stress or anxiety, particularly if there have been changes in the household, including, but not limited to: a recent move; new baby or pet; owner's absence; aggression by another cat; sickness of owner or another cat. So, first do some homework on possible causes before addressing your cat's excessive meowing.

The most common reason a cat will meow non-stop is because it's been trained to do so. Your feline has learned that it simply has to meow to get whatever it wants - food, attention, affection. Often, what starts out as a demand for attention soon becomes self-reinforcing. Now kitty will meow all day just for fun. This situation becomes even worse if the cat's lonely or bored.

If the meowing is purely attention-seeking, you can break this habit by starting to exercise your cat daily with active play sessions. Don't expect your cat to exercise itself. Many cats will swat at a ping-pong ball or catnip mouse once or twice, then lose interest. You must become involved in the game. Tie a string to the mouse and pull it slowly and repeatedly across the floor.

Next up, pay attention to your cat and whenever it's quiet give it what it wants. Ignore kitty whenever it begins its vocal blackmail. Don't give in. Each time you give in to your cat's verbal demands, you're teaching it to meow even more. If you wait until your cat is quiet, it will soon learn to associate silence with rewards.

Some cats enjoy talking and their owners enjoy this. But if you want some peace, teach your cat to be quiet on request. Gently ask the cat to "Shush". If the cat ignores you, shout, "Be quiet!" or squirt it in the face with water. After a few repetitions, the message will sink in and the cat will obey on the "Shush" command - rather than getting screamed at or doused with water.

Aggression

The phenomena of a cat's redirected aggression towards humans can be puzzling and frightening to cat lovers. Consider this: Ginger is sitting in the window sill as usual. You pass by and gently stroke his back. Suddenly your affectionate and gentle pet has his teeth in your arm. This behaviour occurs when a cat is highly aroused and in an aggressive state (for instance, the sight of another cat, by just having been in a fight, or by a loud, disturbing noise). Generally, cats don't redirect aggression unless they're touched or approached closely by another animal or person.

If a cat is in an aggressive mood, it's dangerous to approach it, or pick it up. Wait until it's changed its mood before interacting with it. The state of arousal can last two hours or more, but in most cases is over within thirty minutes. After the cat has engaged in behaviour such as grooming, playing, or eating, it's usually safe to approach it.

To treat this type of aggression, the arousing stimulus must be identified so that it can be eliminated. For example, if the cat is upset by looking at other cats through the window, the outside cats should be kept from passing near the window or the resident cat's view should be obstructed by closing the curtains or blinds. If the triggering stimulus can't be removed, then the cat should be desensitised systematically. In the case of a disturbing noise, it should be repeated at regular intervals at very low levels until the cat is used to it, then increasing the volume gradually, always keeping it below the cat's stress threshold.

If the owner is the victim of redirected aggression, it's important not to retaliate so that the attacking cat develops a fear and becomes defensively aggressive, thereby creating another, more difficult problem to solve. Keep in mind that it's the cat's predatory nature that enables it to concentrate so single-mindedly on a particular object of interest. This all-consuming focus of the cat's attention isn't easily transformed into recognising the touch of an old friend – so, don't take it personally!

The power of touch

The time you take to touch and communicate with your cat will reward you with a precious relationship full of understanding that breaks the species barrier. And every cat you love throughout your life will carve his or her own place in your heart.

Touch is one of the most important communication tools. While every cat has a different set of purr zones, there are a few petting spots that most cats enjoy. Softly scratch the skin at the top of the head between the ears, or gently twist and pull the ears. Be careful not to hurt the cat or pull too hard. Ear-oriented cats also like to have a knuckle lightly rubbed inside the ear. Scratch backwards along the cheeks from the whiskers towards the tail, or try scratching under the jaw and along the neck. Cats have been known to fall over with pleasure when being scratched under their collar.

Like humans, cats enjoy a good rubbing under the forelegs and around the shoulder blades. Many cats enjoy having their backs scratched and even to have their fur brushed backwards briefly. Use some enthusiasm while scratching the base of your cat's tail. It can make the cat feel great and it's a good way to detect the presence of fleas. Don't overdo it though — too much of a good thing in this area can over-stimulate a cat and cause him or her to want to bite.

To pick up a cat, try this technique. Invite the cat to investigate your hand. Scratch it between the ears and across the cheekbones. Most cats don't like to be approached from the front, so approach from the side, put one hand firmly under the armpits of the front legs and lift. As soon as the hind legs start to leave the ground, scoop them up from beneath with your other hand, giving your cat a sense of reliable support. Don't pick up a cat by the scruff of the neck unless you've been shown properly by your veterinarian or an animal handler.

Shyness

To help a cat overcome its fear of strangers, it will be necessary to employ the time-tested principles of desensitisation and counter-conditioning. Recruit cat-loving friends to come over on a regular basis. It's important to minimise any behaviour that would frighten the cat, such as loud voices and quick movements.

At the same time encourage a non-fearful behaviour in the cat, for instance eating or playing. Ask your cat-friendly acquaintances to sit on the couch or even better, on the floor after entering your home. Give them your cat's favourite food treats, which for training purposes will only be offered by guests, not the family. If the cat won't approach the visitor, it can be tossed to him. A toy attached to a long fishing pole is another way to win over a reluctant pussycat. When your cat begins to connect good times and nosh with people who come through the door, the hissing will be replaced with purring. Patience and persistence, as always, will pay off.