Understanding the Motivations Underlying Cat Behavior

The first big idea to understand about cats is that they need to feel safe and secure in their home environment. 

A cat who feels safe perceives the home environment as a  territory where she can move freely and engage in her daily routines (eliminating, eating/drinking, playing, resting, sleeping, scratching) without fear of any threat to her well-being. A cat who feels  secure perceives the home environment as a territory that is familiar and predictable and which lets her choose where (and in some cases with whom) to engage in her daily routines.

Familiarity, predictability and choice enable the cat to feel a sense of control over her environment, which coincides with this sense of security.  

Here’s what can happen when a cat does not feel safe and secure in her home:

• She might avoid the litter box if she does not feel safe while eliminating in it, either because of its location or type.

• She might hiss, spit and/or growl if approached.

• She might hide.

• She might mark her territory through urinating and/or scratching.

• She might exhibit compulsive behaviors like over grooming and overeating as a means of coping with the stress of not feeling safe and secure. Or the stress might cause the cat to become lethargic and possibly lose her appetite.

•  She might show fear-based aggression.

·          Why are familiarity and predictability so important for cats?

By nature, cats are solitary hunters who live in an established territory. Therefore, their relationship to their physical environment is a matter of life and death. If they are not familiar and comfortable in the environment, they can’t hunt successfully. If they can’t hunt successfully, they die. Also, in the wild, if they find themselves in unfamiliar territory, they could be attacked by other cats or predators.

How do we create a sense of safety and security for cats?

Maintain predictability and familiarity in the home environment.This means that the cat can expect to experience the same familiar people, animals, smells, sounds, objects and routines every day. If there are any changes in the home environment, the cat must be exposed to these changes gradually, proceeding at the cat’s comfort level.

Provide adequate resources so the cat feels in control of her environment.For example, throughout the home there should be multiple litter boxes, scratching posts, food/water stations, comfortable hiding spaces and high resting spaces. No matter what the cat needs to do—eliminate, rest, eat, scratch or just observe her surroundings—she should have a choice of where to do it.

Provide adequate territory within the home.This is particularly important in multi-cat households, but necessary for single cat households as well. When we talk about territory in the home, we need to think vertically. Cats, unlike humans and dogs, inhabit space both horizontally and vertically. Vertical space should go beyond cat trees (which not all cats will use and which are also cost-prohibitive for many cat owners). Creating vertical space requires just a little bit of creativity in using space that already exists and even adding some new vertical space without stretching your budget.

Engaging the cat in daily interactive play sessions to decrease stress and increase confidence.