Pet Behavioural Problems

Usually when I tell people that I’m a pet psychologist, I get strange looks. ‘Pets don’t need shrinks’ they tell me. ‘No, they don’t’, I reply, ’their owners do though in some cases...’ Unfortunately most pet owners treat their pet(s) like children. They tend to pamper them often to the point of excess (with results to have now a generation of obese cats, dogs, hamsters, fish, etc) and to get annoyed when their ‘cute pets’ behave like normal cats or dogs (dogs and cats being the most common problem-related pets). Although there is no doubt that in most cases (at least in this country) pet ... more

My dog is 14 years old and although I have heard of the saying "you cannot teach old dogs new tricks" I knew we had to do something when he suddenly started barking a lot. My daughter had just had a baby and they are living with us and although my dog can be trusted, as far as any dog can be, with the baby he started barking a lot around her. My husband and son would say sternly stop barking which didnt do so good as my putting up my index finger to him for shush. We looked on the internet and found just the thing. The Bark Collar Trainer is an ultrasonic training device that can help to ... more

I considered being an attention seeker and calling this opinion 'My Pussy Needs Attention' but refrained. So cats and behaviour problems, let's start. Many people think cats are a rather simplistic set of creatures. Feed them, pet them, let them out to play and a bed for their 15 hours + a day sleep - a contented cat is really simply to achieve. Well not so. Cats are like people and all have their own personality traits. Fearful, aggressive, depressed, agoraphobic, and as I've had over 60 cats through foster care here in the last year there are not many behaviour traits I haven't seen! Even my ... more

I wrote my Story of Emma a few days ago because I was thinking in the 'cat' mode, and that reminded me of another story, about a current resident of the manor, Mommy Cat. I wrote these stories about the same time primarily due to the fact that Mommy Cat (another of my cats) was at the vet for the first time since I'd owned her getting a check-up. She had recently started urinating in the living room by the windows (and I have three walls of windows!), so I needed to find out what was wrong. Mommy Cat arrived a few summers ago, fat and plump and ready to pop. She had been an indoor cat and ... more

In Lithuania ( my country) cat’s castration (male) or sterilization (female) is getting more and more popular. People are beginning to understand, that smelly house and flat or little, cute kittens that go round the rooms and after 6 months become grown up cats, is not very lovely. I will try to prove that sterilization or castration is very useful not just for you but for your cat too. Why should you castrate or sterilize your cat? 1.In the early spring all cats turn into screaming and howling monsters, rolling an the floor etc. – they begin their rutting. It lasts for 1-2 weeks ... more