Last week, we discussed one choice for cat guardians that none of our commenters— not one—would make. The animal professionals and cat lovers agreed completely that they would not use a shock collar on a cat . . . not ever. This week, we offer the alternative: positive training for cats.
I asked: “Hypothetical: cat scratches at bedroom door before dawn. Positive solutions?”
Several commenters chimed in. They wanted to know details about the situation so their suggestions could be more specific. They asked a lot of questions, but it’s a hypothetical—we don’t know more.
Bex Dot Smith (Colorado) Not enough info. What is reinforcing the behavior? Getting attention? Just needs to scratch? I’d like to know how they respond or what the cat seems to be getting from doing this behavior. Then I’d want to look at the surrounding environment to see if there’s a way to manage the cat’s options. Then I’d try to find another way for the cat to fulfill their need. A scratching post near the door? A feeding bowl on a timer? Another way for the cat to signal its need to the people.
Alison Taub (Pennsylvania) Yes, based on my cat, he comes in to get me to do something. Open his cat window, feed him, turn on the heat. My guess is the [hypothetical humans] get up shortly after that time and feed the cat, and he is reminding them. Automatic feeder would fix that. If they feed dry food, they could fill it up at night.
Cheri Spaulding (Oregon) More history is needed, but simply with only that information on the behavior, leave the door open or set up treat dispenser or automatic feeder.
Observe and record the behavior without interfering. Discuss:
* What is rewarding the cat’s behavior?
* How could you remove that reward?
* What would you like the cat to do instead?
* How could you make the preferred behavior rewarding?
Lynn Brezina (Illinois) Behavior has function, so for whatever reason, this behavior is working for the cat. The owner probably has some idea what benefit the cat derives from this behavior and therefore [the owner] should set up the environment so as to prevent the unwanted behavior while meeting the cat’s needs in a more appropriate way. For example, if opening the door gives the cat access to food, the owner might place the food in a different location. If the benefit to the cat is not understood, a little time thinking about it or tinkering with a few possibilities will be necessary. I had a cat who liked to sleep under the covers, so if we locked him out of the bedroom, he’d stick his paw under the door and shake it. Very annoying. So we stopped closing the bedroom door because it did not matter to us if he slept in our bed with us. Everyone was happy.
Photo by Trish McMillan
Kim Rinehardt (California) This isn’t necessarily “positive,” but it’s not negative either, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money. Close the cat in overnight in a laundry room or other room that is far from the bedroom door. Make it comfortable for the cat, of course—cushy place to sleep, cat tree if possible, window access for entertainment. The point is, you won’t be bothered by it if you don’t hear it . . . which also means you won’t be tempted to reward it by giving the cat access to what it wants in response to the unwanted behavior. Or you can do what I did and install a small cat door to your interior door to give the cat the access it wants. (That’s provided you don’t object to the cat’s being in the room.) Like other posters here, I think understanding what the cat is trying to achieve—which is often just breakfast—would help the people find the best solution to the problem.
Allergies are a very legitimate reason that someone might not want the cat to be in their room at night. Waking up to an asthma attack is not pleasant. So leaving the door open, or getting up to let the cat in, or even my idea of installing cat doors, might not work at all. And demanding behavior isn’t always rooted in actual need or anxiety. We often condition animals to become demanding. Sometimes cats (as all living things) just want to get what they want. And so they use the behavioral tools that have proven the most productive in the past.
When I was still living in the family home, I had a cat who would yowl mercilessly and pitifully at the front door to be let in whenever my mother was at home. If my mother wasn’t home, he would simply go around to the back yard and let himself in using the doggie door. I know this was because [my mother] would go to the door and let him in, and I would not. He didn’t “need” to be let in the front door, but he did want to be. And although I loved that cat with all my heart, I objected to being treated like Carlton the Doorman (Rhoda reference, LOL). Can we just acknowledge that sometimes animals are demanding for the same reasons we people are? . . . simply to get what they want.
Then we got input from several commenters who had personal experiences to share, and those experiences were discussed by participants in the post.
Dawn Saari (Washington) I have the same problem. Cat gets up around 4 a.m. and meows or chews on a Buddha statue (!) in my bedroom to wake me. She is 16 years old and hungry all the time. An auto feeder would be perfect for her, or even just a full cat dish, BUT my one-and-a-half-year-old young-adult cat would never stop eating if I did that. She would be roly-poly very quickly! What to do?
Monique Feyrecilde (Washington) If there is a door separating the feeding areas, a microchip activated cat door in the interior door can separate them for you if that helps.
Dawn Saari So creative! But no door. Drat. She is 16 and queen of the house. The trouble/inconvenience caused by this is far outweighed by the blessing she has been over all these years. I owe her a lot. I feel like I can navigate it for now. (Thankfully, I can usually go back to sleep after feeding them.) They are both such bundles of love to me.
Julie Ellingson (California) Don’t feed your pets first thing. Always wait at least an hour before feeding. Make coffee, sit down, read the paper. Ignore pets. Wait to get up until the scratching stops. Don’t move until there’s a break in the rhythm. Ignore cat. Brush teeth, wash face, morning ablutions, then pet cat. I feed my pets their meals. I generally am up for an hour (even on the days I sleep in) before they get their meals. Bonus is? Nobody wakes me up. And it’s amusing how accurate their little clocks are—let that hour go by and the pestering begins.
Trish McMillan (North Carolina) If free-feeding is not an option and a timed A.M. feeder is not affordable, a meal late at night right at bedtime may help tide the cat over until later in the morning. Twice a day just isn’t enough feedings for many cats; their stomachs are made for many mouse-sized meals a day.
Some attention and playtime before bed to tire the cat out might also help. I like wand toys like Da Bird, but go with wherever the cat likes best.
They could also try setting a big box fan outside the bedroom door that blows air on the cat at the door. But meet the cat’s needs first.
Erika Deasy (Washington) My situation is a bit more unique. My cat suffers from food insecurity (previous owners starved her before I took her in) and, in spite of having a gravity feeder for her kibble, she will cry outside of the door in the morning for me to “tend” to her food. This means that I have to get up, follow her to her dish/feeder and stir her food around so the bowl looks to be heaping with food. I have found no other way to help her with that insecurity, even tending to it before bed. She has this behavior any time the food in her dish is below a certain level, which is before the feeder will drop more food into the bowl. It’s not ideal, but it’s what I have to do to ease her anxiety.
Alison Taub (Pennsylvania) To be honest, a lot of cats that never experienced food insecurity have “I can see the bottom of the bowl” syndrome. It can be three-quarters full and they still want you to fill it up. Much like me and spare packs of toilet paper . . .
Erika Deasy Haha! I get that. When we tend to Lola’s food dish, we always say, “Do you have a monster in your bowl?”— the monster being her face reflecting back at her.
Part of her routine seems to be being able to lead me to her food dish. As I follow her, she turns several times and looks back to make sure that I’m following her. If I happen to be in the vicinity of her food dish at any given part of the day, she tries to lead me over to it, even if it’s barely eaten out of. The lower the food in the dish, the more anxiety she presents by constantly circling my legs, standing in the doorway of the room with her back to me, etc. I imagine that she may respond to something that she can associate with her food dish being tended to, as you’ve suggested. Something remote that produces a sound at her dish seems almost ideal. Something triggering when she steps upon it would likely frighten her.
She and I are so alike in that we function best with routines, which is why the cat at the bedroom door and me getting up and tending to her has mostly worked. The only problem is that sometimes, I’m just changing position in bed when she thinks it’s time to chirp at the door for her “services,” as we call them here.
Thank you for your suggestions. This is my first and last cat, so I haven’t much experience with cats. I took her in about seven or eight years ago after some neighbors threw her out, skin and bones, without food or water. She was such a nervous wreck that I decided that our calm, quiet home was the best thing for her, even though neither of us liked cats. We’ve adapted to her needs and have a bossy little love bug now, but the food issue has been a lasting struggle.
Monique Feyrecilde (Washington) Also “whisker fatigue” and other sensations/perceptions may decrease feeding behavior from partially empty bowls. A flat plate will sometimes help.
Amy Shojai (Texas) I had a cat consult covering this issue a couple of months ago. Bottom line, figure out why the cat does this (what rewards the kitty?), and offer a replacement legal op. Increasing indoor enrichment helps a lot. Any kind of reaction to the door scratching (yelling, spraying with water, etc) rewards the behavior so it continues. (Some cats like to be sprayed!) And any attention is better than being ignored.
The longer you hold out and then give in, the more effectively you teach the cat that the longer he tries, the better chance for success. There’s an “extinction burst” just before a behavior goes away (it gets way worse before disappearing). Most folks give up. Cover the bottom of the door with hard plastic so it won’t scar, and then invest in ear plugs.
Give the cat something better to scratch, and puzzle toys/feeders (Doc & Phoebe is great!).
This e-book has lots of tips:
ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household
Here’s a link to a webinar on enrichment (comes with a free book):
Cat-egorical Enrichment: DIY Pro Tips for Improving Cat Health
Nan Kene Arthur (Arizona) shared a handout she wrote about a subject similar to our hypothetical.
Ask a Trainer—Cat Scratching.doc
