Cat Behavior Problems
If your cat makes mistakes with litterbox habits this show is for you! Cat senility, feline body language and habit breaking are highlights of this terrific cat show. Cat rescue training suggestions, plus audience emails get answered. How can you tell when a cat is about to change moods or pounce? Listen to the show and avoid future attacks. Send your pet question voice clips to deb@petliferadio.com to get your personal pet problems solved.
Listen to Episode #178 Now:
BIO:
Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning cat behavior author. She released her latest book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, to help people resolve their cat's litter box avoidance. She's also author of Kittens for Dummies, Cat Wrangling Made Easy: Maintaining Peace & Sanity in Your Multicat Home and Ghost Cats: Human Encounters with Feline Spirits. She also penned the paranormal mystery, Death Under the Crescent Moon. Her scifi fans know Dusty for her comedy novel All the Marbles and as coauthor of the outrageous Four Redheads of the Apocalypse fantasy series.
Dusty is past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Since joining CWA in 1995, her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including being named Friskies Writer of the Year three times. Her articles and columns regularly appear on Catster.com and in other print and online publications.
Magazine and Puppy and Dog Basics, among others.
Transcript:
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets.
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Deborah Wolfe: Hello, you're listening to Animal Party on Pet Life Radio with me, Deborah Wolfe.
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Deborah Wolfe: And we are talking to Dusty Rainbolt today, author of Cat Wrangling Made Easy, Kittens for Dummies and other books too.
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Deborah Wolfe: And you can find them on Amazon and at your bookstores if you look them up, easy to get.
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Deborah Wolfe: And I love Cat Wrangling Made Easy, it's one of my favorite cat books ever.
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Deborah Wolfe: I also like Tribe of the Tiger for a flashback.
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Deborah Wolfe: If you want to read something really well written about how cats, the nature of cats, it said that 95.6% of the genetics of a tiger, they're a match to a cat, 95.6% match between a tiger and a cat, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
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Deborah Wolfe: Welcome to the show, Dusty.
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Deborah Wolfe: Let's talk about cats.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Wow, that sounds great.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Thank you for having me, and hi to your audience.
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Deborah Wolfe: Well, okay, so I told my audience you'd be coming on, and we had some questions sent.
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Deborah Wolfe: We had three different, very similar cat elimination problems.
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Deborah Wolfe: And I know you know, but everybody out there, the most common problem people complain about with cats is that they're not using the litter box.
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Deborah Wolfe: And the most common reason for cats ending up homeless is because they're not using the litter box.
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Deborah Wolfe: Now, I have kind of a side question today, which is how do you know when it's time to put your cat down?
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Deborah Wolfe: Because in one of these cases, the cat is extremely elderly, and the quality of life is in question, I think.
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Deborah Wolfe: There's nothing wrong with the cat vet-wise, but this particular cat, owned by a woman named Allison, pees wherever.
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Deborah Wolfe: If you put anything on the floor, jacket, shoes, anything at all, it will pee on it.
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Deborah Wolfe: It will also just pee randomly in the middle of the floor, poop in the middle of the floor, doesn't use the litter box.
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Deborah Wolfe: There are no other cats to threaten it in the home.
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Deborah Wolfe: She's really struggling with whether to put the cat down or not.
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Deborah Wolfe: And then there's somebody else calling with, or emailing with a similar problem where it's a multi-cat household, multi-litter boxes.
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Deborah Wolfe: One cat just won't use them, but it's a victim cat, and it's probably being bullied.
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Deborah Wolfe: So that's another cat illumination problem.
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Deborah Wolfe: And we did have a third, and I think if we left it open for a week, we'd have 300.
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Deborah Wolfe: So these people all say, because I responded to them, they all say they have enough litter boxes, more than they have cats.
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Deborah Wolfe: They all say the litter boxes are not in areas like by something noisy or scary.
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Deborah Wolfe: I recommended Feel Away, Pheromone Spray to all of them, and they all sort of did a thumbs up to that.
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Deborah Wolfe: So, what else can they do?
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Dusty Rainbolt: Okay, well, let's start with the elderly cat.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Elderly cats, like elderly people, sometimes have cognitive issues.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And as I always say, I know people get tired of it.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's like, oh, my cat's fine, my cat's fine.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Well, your cat may not be fine.
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Dusty Rainbolt: They could have arthritis, and it's difficult for them to get in and out of the box.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It might be difficult to squat in the box.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So, you know, that could be an issue.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It could be that we are suffering from diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or kidney disease, which causes cats to pee, have a larger production of urine.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And so then even if the person scoops once a day, you have these big, huge pee clumps in there, and the box is dirty, even though the people don't think it's dirty.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So that's another option.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And as often happens with us, we humans, as we get older, we forget.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And then there are people who develop cognitive issues.
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Dusty Rainbolt: We call some of those issues Alzheimer's.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And just as with people, cats and dogs can develop cognitive issues in their latter years.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And they may not realize that...
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Dusty Rainbolt: They may forget where the box is.
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Deborah Wolfe: So you know what?
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Deborah Wolfe: So how do you know?
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Deborah Wolfe: Like with a dog, usually when they develop this kind of issue, they'll do very telltale signs.
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Deborah Wolfe: Like the dog will go outside and do a perimeter search.
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Deborah Wolfe: Like go around the perimeter of the backyard over and over.
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Deborah Wolfe: Like he's forgotten he's already done it.
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Deborah Wolfe: And you'll see him out there in the middle of the night, that kind of thing.
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Deborah Wolfe: Or he'll just have a desire to go out and check again and check again and check again and check again.
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Deborah Wolfe: That's a typical doggy senility problem.
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Deborah Wolfe: Another problem would be that their eyesight gets a lot worse.
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Deborah Wolfe: So just putting up nightlights helps huge with dogs as they get older and they get less confused because they can see where they're going, you know, in the middle of the night when they wake up.
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Deborah Wolfe: How do you know if your cat is senile, if that's part of the equation?
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Dusty Rainbolt: Well, okay, there are a number of ways.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Frequently there's vocalizing at night for no reason.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Of course, that could also be hyperthyroidism.
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Dusty Rainbolt: That's a huge thing.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Missing the box is a red flag.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Circling, sometimes they'll just kind of look at you and go, I don't know where I am.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And so there are a number of things you can do.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I wish I could remember the name of it, but there is a supplement, Senolife.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's called Senolife.
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Dusty Rainbolt: That is for cognitive issues.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Now it doesn't work on all of them, but I will say I had a Turkish van.
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Dusty Rainbolt: His name was Herman.
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Dusty Rainbolt: He was wonderful.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And when he was 15, he started just screaming.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I mean, he was...
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Dusty Rainbolt: Oh, oh, it just hurt my soul.
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Deborah Wolfe: Cat in the middle of the night, even better.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Yes, sometimes in the middle of the night, but he'd also do it during the day.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And it's like, oh my God, I took it.
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Deborah Wolfe: It's like horror movie stuff, right?
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Deborah Wolfe: Cat screaming.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Oh, it was.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It was just heartbreaking.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I took him to the vet and I said, you know, he's in pain and man, we did blood work and we did x-rays and we did, you know, we did it all and nothing.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And it's like, no, it's got to be something.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's got to be thyroid.
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Dusty Rainbolt: No, it's not thyroid.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's not this.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's not that.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's not that.
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Deborah Wolfe: Did he scream at the vet?
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Dusty Rainbolt: No, of course not.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Okay.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I think that's because they're, but anyway, he said, well, I think it's cognitive.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I think it's Alzheimer's.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Well, I have a vet in Houston who is a specialist and I talked to her and she says, it's a cognitive.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It's a cognitive dysfunction.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And she was the one that recommended the Sinaly.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And so reluctantly, because I didn't believe either one of them, it's like, well, I'll go ahead and do it.
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Dusty Rainbolt: But I just don't think this is going to help because he's in pain, because it sounded like pain.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I started on the Sinaly, and the vocalizing stopped, and the peon outside the box stopped.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And it was amazing.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It was truly amazing.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Don't give up.
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Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, but definitely see the vet is one of the things you're trying to stress here, because you can't just say, well, I saw the vet last year and there was nothing wrong.
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Deborah Wolfe: When it's an old cat, it can happen quick.
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Deborah Wolfe: And it could be an easy fix.
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Deborah Wolfe: Like if it's a thyroid problem, you're not going to train it out of her.
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Deborah Wolfe: It's a pill that fixes it, a daily pill.
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Deborah Wolfe: So you got to give your cat a chance, especially if you're contemplating putting it down.
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Deborah Wolfe: First take it to the vet.
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Deborah Wolfe: Don't make a big decision like that without knowing if it's a quick fix.
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Dusty Rainbolt: OK, so, you know, if we find out that it is cognitive, there are still things you can do.
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Dusty Rainbolt: You can confine the cat to a smaller area.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I mean, if you've got a two-story house and you've got one, as we recommend, a box on each floor, that's still a lot of room to cover.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And it would be easy to, I mean, it would be a problem for kittens.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It would sometimes if you have kitties with bladder infections or those types of issues, it's still not enough boxes.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So if you can keep the kitty confined to a smaller area, like a living room or whatever, then it's easier to find the box.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Also, there are litter boxes that are low sided, so cats can just step into boxes.
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Dusty Rainbolt: They don't have to jump.
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Dusty Rainbolt: There was a cat, when a lady found out that I was writing a book on inappropriate elimination, which Cat Scene Investigators, Solve Your Cat's Litter Box Mystery, she said, well, I want you to tell me why my cat is suddenly too uppity to squat in the box.
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Deborah Wolfe: I love these words.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Her cat was too uppity.
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Dusty Rainbolt: He was suddenly uppity.
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Deborah Wolfe: Yeah.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And so I asked her a few questions.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Yes, he was 12 years old, or maybe he was nine.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Anyway, he was nine and 12, some in that area.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And he was standing up when he was peeing, so it was going over the wall of the box.
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Dusty Rainbolt: But he was too uppity.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I said, well, I think he's got arthritis.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Oh, he doesn't have arthritis.
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Dusty Rainbolt: He can jump on the counter.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So I had to put this in terms she could understand.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I guess she was probably in her early 60s.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I said, well, you know, let's try something.
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Dusty Rainbolt: When you jump on a counter, it takes a fraction of a second to go from those three feet.
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Dusty Rainbolt: It happens very quickly.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So if there's pain, it's just very quick.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I said, but when you're squatting in a box, when you're trying to go to the bathroom, that takes 30, 45 seconds.
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Dusty Rainbolt: You can't empty your bladder in two seconds.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So it takes a while.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And he's in a squat position for that entire time.
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Dusty Rainbolt: She says, well, no, he's just being uppity.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I said, okay, let's do this.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I want you to squat as far down as you can for 20 seconds.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And only when I did that was she willing to admit that maybe the cat was experiencing pain.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And I don't understand why people prefer to think their cats are being intentionally bad.
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Dusty Rainbolt: But anyway, I finally got through to her.
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Dusty Rainbolt: So it could be that, you know, it just physically hurts to go to the bathroom.
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Dusty Rainbolt: There are a lot of things you can do.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And like I said, I go into a great deal of detail of options for senior cats.
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Dusty Rainbolt: I actually have a whole section on that in the book.
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Deborah Wolfe: Okay, we have to go to break.
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Deborah Wolfe: We'll be back talking more with Dusty Rainbolt in just a minute.
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Deborah Wolfe: Stay tuned on Animal Party's Pet Life Radio.
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Deborah Wolfe: Hello, you're back on Animal Party Pet Life Radio.
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Deborah Wolfe: I wanna move on a little bit, but there's just so many cat elimination questions, Dusty.
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Deborah Wolfe: We've got Dusty Rainbolt, author of Cat Wrangling Made Easy, my favorite cat book ever, and a bunch of others, including a book on cat elimination.
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Deborah Wolfe: And you can find her books at Amazon.
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Deborah Wolfe: And Dusty, for the guy called, for the problem where there were multiple cats, multiple litter boxes, everybody getting along great, but one cat scared, victimized, shy, not using the litter box.
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Deborah Wolfe: I tried on air talking to get the person to, you know, as you do, you suggest things and they say, oh, we can't do that or we can do this.
00:12:51.592 --> 00:12:58.272
Deborah Wolfe: And we got to a point where it was really hard to figure out a way to make that victimized cat feel safe using the litter.
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Deborah Wolfe: So one thing I came up with was, while he's cuddling his dominant cat on the couch, if she's difficult at all to stop cuddling her, if she's being mean or bullying, stop giving her the attention.
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Deborah Wolfe: And if he catches her being mean or bullying, to have a cardboard box ready to just sort of place over top of her as a timeout, temporary timeout.
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Deborah Wolfe: It's not great though, and it's not gonna solve his problem.
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Deborah Wolfe: What can you do if you have a bully and litter boxes and an issue where a victim cat just doesn't feel safe?
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Dusty Rainbolt: That is really tough.
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Dusty Rainbolt: And without knowing what the house looks like and how many litter boxes they have and everything, it's just kind of a difficult thing to answer, but I will try.
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Dusty Rainbolt: Okay, it sounds like this is a very educated person.
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Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, very, very educated person, very experienced cat owner, multiple litter boxes, has listened to the show for years and followed everything, has actually heard you and me do this show for years.
00:13:56.632 --> 00:13:57.412
Dusty Rainbolt: That's awesome.
00:13:57.732 --> 00:14:02.212
Deborah Wolfe: Followed absolutely everything that we could have suggested up until now, except for the box.
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Deborah Wolfe: That was a new one.
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Deborah Wolfe: But doesn't really know what to do.
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Deborah Wolfe: And it's been seven years.
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Deborah Wolfe: Soiling on the ground and peeing on the ground.
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Deborah Wolfe: So I think part of the problem with this and with the one, Alison, with her cat, because Alison now has house guests with pets, and all the pets are peeing and pooping wherever.
00:14:20.132 --> 00:14:23.592
Deborah Wolfe: So I think part of that is cleaning up the scent, right?
00:14:23.652 --> 00:14:32.872
Deborah Wolfe: You've got a scent from the cat that's airing and making mistakes, and now you've got everybody copying thinking, well, the whole world's our bathroom because it all smells like it.
00:14:33.332 --> 00:14:34.432
Dusty Rainbolt: That's exactly right.
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Dusty Rainbolt: That's, but before we figure that out, one thing that you might have to do, and nobody wants to do it, but we did it in our house.
00:14:44.452 --> 00:14:48.472
Dusty Rainbolt: We created a room and I put a screen door in.
00:14:48.592 --> 00:14:53.032
Dusty Rainbolt: It was on a barn door setup, so it's a sliding screen door.
00:14:54.032 --> 00:15:00.892
Dusty Rainbolt: And we put the victim cat in here, and it's worked out awesome.
00:15:01.252 --> 00:15:05.752
Dusty Rainbolt: Because it is a screen door, you've got the air flowing in and out.
00:15:06.212 --> 00:15:07.572
Dusty Rainbolt: The cat is safe.
00:15:07.592 --> 00:15:17.372
Dusty Rainbolt: The cat can use the litter box by himself without somebody bullying him or staring at him or trapping him inside a covered box or whatever.
00:15:17.392 --> 00:15:24.172
Dusty Rainbolt: And eventually we were able to open the door and let him out and everything was fine.
00:15:24.752 --> 00:15:26.372
Dusty Rainbolt: But you know, it did take work.
00:15:26.632 --> 00:15:30.712
Dusty Rainbolt: And also we just went ahead and ripped out the carpet.
00:15:30.732 --> 00:15:34.172
Dusty Rainbolt: We don't have any carpet in our house except on the stairwell.
00:15:34.752 --> 00:15:37.492
Deborah Wolfe: So even floors can keep a scent, right?
00:15:37.512 --> 00:15:46.372
Deborah Wolfe: You have to clean it with your normal cleaners and then vinegar it and then use an enzyme to clean or design especially animal scents.
00:15:46.392 --> 00:15:47.232
Deborah Wolfe: That's what I find.
00:15:47.452 --> 00:15:49.492
Deborah Wolfe: You think you can just use regular?
00:15:49.752 --> 00:15:59.592
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, I think that if you have like hard flooring, like a ceramic tile or marble or something like that, I don't think you need to go through that.
00:15:59.872 --> 00:16:04.112
Dusty Rainbolt: They do have a new grout that is waterproof.
00:16:04.312 --> 00:16:05.272
Deborah Wolfe: See, that's the thing.
00:16:05.292 --> 00:16:06.332
Deborah Wolfe: It gets in the grout.
00:16:06.352 --> 00:16:07.272
Deborah Wolfe: It gets in the corners.
00:16:07.632 --> 00:16:10.572
Deborah Wolfe: I really have had better luck with doing it all the way.
00:16:10.592 --> 00:16:17.392
Dusty Rainbolt: Okay, well, to everybody out there, there are new grouts that are waterproof.
00:16:17.672 --> 00:16:23.512
Dusty Rainbolt: And so, you know, they're a little more expensive than a normal grout, but I would definitely invest in that.
00:16:23.552 --> 00:16:25.712
Dusty Rainbolt: We have had fabulous luck with it.
00:16:26.012 --> 00:16:30.312
Dusty Rainbolt: Of course, then you also have like wood flooring and it penetrates the wood floor.
00:16:30.632 --> 00:16:33.372
Dusty Rainbolt: So yes, you might need to do all that.
00:16:33.692 --> 00:16:37.152
Dusty Rainbolt: I've had very good luck with the oxygen-based products.
00:16:37.852 --> 00:16:39.072
Dusty Rainbolt: Okay.
00:16:39.112 --> 00:16:42.332
Dusty Rainbolt: It's a newer generation of products.
00:16:43.092 --> 00:16:46.012
Dusty Rainbolt: And to me, that gets everything really cleaned up.
00:16:46.012 --> 00:16:49.552
Dusty Rainbolt: So if it's got Oxy in the name, it's probably pretty effective.
00:16:50.452 --> 00:16:52.312
Deborah Wolfe: Well, we had a couple of questions.
00:16:52.572 --> 00:16:58.492
Deborah Wolfe: And one of them I think is really interesting because it kind of pertains to you and me right now.
00:16:58.832 --> 00:17:05.332
Deborah Wolfe: Someone asked me, it was a long email, and it was talking about how so many people on Facebook talk about rescue dogs and rescue cats.
00:17:05.912 --> 00:17:10.592
Deborah Wolfe: And she was pointing out, you know, like what is really a rescue?
00:17:10.752 --> 00:17:20.852
Deborah Wolfe: If you go and get a cat and you pay money for it, or you go find a dog on the internet, a purebred dog, and it's had a good home and it's been trained in it, is that really a rescue?
00:17:20.872 --> 00:17:32.332
Deborah Wolfe: And then, you know, when I think about the two kittens I have now, their dad lived in a barn, the lady who owned them didn't really want kittens, they were born under her bed, it took her weeks to get them to come out.
00:17:32.812 --> 00:17:41.392
Deborah Wolfe: Unfortunately, she didn't have litter at one point, so they were using bedding and other soft blankets and things as litter.
00:17:41.852 --> 00:17:45.192
Deborah Wolfe: So I have a bit of a task ahead of me to train these cats, right?
00:17:45.212 --> 00:17:47.892
Deborah Wolfe: They came a little bit feral, one wouldn't go near you.
00:17:48.312 --> 00:17:51.752
Deborah Wolfe: They wanted to pee and poo on all the blankets and bedding, not good.
00:17:52.092 --> 00:17:56.372
Deborah Wolfe: You know, that to me is rescue, and I'll spay and neuter them and vaccinate them.
00:17:56.672 --> 00:18:05.712
Deborah Wolfe: I've also participated where we trapped cats at the Abbotsford Airport that were in danger and spay and neutered them and rehomed them or released them.
00:18:05.732 --> 00:18:06.952
Deborah Wolfe: That's also a rescue.
00:18:07.292 --> 00:18:08.892
Deborah Wolfe: But does it matter?
00:18:08.912 --> 00:18:11.112
Deborah Wolfe: Like, where do you draw the line with the rescue?
00:18:11.212 --> 00:18:13.152
Deborah Wolfe: With rescue dog, rescue cat?
00:18:13.552 --> 00:18:15.652
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, okay, I have an opinion about that.
00:18:15.912 --> 00:18:18.752
Dusty Rainbolt: To me, rescue is what you and I do.
00:18:19.372 --> 00:18:27.172
Dusty Rainbolt: We get the cats from the shelter or we take them from people who have rescued them from a life and death situation.
00:18:27.392 --> 00:18:28.852
Dusty Rainbolt: For me, that's it.
00:18:28.972 --> 00:18:32.312
Dusty Rainbolt: But the truth is, people say, oh, I've rescued my dog.
00:18:32.492 --> 00:18:36.072
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, that could mean that they adopted through a kill shelter.
00:18:36.512 --> 00:18:38.012
Dusty Rainbolt: They rescued that dog.
00:18:38.112 --> 00:18:42.112
Dusty Rainbolt: I mean, you know, it's not like it's going to be a life long.
00:18:44.492 --> 00:18:49.992
Dusty Rainbolt: It's not going to be a lifestyle like it is with you and me, but they did rescue the dog.
00:18:50.412 --> 00:18:53.312
Deborah Wolfe: There is a gratitude when you rescue a dog or a cat.
00:18:53.592 --> 00:19:01.952
Deborah Wolfe: If they've known hunger or they've known abandonment or they had a family and then they didn't, they are so grateful once they figure out you're sticking around.
00:19:01.972 --> 00:19:04.852
Deborah Wolfe: I mean, you really do get an amazing pet at the end of it.
00:19:05.092 --> 00:19:07.172
Deborah Wolfe: But there are some hurdles at the beginning.
00:19:07.852 --> 00:19:08.512
Dusty Rainbolt: There are.
00:19:08.912 --> 00:19:18.992
Dusty Rainbolt: But the other thing I was thinking, you do get people that say they've rescued a pet and they bought a pedigree dog off of Craigslist.
00:19:19.012 --> 00:19:22.332
Dusty Rainbolt: And it's like, I kind of draw the line there.
00:19:22.352 --> 00:19:24.032
Dusty Rainbolt: That's not really, you know.
00:19:24.452 --> 00:19:30.772
Dusty Rainbolt: Okay, the people may have an animal that they're trying to get rid of, they need to move or whatever.
00:19:30.792 --> 00:19:31.992
Dusty Rainbolt: And you know what?
00:19:32.152 --> 00:19:36.252
Dusty Rainbolt: If the people want to think that they've rescued an animal, I just let it go.
00:19:37.152 --> 00:19:39.812
Dusty Rainbolt: As long as they're not buying a pedigree animal.
00:19:40.232 --> 00:19:41.552
Dusty Rainbolt: You know, I'm good with that.
00:19:42.772 --> 00:19:47.112
Deborah Wolfe: Okay, we have to go to break and we're going to come back and tackle a couple more questions from you all.
00:19:47.132 --> 00:19:49.672
Deborah Wolfe: Thank you so much for asking your questions.
00:19:49.932 --> 00:19:58.092
Deborah Wolfe: If you want to ask me with your voice, you can leave a voice clip using your cell phone or whatever at deb at petliferadio.com.
00:19:58.332 --> 00:20:02.272
Deborah Wolfe: And we will play the clip on the air, which we love, and then answer it.
00:20:02.292 --> 00:20:03.952
Deborah Wolfe: Okay, so Dusty, we're going to break.
00:20:03.972 --> 00:20:05.312
Deborah Wolfe: We'll be back with Dusty Rainbolt.
00:20:10.552 --> 00:20:12.232
Deborah Wolfe: Molly, here's your dinner.
00:20:13.932 --> 00:20:15.672
Deborah Wolfe: Zeus, that's not your food.
00:20:16.772 --> 00:20:18.892
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00:21:00.892 --> 00:21:01.892
<v SPEAKER_4>Let's talk pets.
00:21:02.992 --> 00:21:03.992
<v SPEAKER_1>On Pet Life Radio.
00:21:05.332 --> 00:21:06.272
<v SPEAKER_4>Pet Life Radio.
00:21:17.633 --> 00:21:23.873
Deborah Wolfe: Hello, we're back on the air with Dusty Rainbows, and we had a question for you, Dusty.
00:21:24.153 --> 00:21:26.393
Deborah Wolfe: Why do cats hate the vet?
00:21:26.713 --> 00:21:30.433
Deborah Wolfe: And also, someone else asked, why do cats hate dogs?
00:21:30.813 --> 00:21:34.393
Deborah Wolfe: Well, I don't think that's actually true in either case, but what do you think?
00:21:34.673 --> 00:21:37.373
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, okay, let's face it.
00:21:37.773 --> 00:21:57.053
Dusty Rainbolt: If our only experience with our best friend, the person who is now our best friend, is to go to them and they stick a thermometer up our butt and they give us shots and they're holding us down for blood work, that best friend is not gonna be a best friend anymore.
00:21:57.393 --> 00:22:05.473
Dusty Rainbolt: So what I recommend is you can train your cat to be more at ease at the vet's office.
00:22:05.933 --> 00:22:07.853
Dusty Rainbolt: You know, it starts out with the carrier.
00:22:08.273 --> 00:22:21.273
Dusty Rainbolt: You know, if the carrier has pee and vomit in it from past trips and you haven't cleaned it out and it's got a dirty blanket in it, and you bring it out and the cat's just gone, they know, they know what's coming next.
00:22:21.673 --> 00:22:34.393
Dusty Rainbolt: So instead, what you do is you get a new carrier that you've never used before, spray some filo-a in there, put their treats in there, put a nice little blankie in there, let them sleep, feed them in there.
00:22:34.413 --> 00:22:37.653
Dusty Rainbolt: And that's it, that's all you do.
00:22:37.673 --> 00:22:39.873
Dusty Rainbolt: It becomes a refuge.
00:22:40.333 --> 00:22:46.973
Dusty Rainbolt: And then when he's sleeping in there, you close the door and you walk him around the room and you open the door and you give him some treats.
00:22:47.393 --> 00:22:53.853
Dusty Rainbolt: And then you do that and you walk around for a little longer and then you take him and you put him in the car and you go around the block.
00:22:54.273 --> 00:23:01.213
Dusty Rainbolt: And I know this sounds ridiculous to take these little steps, but one by one he's going, well, I'm not gonna die.
00:23:01.513 --> 00:23:16.233
Dusty Rainbolt: And then if you can take him to the vet and just do not a wellness visit, but just a visit and have the vet techs give him his favorite treats and pet him and talk to him.
00:23:16.333 --> 00:23:17.213
Dusty Rainbolt: And then you leave.
00:23:17.813 --> 00:23:23.233
Dusty Rainbolt: And eventually you're gonna get to the point where he's not as anxious.
00:23:23.853 --> 00:23:38.433
Dusty Rainbolt: And also at home, if you would, one thing you can do is to start handling him, run your hands across him, all, you know, nose to tail, touch his toes, touch his feet, make his act like you're gonna trim the nails.
00:23:38.593 --> 00:23:40.433
Dusty Rainbolt: Trim the nails, good, that's good too.
00:23:40.993 --> 00:23:51.053
Dusty Rainbolt: Anyway, so just start handling him all the time so that when the vet puts his hands or her hands on the cat, it's not the end of the world.
00:23:51.133 --> 00:23:53.813
Dusty Rainbolt: It's not gonna be this horrible experience.
00:23:54.133 --> 00:23:55.893
Dusty Rainbolt: And that's what I would do there.
00:23:56.313 --> 00:23:57.913
Deborah Wolfe: And it's really similar for dogs.
00:23:57.933 --> 00:24:01.233
Deborah Wolfe: If you're listening and your dog hates the vet, well, bring him in, bring him for a visit.
00:24:01.253 --> 00:24:04.473
Deborah Wolfe: Just weigh him and take him out again, give him a cookie, do that a few times.
00:24:05.653 --> 00:24:08.333
Deborah Wolfe: If your dog's also afraid of the car, well, you gotta figure that out.
00:24:08.353 --> 00:24:14.293
Deborah Wolfe: If your dog's also afraid of the carrier or the leash, well, all these things are gonna contribute to the fear on that day.
00:24:14.313 --> 00:24:23.713
Deborah Wolfe: And for me, because cats love boxes, I'm able to just leave the carriers open with a treat or two in there, and not even just a blanket, and they'll go in there.
00:24:24.093 --> 00:24:32.753
Deborah Wolfe: So as long as a carrier isn't only in use during vet time, as long as it's part of life, they shouldn't hate it, like a kid's bedroom.
00:24:32.773 --> 00:24:37.073
Deborah Wolfe: They're not gonna hate their bedroom even though it's where you tell them to go when they're being rude, you know?
00:24:38.113 --> 00:24:42.993
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, and you know, this segues into your other question, cats and dogs.
00:24:43.453 --> 00:24:50.913
Dusty Rainbolt: Another thing that's horrifying for cats, cats are predators, but they are also prey.
00:24:51.613 --> 00:24:59.893
Dusty Rainbolt: And their primary predator is a canine, coyotes and foxes and dogs and such.
00:25:00.973 --> 00:25:04.573
Dusty Rainbolt: So that's another problem with the veterinary clinic.
00:25:04.793 --> 00:25:22.753
Dusty Rainbolt: If you go to a mixed animal practice where they've got dogs and cats and they're sitting in the waiting room together, I mean, oh my God, the cat must think he's gonna die because there's this German Shepherd exuding German Shepherd pheromones and smells and everything.
00:25:23.253 --> 00:25:26.313
Deborah Wolfe: Stinky dog, stinky afraid dog.
00:25:26.473 --> 00:25:28.073
Dusty Rainbolt: Barking, barking, barking.
00:25:28.093 --> 00:25:34.473
Deborah Wolfe: Barking, yeah, drooling, sweating, losing hair because they get nervous too and they don't seem calm at all.
00:25:34.793 --> 00:25:37.653
Deborah Wolfe: Does it help your cat if there's a clinic cat?
00:25:37.693 --> 00:25:38.513
Deborah Wolfe: I think it does.
00:25:39.253 --> 00:25:54.933
Dusty Rainbolt: I think it does too, but what I have started doing because I do go to a dog cat practice, I keep my cat in the car, I go in, check in, and then I go sit in the car and when they're ready for me, I go in.
00:25:56.873 --> 00:26:09.273
Dusty Rainbolt: And so then they're not having to sit there because I've had times where people have allowed their dogs to come over and get nose level with my cat and sniff the carrier.
00:26:09.293 --> 00:26:12.633
Dusty Rainbolt: And I told them, I would tell people, please don't let your dog do that.
00:26:12.653 --> 00:26:17.053
Dusty Rainbolt: And they'll say something like, oh, my dog likes cats.
00:26:17.053 --> 00:26:19.353
Dusty Rainbolt: It's like, well, my cat doesn't know that.
00:26:19.733 --> 00:26:21.113
Dusty Rainbolt: So move your dog.
00:26:21.913 --> 00:26:25.913
Dusty Rainbolt: And people are just, you know, oh, my dog doesn't bite.
00:26:25.933 --> 00:26:27.613
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, he doesn't bite you.
00:26:27.793 --> 00:26:32.793
Dusty Rainbolt: He might have problems with another human.
00:26:32.813 --> 00:26:36.593
Deborah Wolfe: So the thing is, though, I mean, I think what you just said is totally right.
00:26:36.613 --> 00:26:40.853
Deborah Wolfe: And if your cat doesn't know dogs, then he doesn't know that your dog doesn't bite cats.
00:26:41.153 --> 00:26:46.433
Deborah Wolfe: But if your cat actually is dog friendly, it's amazing how well they read each other.
00:26:46.833 --> 00:26:52.033
Deborah Wolfe: So he would actually know that that dog is not a threat, but he still doesn't really want to meet and greet right now.
00:26:52.433 --> 00:26:55.073
Deborah Wolfe: I'm at the vet, I don't feel good, I hate this place.
00:26:55.093 --> 00:26:56.933
Deborah Wolfe: Why are you making me deal with this, right?
00:26:57.373 --> 00:27:01.753
Deborah Wolfe: Even if your cat loves dogs and your dog loves cats, this is not a meet and greet time.
00:27:02.033 --> 00:27:04.993
Deborah Wolfe: Everybody's possibly contagious for one thing.
00:27:05.213 --> 00:27:05.873
Deborah Wolfe: What are you doing?
00:27:06.633 --> 00:27:07.053
Deborah Wolfe: You know?
00:27:07.073 --> 00:27:07.693
Dusty Rainbolt: Exactly.
00:27:07.713 --> 00:27:17.193
Dusty Rainbolt: And you know, the thing that, even if your cat is dog friendly and he's got a dog that he sleeps with at home, this is not his dog.
00:27:17.413 --> 00:27:19.233
Dusty Rainbolt: This is a potential predator.
00:27:20.133 --> 00:27:32.173
Dusty Rainbolt: And so, even if your cat is friendly to dogs, that doesn't mean that he's necessarily gonna be thrilled about some dog sniffing, coming nose to nose with his carrier because he's trapped.
00:27:32.533 --> 00:27:33.713
Dusty Rainbolt: He can't go anywhere.
00:27:34.693 --> 00:27:34.933
Deborah Wolfe: And-
00:27:35.813 --> 00:27:45.233
Deborah Wolfe: So, about the clinic cat, I think sometimes, especially when they're super chill, like the clinic I go to, they have one of my rescue cats, in fact, is they ended up there.
00:27:45.573 --> 00:27:51.193
Deborah Wolfe: And this cat, I mean, it is just, you know, you could leave the front door of the clinic open, it's not going anywhere.
00:27:51.413 --> 00:27:58.093
Deborah Wolfe: You know, a dog comes in and it immediately figures out if it's a decent dog that it can approach, or if it should go somewhere else.
00:27:58.113 --> 00:28:03.613
Deborah Wolfe: And it's got like all the great skills of a clinic cat, but it's so fat and lazy.
00:28:03.633 --> 00:28:07.133
Deborah Wolfe: And, you know, it just hangs around.
00:28:07.273 --> 00:28:13.253
Deborah Wolfe: So any cat in a carrier waiting for its appointment sees this totally mellow, chill cat.
00:28:13.653 --> 00:28:16.133
Deborah Wolfe: Like, it's just watching, well, that cat's not afraid.
00:28:16.313 --> 00:28:17.613
Deborah Wolfe: That cat's not freaked out.
00:28:17.913 --> 00:28:19.373
Deborah Wolfe: Nobody's chasing that cat.
00:28:19.393 --> 00:28:20.553
Deborah Wolfe: That cat seems safe.
00:28:20.873 --> 00:28:21.513
Deborah Wolfe: Is that true?
00:28:21.513 --> 00:28:22.433
Deborah Wolfe: Am I right about that?
00:28:22.453 --> 00:28:23.373
Deborah Wolfe: That it helps?
00:28:24.873 --> 00:28:38.233
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, I've only been to a couple of clinics that had clinic cats, but I would think that a cat being calm and not exuding fear pheromones would be helpful.
00:28:38.513 --> 00:28:46.573
Dusty Rainbolt: I'm sure that if they're reading the other cats who are also afraid, that, you know, that would contribute.
00:28:46.633 --> 00:28:49.513
Dusty Rainbolt: But I can't see that it would hurt.
00:28:49.533 --> 00:28:54.353
Dusty Rainbolt: I don't know that it would be helpful to all cats, but I think it's a good idea.
00:28:56.213 --> 00:28:57.133
Deborah Wolfe: For the right cat.
00:28:57.133 --> 00:28:59.313
Deborah Wolfe: It takes a special cat to be a clinic cat.
00:28:59.573 --> 00:29:01.053
Deborah Wolfe: It was such a strange coincidence.
00:29:01.073 --> 00:29:06.533
Deborah Wolfe: I had this cat that I couldn't keep skinny, you know, like the caller in Margaret with her cat Lucy.
00:29:07.033 --> 00:29:08.573
Deborah Wolfe: I tried and I tried and I tried.
00:29:08.593 --> 00:29:11.893
Deborah Wolfe: This female calico, no matter what I did, I mean, I reduced her diet and everything.
00:29:12.213 --> 00:29:13.593
Deborah Wolfe: She'd eat all the other cat's food.
00:29:13.613 --> 00:29:14.633
Deborah Wolfe: She'd eat the dog's food.
00:29:14.653 --> 00:29:21.193
Deborah Wolfe: She'd go out and she would go in on my closed patio where it's totally safe and somehow catch wasps and eat their heads.
00:29:21.213 --> 00:29:25.953
Deborah Wolfe: Like she just managed to supplement her diet, no matter what I did.
00:29:25.973 --> 00:29:30.553
Deborah Wolfe: And all the other cats were like too thin because I had to monitor everybody.
00:29:30.573 --> 00:29:38.893
Deborah Wolfe: And then finally I had to go away and I knew, like I'd finally got her to lose like, I don't know, she was down to like 14 pounds or something.
00:29:39.193 --> 00:29:40.533
Deborah Wolfe: And I went away for a couple of weeks.
00:29:40.553 --> 00:29:47.933
Deborah Wolfe: And right as soon as I got back, my teenagers had just let everybody free feed and she was back up to 21 pounds, like no time, right?
00:29:47.953 --> 00:29:49.613
Deborah Wolfe: She was, I thought, oh my God.
00:29:49.673 --> 00:29:52.513
Deborah Wolfe: And I went to the vet like usual and he's giving me the lecture.
00:29:52.533 --> 00:29:55.473
Deborah Wolfe: You're gonna have a diabetic cat.
00:29:55.793 --> 00:29:57.133
Deborah Wolfe: So I finally said, you know what?
00:29:57.153 --> 00:29:58.493
Deborah Wolfe: I'm just, I'm gonna have to give her up.
00:29:58.513 --> 00:30:05.493
Deborah Wolfe: Like it's not, I'm obviously not the right, she needs a single cat home where the food is totally controlled and there's no teenagers.
00:30:06.053 --> 00:30:19.473
Deborah Wolfe: And so I went to the clinic with my little poster with her picture and I'm walking through the clinic and the wife of the vet who runs the clinic stops me and says, do you think your cat would make a good clinic cat?
00:30:20.373 --> 00:30:21.633
Deborah Wolfe: You don't see why not.
00:30:21.653 --> 00:30:23.413
Deborah Wolfe: I mean, she lets the cat have good dogs.
00:30:23.433 --> 00:30:27.673
Deborah Wolfe: She's perfectly able to read dogs and cats and you know, it's a nice cat.
00:30:27.693 --> 00:30:28.913
Deborah Wolfe: This is the problem.
00:30:29.253 --> 00:30:36.513
Deborah Wolfe: So, you know, it turns out they had a clinic cat, Calico cat that had just died and all the customers were missing.
00:30:36.533 --> 00:30:37.333
Deborah Wolfe: You know, where's the cat?
00:30:37.353 --> 00:30:37.873
Deborah Wolfe: Where's the cat?
00:30:37.893 --> 00:30:38.373
Deborah Wolfe: Where's the cat?
00:30:38.713 --> 00:30:42.573
Deborah Wolfe: So they took her and of course they said, we're gonna get her slim.
00:30:42.593 --> 00:30:43.633
Deborah Wolfe: We'll slim her down.
00:30:44.113 --> 00:30:46.293
Deborah Wolfe: Okay, she's as fat as ever.
00:30:46.313 --> 00:30:48.133
Deborah Wolfe: In fact, she's fatter now.
00:30:48.573 --> 00:30:50.053
Deborah Wolfe: I go in and I'm always joking.
00:30:50.073 --> 00:30:50.653
Deborah Wolfe: I pick her up.
00:30:50.673 --> 00:30:52.593
Deborah Wolfe: I'm like, ooh, Pikachu.
00:30:52.613 --> 00:30:54.753
Deborah Wolfe: Like she's like shaped like a basketball.
00:30:55.093 --> 00:31:01.153
Deborah Wolfe: And, but at least, you know, if she becomes diabetic or whatever, they know what to do.
00:31:01.553 --> 00:31:06.973
Deborah Wolfe: Like I don't wanna do, it's off my, it's not my karma anymore.
00:31:08.033 --> 00:31:10.933
Deborah Wolfe: It's their responsibility, but she's perfectly happy.
00:31:11.133 --> 00:31:12.373
Deborah Wolfe: She's so happy.
00:31:12.673 --> 00:31:17.673
Deborah Wolfe: And when I come, she always greets me, sits on me and purrs like crazy and you know, perfectly happy.
00:31:17.893 --> 00:31:23.173
Deborah Wolfe: So for the right cat, it can be a really good life, but they, you know, she gets into everything still.
00:31:27.313 --> 00:31:35.493
Deborah Wolfe: Those cat food bags and dog food bags are, those packaging is so easily shred by a determined cat.
00:31:37.133 --> 00:31:37.433
Deborah Wolfe: Right?
00:31:37.453 --> 00:31:40.513
Deborah Wolfe: They can just slice it open, right?
00:31:40.633 --> 00:31:41.533
Deborah Wolfe: Free buffet.
00:31:41.833 --> 00:31:47.233
Deborah Wolfe: So once the cat figures that out, you're done, right?
00:31:47.253 --> 00:31:48.273
Deborah Wolfe: The diet is over.
00:31:48.293 --> 00:31:51.093
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, they have to lock her out of the storeroom.
00:31:51.613 --> 00:31:51.973
Deborah Wolfe: Mm-hmm.
00:31:53.733 --> 00:32:03.533
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, we have some of these special bins with the screw-on caps and everything.
00:32:04.213 --> 00:32:07.393
Dusty Rainbolt: So we have some that are equally as determined.
00:32:07.893 --> 00:32:08.773
Deborah Wolfe: We just gave up.
00:32:08.793 --> 00:32:10.493
Deborah Wolfe: Me too, I can't have them.
00:32:10.693 --> 00:32:12.813
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, no, the bags are not good.
00:32:13.133 --> 00:32:15.433
Deborah Wolfe: So, okay, so we had another question for you.
00:32:15.933 --> 00:32:17.493
Deborah Wolfe: Why do cats meow?
00:32:18.493 --> 00:32:19.693
Deborah Wolfe: And I was thinking about this.
00:32:20.053 --> 00:32:25.733
Deborah Wolfe: I don't think they do meow very much when I work in TNR, when I'm dealing with a feral cat colony.
00:32:26.073 --> 00:32:29.013
Deborah Wolfe: I don't hear a lot of meowing except when we arrive.
00:32:29.693 --> 00:32:31.413
Deborah Wolfe: Is that, do they meow to each other?
00:32:32.513 --> 00:32:35.993
Dusty Rainbolt: No, cats actually do not meow to each other.
00:32:38.813 --> 00:32:43.073
Dusty Rainbolt: That is, under natural circumstances, kittens meow to their mother.
00:32:43.093 --> 00:33:04.373
Dusty Rainbolt: And so we as humans, as we said, I think in our previous show last week, because cats look at us as their mother cat, and they do the milk treading, and they have learned that if they meow at us, we respond.
00:33:04.653 --> 00:33:07.593
Dusty Rainbolt: And a lot of times when they meow, we feed them.
00:33:08.313 --> 00:33:15.553
Dusty Rainbolt: So we are reinforcing that if they make this, if they perform this behavior, then they get rewarded.
00:33:17.713 --> 00:33:22.013
Deborah Wolfe: And that's all those cats you see on YouTube going mom, or hello, or whatever.
00:33:22.233 --> 00:33:24.413
Deborah Wolfe: That's exactly what happened there, right?
00:33:24.433 --> 00:33:32.733
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, sometimes those cats making those sounds are actually not very happy cats.
00:33:33.113 --> 00:33:39.853
Dusty Rainbolt: If you look at the body language and the pupils and everything, some of those cats are really not happy.
00:33:39.873 --> 00:33:42.833
Dusty Rainbolt: They're either afraid or there's something going on.
00:33:42.913 --> 00:33:46.373
Dusty Rainbolt: And there's my little Jeffy over there yelling at me.
00:33:46.393 --> 00:33:51.533
Deborah Wolfe: Okay, so when you say that, okay, so what is unhappy body language?
00:33:51.553 --> 00:33:52.853
Deborah Wolfe: Is it hunkered down?
00:33:52.993 --> 00:33:54.833
Deborah Wolfe: Is it stiff?
00:33:55.113 --> 00:33:56.433
Deborah Wolfe: What should someone watch for?
00:33:56.833 --> 00:34:06.373
Deborah Wolfe: Is a happy cat fur lying smooth and muscles relaxed and sort of a tall posture?
00:34:07.213 --> 00:34:07.893
Dusty Rainbolt: Absolutely.
00:34:07.913 --> 00:34:10.573
Dusty Rainbolt: And in some of these videos, all we see is the face.
00:34:11.233 --> 00:34:23.313
Dusty Rainbolt: And I remember this one and it sounded like he was talking, but he was actually, if you listen deeper, it was more, there was a bit of a growl to it.
00:34:23.773 --> 00:34:26.033
Dusty Rainbolt: And the pupils were enormous.
00:34:26.933 --> 00:34:32.513
Dusty Rainbolt: And the whiskers were back up against their fur.
00:34:33.253 --> 00:34:51.333
Dusty Rainbolt: So, a happy cat, the whiskers are gonna be slightly forward, the ears are gonna be forward, the body's gonna be relaxed, and the pupils are gonna be kind of mid, mid between enormous round, no cornea, I mean, no color.
00:34:52.473 --> 00:34:54.353
Deborah Wolfe: It doesn't have to do with the light?
00:34:55.113 --> 00:34:58.633
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, yes and no, yes, of course.
00:34:58.773 --> 00:35:02.693
Dusty Rainbolt: Of course, the iris is responsive to light.
00:35:03.013 --> 00:35:17.853
Dusty Rainbolt: But then there are times when the cat is extremely agitated, the pupils will expand, and that's so that they have enough light to see whatever is their potential threat.
00:35:18.733 --> 00:35:21.673
Deborah Wolfe: You know, I noticed that years ago with a border collie.
00:35:22.313 --> 00:35:25.593
Deborah Wolfe: I used to do herd training and I had goats and llamas.
00:35:25.953 --> 00:35:32.153
Deborah Wolfe: And this border collie student of mine from the city that had never seen a herd before was marched out on a leash.
00:35:32.493 --> 00:35:37.393
Deborah Wolfe: And as soon as it saw the herd, the people's dilated as if it had been given a drug.
00:35:37.413 --> 00:35:39.913
Deborah Wolfe: Like it just went whoosh, you know?
00:35:40.253 --> 00:35:44.253
Deborah Wolfe: And it was actually, it turned out to be one of the ringers, one of the best herders I had.
00:35:44.593 --> 00:35:46.733
Deborah Wolfe: So I think some of it might be adrenaline.
00:35:47.833 --> 00:35:56.093
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, in cats a lot of times, if you see the fully dilated eyes, it's a good time just not to bother them.
00:35:56.113 --> 00:35:57.173
Dusty Rainbolt: Just walk away.
00:35:57.593 --> 00:35:58.693
Dusty Rainbolt: Just walk away.
00:35:59.013 --> 00:36:00.993
Dusty Rainbolt: Keep all your digits.
00:36:03.433 --> 00:36:12.093
Deborah Wolfe: So when we were talking earlier about play, sometimes people play with their cat and then they just sort of walk away.
00:36:12.573 --> 00:36:17.453
Deborah Wolfe: And I wanna kinda tell them, you know, the cat should catch it, right?
00:36:19.773 --> 00:36:21.293
Deborah Wolfe: Can we go through that a little bit?
00:36:21.453 --> 00:36:29.833
Deborah Wolfe: Because we talked about playing with them and getting them all active, but you don't wanna just leave the hunt unfinished.
00:36:30.733 --> 00:36:37.313
Dusty Rainbolt: Exactly, that would be like playing a game of tennis or pickleball, and then just have somebody go, okay, bye.
00:36:37.333 --> 00:36:43.413
Dusty Rainbolt: And it's like, wait, wait, we still have two or three more rounds to do.
00:36:43.413 --> 00:36:44.213
Dusty Rainbolt: Wait, what?
00:36:44.993 --> 00:36:46.373
Dusty Rainbolt: So you don't wanna do that.
00:36:47.013 --> 00:37:04.753
Dusty Rainbolt: But the natural hunting cycle is you run, jump, you do this, you're very active, you catch your prey, the prey gets away, you run and jump and catch the prey again.
00:37:04.773 --> 00:37:16.573
Dusty Rainbolt: And that could happen three or four times or five times, because remember, not every hunt ends up with a kill or a meal.
00:37:16.693 --> 00:37:17.753
Dusty Rainbolt: And so you do that.
00:37:18.693 --> 00:37:26.573
Dusty Rainbolt: And after the lure or toy or whatever has gotten away, then you let them have it.
00:37:26.973 --> 00:37:29.093
Dusty Rainbolt: You let them have it, you let them kill it.
00:37:30.113 --> 00:37:38.113
Dusty Rainbolt: And then once you've done that, you end with a meal, because every successful hunt ends with a meal.
00:37:38.333 --> 00:37:40.033
Dusty Rainbolt: And then they groom and then they go to sleep.
00:37:41.793 --> 00:37:44.433
Deborah Wolfe: Okay, and if you don't end with a meal?
00:37:45.253 --> 00:37:50.333
Deborah Wolfe: Well, I think sometimes they'll do things like ambush you on the stairs or...
00:37:50.353 --> 00:37:51.853
Dusty Rainbolt: Yeah, because the hunt's not over.
00:37:53.393 --> 00:37:55.733
Deborah Wolfe: Exactly, attack something, right?
00:37:55.733 --> 00:38:02.593
Deborah Wolfe: Like an object maybe, maybe shred the back of your couch, like something that to that cat is perfectly sensible.
00:38:03.413 --> 00:38:14.953
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, and you know, there's probably a level of frustration, but this brings me to one of the cat's favorite toys, which is the laser, you know, the little red dot.
00:38:15.473 --> 00:38:16.653
Dusty Rainbolt: And so when you're doing...
00:38:16.673 --> 00:38:19.053
Dusty Rainbolt: I mean, it's a problem.
00:38:19.493 --> 00:38:26.533
Dusty Rainbolt: I recommend it under certain circumstances because cats that don't respond to other stimuli like the...
00:38:26.773 --> 00:38:33.333
Dusty Rainbolt: Oh, this might be good for the lady we talked about whose cat didn't want to exercise.
00:38:33.533 --> 00:38:34.533
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, the older lady.
00:38:34.553 --> 00:38:38.633
Deborah Wolfe: Yes, it could be because she could control how slow and how fast.
00:38:38.693 --> 00:38:39.453
Dusty Rainbolt: Exactly.
00:38:39.473 --> 00:38:42.773
Deborah Wolfe: And make it creep along and not give the cat too much exercise.
00:38:42.793 --> 00:38:43.213
Deborah Wolfe: You're right.
00:38:43.233 --> 00:38:43.993
Deborah Wolfe: A laser toy.
00:38:44.293 --> 00:38:45.533
Deborah Wolfe: I'm going to suggest that.
00:38:45.553 --> 00:38:52.773
Dusty Rainbolt: But to finish what I was saying, so you've got the laser toy, and it has the potential to be very frustrating because it just goes away.
00:38:53.233 --> 00:39:02.853
Dusty Rainbolt: So what you need to do is let the cat pounce on it and then maybe shake it and let it die and then feed it.
00:39:03.493 --> 00:39:14.173
Dusty Rainbolt: And again, the frustrating thing is he can't feel the fur or the feathers in his paws or his claws and can't bite it, but you can do the next best thing.
00:39:14.193 --> 00:39:21.393
Dusty Rainbolt: And maybe you can put a regular toy down, a feather toy or a mouse or whatever.
00:39:21.413 --> 00:39:24.413
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, I think so, because she did say he liked the cat.
00:39:24.413 --> 00:39:27.513
Deborah Wolfe: She liked the regular colored mouse, right?
00:39:27.553 --> 00:39:30.193
Deborah Wolfe: So you toss her the mouse at the end of the play session.
00:39:30.213 --> 00:39:30.513
Dusty Rainbolt: Right.
00:39:30.853 --> 00:39:33.193
Dusty Rainbolt: And then you feed them and then you feed them.
00:39:33.213 --> 00:39:36.153
Dusty Rainbolt: And then it's the full cycle and they groom and go to sleep.
00:39:36.813 --> 00:39:47.493
Dusty Rainbolt: And you want to do that at night, too, before you go to sleep, because that will give you a chance to get better rest than you would if the cat was going, Hey, hey, poking you.
00:39:47.513 --> 00:39:47.833
Dusty Rainbolt: Hey.
00:39:48.593 --> 00:39:56.993
Deborah Wolfe: So I kind of mentioned earlier that I have these two rescue kittens and they were unfortunately trained to soil on blankets and bedding.
00:39:57.373 --> 00:40:01.113
Deborah Wolfe: So I didn't know that and I had discovered it.
00:40:01.533 --> 00:40:11.633
Deborah Wolfe: So since then, I put these giant plastic tablecloths over the bedding, confined them to one room, which they were already confined to, even though I could see that they could jump huge amounts.
00:40:11.813 --> 00:40:17.533
Deborah Wolfe: I gave them a litter box with no lid that they wouldn't have to jump into, a very shallow paint tray originally.
00:40:17.553 --> 00:40:21.513
Deborah Wolfe: And then as they got bigger, a bigger litter box, no lid though.
00:40:21.913 --> 00:40:31.333
Deborah Wolfe: Now that they're, I guess, two and a half months, I've put the lid on, but it's only because they've been not soiling inappropriately at all for a few weeks already.
00:40:31.613 --> 00:40:33.193
Deborah Wolfe: And I think that's part of it, right?
00:40:33.213 --> 00:40:36.733
Deborah Wolfe: When you're training cats to get it right, how long is it?
00:40:37.333 --> 00:40:53.573
Deborah Wolfe: Like when the cat has abandoned the bad habit, so my cat and these kittens stopped soiling on the bed and the bedding and the blankets and the towels and all that because it was covered in plastic and eliminated and they can't get at it now, how long before I can uncover my bed and know that they won't do it again?
00:40:53.993 --> 00:40:57.333
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, that depends, but according to Dr.
00:40:57.553 --> 00:41:13.333
Dusty Rainbolt: Nick Dodman, who was the veterinary behaviorist and in charge of the behavior clinic at Tufts for many years, he said that like humans, the change in habit takes about three to four weeks.
00:41:13.813 --> 00:41:25.413
Dusty Rainbolt: So in a human, if you're trying to stop from biting your nails or whatever, if you've been able to fight it for three weeks, by that time, you're creating the new habit.
00:41:25.933 --> 00:41:30.753
Dusty Rainbolt: And so I would think three to four weeks, I did something really bad one time.
00:41:30.893 --> 00:41:33.133
Dusty Rainbolt: Money was a bit tough to get a hold of.
00:41:33.513 --> 00:41:40.473
Dusty Rainbolt: So I shredded newspapers and office papers and stuff and used it in the litter box.
00:41:40.693 --> 00:41:51.133
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, that was fine for my cats, but I also did that with my foster kittens, which was a very bad thing because then they learned to pee on papers.
00:41:51.953 --> 00:42:01.213
Dusty Rainbolt: And fortunately, it was a friend of mine that adopted the kittens, and they tended to want to pee on paper.
00:42:01.493 --> 00:42:05.453
Dusty Rainbolt: So it's like, nope, don't use paper because that could create a whole different problem.
00:42:05.653 --> 00:42:09.653
Deborah Wolfe: And three to four weeks, see, to me, it seems like that's not enough because we've already had that.
00:42:09.993 --> 00:42:15.153
Deborah Wolfe: I'm going to err on the side of caution on this one and keep the things covered for quite a while longer.
00:42:15.173 --> 00:42:22.453
Deborah Wolfe: Because I think, like, if you think about someone who bites their nails or smokes cigarettes, I don't think three to four weeks is enough.
00:42:22.653 --> 00:42:35.833
Dusty Rainbolt: And the other thing you want to do is to, once you take the plastic sheet off, and by the way, some cats really like to pee on plastic, so that won't be an answer for everybody.
00:42:35.893 --> 00:42:37.613
Deborah Wolfe: Thank God mine aren't like that.
00:42:37.633 --> 00:42:38.953
Deborah Wolfe: Cheetan Chong, thank you.
00:42:38.953 --> 00:42:40.533
Deborah Wolfe: Thank you for not liking plastic.
00:42:44.113 --> 00:42:49.293
Dusty Rainbolt: What I would do after that, I would make it really uncomfortable for them.
00:42:49.673 --> 00:43:01.933
Dusty Rainbolt: I would get a blanket or a quilt or something and spray it with citrus or a heavy perfume that they might not be a fan of and put it on there.
00:43:02.693 --> 00:43:11.633
Dusty Rainbolt: And so cats don't like strong fragrances, and if you do that, then they're going to be more likely to go, oh, I just don't want to go there.
00:43:12.073 --> 00:43:24.693
Dusty Rainbolt: But if you remove the sheet, the plastic sheet, and you have fabric, and they don't learn aversion therapy to that, then they may go ahead and go back.
00:43:24.713 --> 00:43:32.133
Dusty Rainbolt: And there are things you could do, there are products you can buy that have little, it's a little grill with little spiky things.
00:43:32.893 --> 00:43:35.413
Dusty Rainbolt: It's not painful, it's just not comfortable.
00:43:35.693 --> 00:43:42.113
Dusty Rainbolt: And if you put those or something similar on there, then they're just going to learn to avoid the bed.
00:43:42.453 --> 00:43:54.173
Deborah Wolfe: Well, it's interesting because they figured out how to get around the plastic to find nice places to nestle, but they're not, since this whole new litter box thing is going on, they're 100% in the litter box.
00:43:54.193 --> 00:43:55.253
Deborah Wolfe: They love the litter box.
00:43:55.593 --> 00:43:57.493
Deborah Wolfe: So yeah, I'm really lucky.
00:43:57.673 --> 00:44:00.233
Deborah Wolfe: I'm not taking the plastic off for a long time.
00:44:01.573 --> 00:44:02.553
Deborah Wolfe: I'm not chancing it.
00:44:02.773 --> 00:44:04.013
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah.
00:44:04.473 --> 00:44:04.893
Deborah Wolfe: Okay.
00:44:04.913 --> 00:44:06.873
Deborah Wolfe: Well, so what about your foster kittens?
00:44:06.893 --> 00:44:07.633
Deborah Wolfe: What's going on there?
00:44:08.193 --> 00:44:09.753
Dusty Rainbolt: Oh, I've got three.
00:44:09.773 --> 00:44:11.273
Dusty Rainbolt: I call them the Kraken.
00:44:11.313 --> 00:44:17.093
Dusty Rainbolt: So when I open the bathroom door and let them out in the morning, I can say, I released the Kraken's.
00:44:18.093 --> 00:44:21.313
Dusty Rainbolt: They're about 10 weeks old.
00:44:21.353 --> 00:44:22.533
Dusty Rainbolt: They're precious.
00:44:22.553 --> 00:44:24.793
Dusty Rainbolt: They belong to a feral mom.
00:44:25.613 --> 00:44:30.813
Dusty Rainbolt: And they came to me with a really bad upper respiratory infection.
00:44:31.453 --> 00:44:34.833
Dusty Rainbolt: The eyes that were swollen shut, ringworm.
00:44:36.173 --> 00:44:36.513
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah.
00:44:36.533 --> 00:44:38.953
Deborah Wolfe: So when you say what is rescue, this is rescue.
00:44:39.093 --> 00:44:40.113
Dusty Rainbolt: This is rescue.
00:44:40.133 --> 00:44:41.613
Dusty Rainbolt: This is really rescue.
00:44:41.633 --> 00:44:42.393
Dusty Rainbolt: It really is.
00:44:42.873 --> 00:44:45.753
Deborah Wolfe: My cats were in good shape that way and my cats didn't have fleas.
00:44:45.773 --> 00:44:48.013
Deborah Wolfe: I want to ask you, though, because someone emailed a question.
00:44:48.233 --> 00:44:52.533
Deborah Wolfe: How is it possible that my indoor house cat that's never been anywhere has fleas?
00:44:52.573 --> 00:44:53.773
Dusty Rainbolt: That is easy.
00:44:53.873 --> 00:44:55.133
Dusty Rainbolt: That is easy.
00:44:55.613 --> 00:44:57.653
Dusty Rainbolt: I used to live years and years ago.
00:44:57.673 --> 00:44:59.173
Dusty Rainbolt: I lived in an apartment.
00:44:59.273 --> 00:45:00.653
Dusty Rainbolt: I didn't have any pets.
00:45:00.693 --> 00:45:02.953
Dusty Rainbolt: There had never been pets in this apartment.
00:45:03.713 --> 00:45:07.333
Dusty Rainbolt: And I had some kind of flea in there.
00:45:07.353 --> 00:45:11.053
Dusty Rainbolt: And anyway, fleas can get in there in any number of ways.
00:45:11.073 --> 00:45:16.493
Dusty Rainbolt: If you walk across a lawn that has flea eggs on it, you can track them into your house.
00:45:16.873 --> 00:45:21.773
Dusty Rainbolt: And fleas will often hatch when they feel vibrations of footsteps.
00:45:22.133 --> 00:45:24.073
Dusty Rainbolt: So that's a possibility.
00:45:24.693 --> 00:45:27.893
Deborah Wolfe: Well, and you know, if you're a pet person, you're probably petting other pets.
00:45:27.913 --> 00:45:29.133
Deborah Wolfe: You're probably going to pet stores.
00:45:29.153 --> 00:45:33.693
Deborah Wolfe: You're probably talking and visiting and hanging out or working alongside people with pets.
00:45:33.853 --> 00:45:39.033
Deborah Wolfe: I mean, all these people could potentially in some way have a flea egg or two hanging around, right?
00:45:39.893 --> 00:45:40.933
Dusty Rainbolt: Entirely possible.
00:45:41.193 --> 00:45:55.913
Dusty Rainbolt: I don't know about just petting them, but if you're walking on grass that's got the eggs, you're embedding it into your shoes, and then you're walking around your house in your carpet, and carpet's a nice place to hatch some flea eggs.
00:45:56.353 --> 00:46:06.153
Dusty Rainbolt: But also remember, if your pet has fleas, there's a very, very good chance that they're going to have tapeworms too, because you get tapeworms from ingesting flea eggs.
00:46:06.513 --> 00:46:09.033
Dusty Rainbolt: So, you know, that's something to remember as well.
00:46:09.213 --> 00:46:15.193
Deborah Wolfe: Sometimes the only way you'll notice, it's kind of peculiar, is your cat will have what seems to be fur issues.
00:46:15.513 --> 00:46:17.613
Dusty Rainbolt: Right, that little rice around the butt.
00:46:17.673 --> 00:46:21.573
Deborah Wolfe: You know, maybe, yeah, or missing patches or patchy fur.
00:46:21.593 --> 00:46:23.513
Deborah Wolfe: You might even think, oh, my cat's neurotic.
00:46:23.633 --> 00:46:24.513
Deborah Wolfe: He picks it himself.
00:46:24.733 --> 00:46:25.693
Deborah Wolfe: Well, maybe not.
00:46:25.793 --> 00:46:27.053
Deborah Wolfe: Maybe he has worms.
00:46:27.513 --> 00:46:31.753
Deborah Wolfe: And all he needs is one little dose of wormer, and a month later, a second dose, and he's done.
00:46:31.773 --> 00:46:33.053
Deborah Wolfe: And now he has beautiful fur.
00:46:33.373 --> 00:46:40.413
Deborah Wolfe: So sometimes I think people are reluctant, like you were saying earlier, reluctant to go to the vet, and they want it to be behavioral or personality.
00:46:40.773 --> 00:46:41.533
Deborah Wolfe: And it's not.
00:46:41.993 --> 00:46:42.713
Dusty Rainbolt: And it's not.
00:46:42.933 --> 00:46:50.773
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, our little foster mom here, she has been hyper grooming her rib cage to her upper haunches.
00:46:51.533 --> 00:46:58.333
Dusty Rainbolt: And she's going to be a barn cat because that's, you know, she would prefer not to be around people, I think.
00:46:58.553 --> 00:47:01.473
Dusty Rainbolt: You can touch her, but she's not fond of it.
00:47:02.173 --> 00:47:03.653
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, famous last words.
00:47:03.693 --> 00:47:07.233
Deborah Wolfe: I've had two barn cats since I've lived on this farm in 1997.
00:47:07.253 --> 00:47:11.553
Deborah Wolfe: And first one was called Barn Cat and second one was called Sadie.
00:47:11.833 --> 00:47:17.853
Deborah Wolfe: And in both cases, the rescue places guaranteed me this cat would never come in the house because I was like, I have too many cats.
00:47:17.873 --> 00:47:18.473
Deborah Wolfe: I don't want a cat.
00:47:18.493 --> 00:47:21.773
Deborah Wolfe: I mean, right away, within two weeks, they're house cats.
00:47:22.033 --> 00:47:24.373
Deborah Wolfe: Like, why is Barn Cat on my bed?
00:47:25.473 --> 00:47:31.713
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, and I think she would under normal circumstances, she would do well in a house that doesn't have children.
00:47:32.193 --> 00:47:36.273
Dusty Rainbolt: You can pet her, but as you remove your hand, she scratches.
00:47:36.313 --> 00:47:40.933
Dusty Rainbolt: And the lady before was saying, oh, I think she just doesn't want you to stop.
00:47:40.973 --> 00:47:44.153
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, I think it's more when you're removing your hand.
00:47:44.893 --> 00:47:46.973
Dusty Rainbolt: She's seen motion out of her periphery.
00:47:47.373 --> 00:47:54.833
Dusty Rainbolt: And if she was a feral or abandoned cat, then she's always looking out for threats.
00:47:54.853 --> 00:47:59.633
Dusty Rainbolt: And she sees the movement and she immediately reacts to protect herself.
00:47:59.913 --> 00:48:01.193
Dusty Rainbolt: And I think that's what's going on.
00:48:01.573 --> 00:48:07.073
Deborah Wolfe: Do you think if you move your hand far more slowly, like almost slow motion, she won't react?
00:48:07.533 --> 00:48:09.253
Dusty Rainbolt: I have tried that.
00:48:09.633 --> 00:48:14.393
Dusty Rainbolt: And sometimes she gives me the look and it's like, I just want to get my hand out of there.
00:48:15.593 --> 00:48:20.713
Dusty Rainbolt: She does get to the point where you've been scratching her for a minute or so and it's like, I'm done.
00:48:20.893 --> 00:48:23.973
Dusty Rainbolt: So she's a sweet cat.
00:48:24.273 --> 00:48:27.613
Dusty Rainbolt: And like I said, in the right circumstances, she would be fine.
00:48:27.913 --> 00:48:33.713
Dusty Rainbolt: But I could never in good conscience adopt her to a home with kids or grandkids.
00:48:34.153 --> 00:48:45.413
Deborah Wolfe: You know, that first person, the person with the cat, whether wondering whether to put it down or not, it's very elderly and it's making, goes to the bathroom on all kinds of bedding and anything left on the floor.
00:48:45.433 --> 00:48:50.533
Deborah Wolfe: That person, they also said their cat, you pet it for a very short time and then it lashes out.
00:48:50.693 --> 00:48:54.053
Deborah Wolfe: And they thought maybe that was a sign that it was time to put her down.
00:48:54.073 --> 00:48:57.913
Deborah Wolfe: But I think, like you say, it could be a sign of something else, like pain.
00:48:58.093 --> 00:49:00.093
Dusty Rainbolt: It could very well be a sign of pain.
00:49:00.113 --> 00:49:04.473
Dusty Rainbolt: It could also be hyperesthesia, which is a syndrome.
00:49:04.493 --> 00:49:06.233
Dusty Rainbolt: They really don't know what causes it.
00:49:08.433 --> 00:49:11.873
Dusty Rainbolt: After a short time, physical contact becomes painful.
00:49:12.253 --> 00:49:13.613
Dusty Rainbolt: I mean, if you think about it...
00:49:13.793 --> 00:49:14.993
Deborah Wolfe: It's a nerve thing, right?
00:49:15.013 --> 00:49:17.993
Deborah Wolfe: Like over sensitivity from the skin where everything hurts?
00:49:18.213 --> 00:49:22.473
Deborah Wolfe: Like if you have a migraine and someone tries to stroke your hair, it's not the right time.
00:49:22.613 --> 00:49:24.093
Dusty Rainbolt: That's the perfect example.
00:49:24.113 --> 00:49:24.753
Dusty Rainbolt: It really is.
00:49:25.033 --> 00:49:33.933
Dusty Rainbolt: And even if you don't have pain, if somebody rubs your arm up and down for two or three minutes, and it's just like, stop it!
00:49:34.393 --> 00:49:41.693
Dusty Rainbolt: So, you know, I mean, you look at a teenage kid, you want to kiss him, and it's like, no, stop!
00:49:41.713 --> 00:49:43.053
Deborah Wolfe: Stop playing with my hair, Mom.
00:49:43.193 --> 00:49:44.873
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, so your cat.
00:49:44.893 --> 00:49:47.713
Deborah Wolfe: Okay, so when you're petting your cat, let your cat show you what it wants.
00:49:47.833 --> 00:49:52.813
Deborah Wolfe: Any cat, old cat, young cat, whatever, it'll press into you if it wants more pressure.
00:49:53.073 --> 00:49:55.453
Deborah Wolfe: It'll pull away a little bit if it wants less pressure.
00:49:55.793 --> 00:49:59.093
Deborah Wolfe: It may constantly give you the same area over and over and over.
00:49:59.093 --> 00:50:02.433
Deborah Wolfe: Rub its face into your hand or rub its butt into your leg or whatever.
00:50:02.913 --> 00:50:04.053
Deborah Wolfe: That's its choice.
00:50:04.093 --> 00:50:04.913
Deborah Wolfe: Don't fight it.
00:50:04.913 --> 00:50:07.313
Deborah Wolfe: Don't pick it up and rub its belly like it's a dog.
00:50:07.673 --> 00:50:08.153
Deborah Wolfe: Let it...
00:50:08.173 --> 00:50:12.853
Deborah Wolfe: And then maybe you won't have it lashing out at you so much, right?
00:50:12.993 --> 00:50:14.373
Dusty Rainbolt: That's exactly right.
00:50:14.373 --> 00:50:16.153
Dusty Rainbolt: They will tell you what they want.
00:50:16.633 --> 00:50:20.413
Dusty Rainbolt: And you may not even know it, though, because you have to watch the ears.
00:50:20.473 --> 00:50:24.633
Dusty Rainbolt: Are the ears forward or the whiskers forward, like we're enjoying this?
00:50:25.113 --> 00:50:27.353
Dusty Rainbolt: Are the eyes slightly closed?
00:50:27.673 --> 00:50:30.573
Dusty Rainbolt: Because those are all signs that we're really getting into this.
00:50:30.933 --> 00:50:39.973
Dusty Rainbolt: But if the eyes are open, if skin is flicking, if ears are flicking, if the tail is moving around, it's time to stop.
00:50:40.853 --> 00:50:54.213
Deborah Wolfe: If the tail, though, one caveat to that is, if the tail is sort of in a loose, almost like a candy cane shape, and it sort of flops over and touches you and then flops back again, that is almost like a high five in cat talk.
00:50:54.413 --> 00:50:57.113
Deborah Wolfe: So that means your cat is having a really good time.
00:50:57.133 --> 00:50:58.453
Deborah Wolfe: Don't worry about that at all.
00:50:58.733 --> 00:51:02.953
Deborah Wolfe: But I think most of the time, people touch cats not gently enough.
00:51:03.133 --> 00:51:04.173
Deborah Wolfe: They're tiny.
00:51:04.473 --> 00:51:08.393
Deborah Wolfe: Like, so if your cat is irritated by your touch, try fingertips.
00:51:08.793 --> 00:51:10.993
Deborah Wolfe: Try the lightest, lightest touch you can.
00:51:11.373 --> 00:51:14.353
Deborah Wolfe: And then after you've touched it for a second or two, just stop.
00:51:14.533 --> 00:51:17.553
Deborah Wolfe: If your cat wants more, it'll initiate, right?
00:51:17.693 --> 00:51:18.073
Dusty Rainbolt: Right.
00:51:18.133 --> 00:51:37.993
Dusty Rainbolt: And one thing that I have found that I'm so excited about it, I have started using back scratchers with my feral cats and my less socialized cats, because that gives you an extra 12 inches, and it allows you to scratch under the neck and around the ears and all places cats like to be scratched.
00:51:38.213 --> 00:51:48.993
Dusty Rainbolt: They start to associate good things with humans, but if they lose control and squat, you know, I'm not leading all over the house anymore.
00:51:49.293 --> 00:51:49.833
Deborah Wolfe: You know what?
00:51:49.853 --> 00:51:55.193
Deborah Wolfe: I really hope Stacey Mantle from Pets Weekly Magazine is listening right now because she needs to hear that.
00:51:55.213 --> 00:51:56.653
Deborah Wolfe: I think I'm going to send her this show.
00:51:57.453 --> 00:52:05.993
Deborah Wolfe: Yeah, pitch that out to Stacey at petsweekly.com because she's got two feral cats she rescued that need this back scratch thing.
00:52:06.193 --> 00:52:06.833
Deborah Wolfe: Definitely.
00:52:07.253 --> 00:52:09.993
Deborah Wolfe: All right, well, Dusty, thank you so much for joining me today.
00:52:10.013 --> 00:52:12.553
Deborah Wolfe: We went way over, but it was such a joy.
00:52:12.693 --> 00:52:13.173
Deborah Wolfe: Thank you.
00:52:13.193 --> 00:52:15.373
Deborah Wolfe: I hope you'll come back again on Animal Party.
00:52:15.713 --> 00:52:28.293
Dusty Rainbolt: Well, thank you very much, and I would like to remind people that if they do have inappropriate elimination issues, that they can buy my book, Cat Scene Investigator, Solve Your Cat's Litterbox Mystery.
00:52:28.533 --> 00:52:31.933
Dusty Rainbolt: You can get it at Amazon, and you can order it other places.
00:52:32.513 --> 00:52:34.933
Dusty Rainbolt: That is a really good book.
00:52:34.933 --> 00:52:43.633
Dusty Rainbolt: There's a huge section on all the different health problems that can cause it, lots of different ways to overcome inappropriate elimination.
00:52:44.153 --> 00:52:48.153
Deborah Wolfe: And also, cat wrangling made easy for people who have more than one cat.
00:52:48.633 --> 00:52:51.773
Deborah Wolfe: And kittens for dummies, if you've got a kitten, you need that.
00:52:52.133 --> 00:52:54.593
Deborah Wolfe: So check out Dusty's Books at Amazon.
00:52:54.813 --> 00:52:57.053
Deborah Wolfe: Thank you so much, Dusty Rainbold, everybody.
00:52:57.073 --> 00:52:57.933
Deborah Wolfe: Thank you, Dusty.
00:52:58.393 --> 00:52:59.573
Dusty Rainbolt: Thank you for having me.
00:52:59.593 --> 00:53:01.113
Dusty Rainbolt: I look forward to the next time.
00:53:01.353 --> 00:53:02.113
Deborah Wolfe: Oh, definitely.
00:53:02.133 --> 00:53:03.333
Deborah Wolfe: I love having shows with you.
00:53:03.353 --> 00:53:04.253
Deborah Wolfe: We got to do it again.
00:53:04.273 --> 00:53:14.293
Deborah Wolfe: So everybody listening, if you have a cat problem or a cat question or a cat query and you didn't make it in time for today's show, send it to me and we'll put it on for the next time.
00:53:14.573 --> 00:53:21.373
Deborah Wolfe: Deb at petliferadio.com if you want to say it or you can just send it and we'll answer the question on air.
00:53:21.653 --> 00:53:22.973
Deborah Wolfe: Thanks very much everybody.
00:53:23.033 --> 00:53:26.853
Deborah Wolfe: All right, from me Deb Wolfe, an Animal Party and Pet Life Radio.
00:53:29.293 --> 00:53:35.333
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