#Cat Behaviourist

[happydogsandcats]

Learn From The Professionals About Cat Toilet Training

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[liquoricecrow]

reanimator 4 a comedy about old husbands dan & herbert and their smelly horrible ugly darling little beast of a cat who shrieks at night and knocks over equipment in the lab and terrifies dan, posing a challenge for the cat behaviourist herbert brings into the mix in order to (save his marriage) fix the cats behaviour. its filmed my cat from hell style. i come from the future this happens 💕💕💕

[n3ongold3n]

This year's tree and Maurice living his best life 🌠

[despazito]

could u elaborate on "parrots make bad pets"? not disagreeing (far from it) just interested to see your take! looking to learn more about this

(i've gotten this ask before so please don't mind i'm just gonna paste a writeup i did a while ago)

There’s a blog run by an animal behaviourist who specializes in parrots that i really enjoy reading, she has a very good writeup on the state of companion parrots as an industry: The Inconvenient Truth About Cockatoos

so basically the average person usually cannot meet the needs of a parrot, especially medium and ESPECIALLY large species. they are long lived, extremely social and intelligent animals who are very demanding if you are their only companion. in my mind the most 'ethical' pet parrot setup is having some pairs of budgies in a dedicated bird room filled with foraging enrichment and doing some basic command training as a bird-human bonding activity instead of cuddles.

most pet parrots are hand reared or even hatched in incubators by breeders and are never given a chance to be raised by their parents, and virtually none stay with their parents until a natural weaning age before getting sold. which is wild considering it is fucking ILLEGAL to do that to puppies or kittens.

A parrot isn't really born wired for human companionship in the same way that a dog or cat is. they imprint on their parents which sets the blueprint of their kin, and they generally want to only form extremely close bonds with others of their kin. To get a very people-oriented parrot, it has to think it’s people.

This is different from the socializing practiced in raising cats and dogs or acclimating ferals to people. socializing means exposure to things so that the animal doesn't grow up to see the target as a threat, and ultimately that the target is something that can be very rewarding to spend time around. A dog raised with its mother and socialized to people still understands that it's a dog, it can get along with other dogs, but can also form strong bonds to people. They actually read both dog and human body language and legitimately have an awareness that we are different species.

The companion parrot is raised to think it’s people, and as a result many lose the ability to form bonds with their own kind. in fact the reason many breeders remove eggs or chicks from the nest is arguing that the parent birds don’t really know how to raise their chicks- because they themselves were hand reared and never learned how to parent from their parents! it seems that, like us, parenting isn't perfectly hardwired in parrots and they need to learn the skill from their families, oftentimes even staying to help their parents raise younger siblings!

That's why it's not at all uncommon for pair bonded breeding birds to be sold as a completely separate product from companion birds in many aviary operations. there's so many ads for people selling breeding parrots that fucking hate humans or are semi tame specifically listed for sale as breeders not as pets:

then their babies are bred for the pet market so they are taken either before or right after hatching to get hand reared and imprinted onto humans, because a parrot-bonded parrot just won't be as interested in forming those close human companionships you see in viral videos. this isn't the case for all aviaries, i want to acknowledge there are smaller scale breeders who have tamer breeding birds, but big producers can have borderline feral pairs and the point i'm trying to make is when you socialize a parrot to either the human world or parrot world, it's often at the expense of the other.

most trouble starts once the parrot begins reaching the age of sexual maturity. they stop being openly cuddly to most people, and will try to pair bond with their primary caretaker. It's not uncommon for this to lead to aggression towards other family members because parrots don't share partners, they can even do this to babies they are jealous of!

But a human can't become a suitable mate substitute for a parrot, and some of their mating behaviours such as regurgitating on you can seem straight up gross so the human then shuns the parrot and shuts down their advances. this can make your bird become very sexually frustrated that can lead to more unwanted behaviours and even health emergencies such as prolapse. we lead them on by stroking their chest and backs (only something bonded pairs do, you are essentially jerking off your parrot when you do this..) then reject them with no other outlet for their natural urges, and spaying/neutering isn't an option either! so they're stuck in a psychological purgatory of being unable to fulfill their instincts. and if they're in an understimulating environment and left alone for most of the day in addition to all that, frankly i think that's just an awful life to give to an animal we allegedly love!

we essentially alienate them, and when they don’t have people around to meet their extremely high social needs because you work a 9-5, even if there are other birds around, the lonely or frustrated human-bonded parrot can become depressed and self mutilate.

parrots that were left with their parents, are raised as parrots, and weaned at their own natural pace overwhelmingly do not exhibit these destructive behaviours.

 a productive relationship with a pet parrot is one that fosters independence, not dependence, on the human companion. the most responsible parrot owners should strive to act more as a zookeeper to their parrot instead of cuddling it and creating a ‘velcro’ bird glued to the hip, and socialize with them via training sessions instead of letting their birds indulge in pair bonding behaviours like petting and preening which leads to sexual frustration and aggression or self mutilation.

Ultimately I believe any parrot hand reared and imprinted onto humans is some degree of psychologically damaged and suffers from the parrot equivalent of a developmental trauma, they have been robbed of a normal parrot life and it cannot be undone.

SO many parrot rescues are completely flooded with unwanted pets, many with tough behavioural challenges (for example it's not uncommon for parrots to be reactive to an entire gender, so that cuts the adopter pool immediately in half). and these patterns can be difficult to break especially without the aid of a behaviourist. and the thing still has another 40 years of life left in it but nobody wants to adopt because it's another "crazy bitey bird that hates everyone", has reached sexual maturity so it's no longer as friendly, and it's much easier to start from scratch so folks choose to just buy another baby and keep the cycle going.

And none of that even touches on the rampant poaching that keeps supplying the trade in many parts of the world. and that's why everyone should have domestic chickens or pigeons.

[catziraphale]

Stopping underneath the Apple Tree, Aziraphale looks up and startles as he notices a pair of familiar eyes.

“It’s me,” he announces, unnecessarily.

Mere moments later, Crowley’s back on the ground, their noses touching in greeting. There is a shallow cut on the top of Crowley’s head, near the right ear, but other than that he seems uninjured.

“Did they hurt you?” Aziraphale asks, once again more to break the silence, than expecting an enlightening answer.

“Nah. Didn’t catch me.”

“You’re wearing a collar,” Aziraphale observes as he starts walking, taking the lead. He wants to show Crowley his new home. He also doesn’t want to show how much the sight is affecting him. The glittering silver looks stunning against the black fur.

“Yeah, found it.” Crowley sounds pleased. “You want one, too?”

Too flustered to think properly, Aziraphale replies, “Yes. Maybe different colour.”

“Not to disappoint you, Doll, but your fur is so long no collar will be visible.”

Aziraphale feels his whiskers droop in disappointment, but then he remembers that some collars come with attached accessories, like little bells.

Half an hour later, after an argument about breaking into closed shops in the middle of the night and stealing collars, Aziraphale is walking home with his long fluffy tail standing proudly up.

He can’t reply to Crowley’s exasperated, “A tartan collar? Really?”, because he’s holding a bow tie between his teeth.

[Now, it is important to note that I’m aware that generally cat behaviourists agree it’s better not to put collars on cats, especially if they’re outdoor cats. We’re only doing this for the silly story 😇]

[sunrisesleep]

Hi, I asked this to another person but since you said something 'bout mimes I think you can also help me. I have a mime mix with what I think to be either a evil or sreaced clown. I came upon him when I heard a lot of noise trun out it was a clown mil. I saved him from it but he won't stop slapping people that ain't me. I wish for Slappy (his name) to like my partner but he won't stop slapping her. We have tried everything from her feeding him and playing with him from her letting him pet her cat. He just doesn't like her. Help plz?

I'm not a breeder, but a behaviourist, but If it's a mine then... I have to tell you MIMES AREN'T A SOCIAL BREED. They get agressive especially around human babies, because they want your attention (I'm guessing your mime loves you to the point of obsession). First you have to work on their possible seperation anxiety. Best of luck,

xoxooxoxox

[the-adventures-of-dave]

Heya! Been debating for a while to ask a cat blog / catblr a question and I hope you're fine with me asking it! My cat sometimes randomly attacks me like I'll just be talking to a family member and he'll just randomly decide to pounce and bite me (clawing me as well). Me and my family figured it might've been because he was bored so we tried playing with him more and even started to make sure his auto play toys (basicly ones that move on their own, he used to love one of them a LOT but doesn't usually care for it much anymore) but even if we play with him for hours he'll still randomly attack me, it isn't soft bites either, sometimes I'm running out of bandaids. He's got lots of toys and cat trees that he loves but we don't know why he keeps doing this, he doesn't hate me he wants to spend too much time with me to hate me so we're really at a loss. Any ideas?

Hello friend! I’m sorry to hear that you and your kitty are dealing with aggression issues. I’ve been there before with Dave, and I know how difficult it is. It’s hard not to build resentment when these kinds of things happen, and I commend you for seeking a solution that will help both your kitty and you. <3

All that being said, there are a large number of reasons a cat could be acting like that: physical and mental health problems, routine, human interaction, environmental issues, etc.

Keeping up with playtime is a fantastic start, in case it is related to boredom or anxiety. Has this behaviour started suddenly, or has kitty always been like this? If you can pinpoint a trigger (a recent move, arrival of a new family member, outdoor cats, etc) then you might be able to work backwards from there to solve the problem.

To keep yourself from getting injured, see if you can watch his body language and find signs he’s about to bite. If you can’t redirect him to a toy or other distraction, get up and leave the room entirely for a few minutes to let him calm down. At least you’ll avoid some bites this way, and at most he might even learn that biting = you leaving and stop the behaviour.

I’m afraid I can’t give much specific advice beyond that though, since aggression can have such varied causes. My primary suggestion would be to talk to the vet- it’s important to rule out any physical health problems that could be causing it. Otherwise if you have the funds, it might be worth it to contact a cat behaviourist for more specialized help.

Good luck anon! Hopefully you and your kitty can get through this.

[generation-simmer]

about me - simblr edition

Thank you for the tag @tedsies 🥰

your 3 traits: dog lover, music lover and loves outdoors

your aspiration: friend of the animals (my dream and goal is to become a dog behaviourist on which I'm working very hard!)

in-game world you'd live in: i don't even have that pack but probably glimmerbrook? I just want to live in a forest! brindleton bay or henford-on-bagley would also be lovely!

favourite townie(s): I never play with townies and don't care too much about them, I'm sorry don't judge me 🫣

most used pack(s): seasons, growing together, parenthood, cats&dogs. Every pack that fits "everyday" gameplay I would say.

favourite decor object (no cc): the big debug grass fom Cottage Living. I'm addicted to that one, cause it makes open grass areas look so much better! if you have no idea what I'm talking about, I showed it in this post

something you want in the game: cars, hotels, bands, hobbies, better romantic attraction system and more apartments!

what colour is your plumbob right now; it's pretty green today! 💚

tagging @sharooonia @bug-farm @limeysims @melonivysims @zmemily

[sagerenard]

cat behaviourists please tell me what this means

[retrowaving1]

General rule of thumb: NEVER say anything negative in the comment section under a cat video. No matter what's happening in that video or what your comment is about, if it's negative even in the slightest, you are dead. The internet community of people who think they "touch the grass" more often then you do will devour you. The fact that your are an experienced cat owner or even a professional cat behaviourist or veterinarian can't save you. You shall be destroyed.

[ragnarlothcat]

Cat fact! According to ~science male cats are typically left paw dominant and female cats are right paw dominant. Why? Idk but you know cats; they like to keep their secrets.

Gay German/Greek facts! Heinrich Hössli (1784-1864) was a Swiss German who was famous for making women's hats AND who loved his gay son so much he wrote a book called 'Eros - The Greek Love of Men' (1836). Considered one of the first 19th century texts defending male same-sex love, the book was written after his son came out to him and was later charged with 'indecent acts'. Hössli looked to the Greeks (whose writings and culture were popular with the German intellectual elite) to defend homosexuality. He believed that the Greeks were the key to society understanding, accepting, and defending the rights of gay men. After all, if a society such as the Germans saw the ancient Greeks as the pinnacle of culture and society, this would also have to include their sexual practices which viewed the love between men as the ultimate expression of love. To do any less would be hypocritical and devalue what made Greek society what it was. Hössli also believed that homosexuality was not a choice but an immutable part of a person.

Hössli was also against any and all anti-semitism, was pro-women's rights, and all for the separation of church from government. What a king 👑

(Sadly, his son died in a shipwreck, but I hope he knew how much his dad loved him).

Yes time for some cat and gay history facts!!! (You should make an extremely niche podcast and I will immediately subscribe)

I knew the cat thing and I like to test it myself when observing cats and it does seem to be mostly true. I know one girl who is left pawed but she lives with her brother cat (did I need to specify? might her brother have been a tortoise?) and our theory is that she just wants to match him! But then, I have a brother and I've never once been tempted to mimic him in any way, so we'll wait to hear what the cat behaviourists have to say I guess 🤔

Hössli sounds incredible and I also hope his son knew he loved him. You have to think that a dad like him, who was writing books, would have made that clear? I don't know how demonstrative 19th century German parents were but I think you can always tell, at least a little. The shipwreck is sad (the untrustworthy ocean strikes again) but at least Hössli lived a long life of correct moral stances and hats and loving his son.

[kholran]

15 Questions

Rules: Answer the 15 questions, then tag 15 people.

Tagged by @drivablecar Thank you friend!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Sort of. My dad coached basketball for many years, and when they knew I was coming and they started trying out names, they included the names of players currently on the team. So I share a name with a former high school basketball player, but saying I was named “after” her is a bit of a stretch.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I got a little teary watching a news story about the earthquake in Turkey tonight.

3.Do you have kids?

No, and I’m happy that way.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

No~o, never. /s

5. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Hair and clothes I guess?

6. What color are your eyes?

Grey.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings. Horror movies and I don’t get along. I can do monster movies (vampires, werewolves, etc) ok most of the time but not things full of jumpscares and gore.

8. Any special talents?

I can generally get along with almost any cats. I’m that person with whom the owners are like “oh, usually they don’t like strangers”. I also seem to have a knack for finding things.

9. Where were you born?

The same place I live now. I’ve literally never moved, except to go to college.

10. What are your hobbies?

Writing, hanging out with my pets large and small, horseback riding, reading (mostly fic these days), watching c-drama

11. Do you have any pets?

Yep. 10 cats, a dog, two horses, and far more corydoras catfish and mourning geckos than I planned for because they keep breeding. Fun fact about mourning geckos: they don’t need a male to reproduce. So I got one about...three or so years ago? And now I have somewhere in the vicinity of 20. Luckily they’re small and cohabitate well so they don’t need a massive vivarium.

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

The only sport I ever stuck with was horseback riding, but as a child, I played soccer, basketball, volleyball, deck hockey, and did gymnastics.

13. How tall are you?

5'4″

14. Favourite Subjects in School?

Art, Language (French), History, Music.

15. Dream Job?

Cat behaviourist and rescuer.

I tag: Whoever wants to play. Consider yourself tagged!

[despazito]

Aussie here, why not a cockatoo? I would get that importing it to the US would be fucked, and that they're one of the loudest birds ever. What other reasons?

There’s a blog run by animal behaviourist who specializes in parrots that i really enjoy reading, she has a very good writeup on them: The Inconvenient Truth About Cockatoos

the average person cannot take proper care of a large parrot. they are extremely social and intelligent animals who are very demanding if you are their only companion.

most pet parrots are hand reared or even hatched in incubators by breeders and are never given a chance to be raised by their parents, virtually none stay with their parents until a natural weaning age before getting sold. which is wild considering it is fucking illegal to do something like that with puppies or kittens.

A parrot isn't really born wired to human companionship in the same way that a dog or cat is. they imprint on their parents which sets the blueprint of their kin, and they generally want to only form extremely close bonds with others of their kin. To get a very people-oriented parrot, it has to think it’s people.

This is different from the socializing practiced in raising cats and dogs or acclimating ferals to people. socializing means exposure to things so that the animal doesn't grow up to see the target as a threat, and ultimately that the target is something that can be very rewarding to spend time around. A dog raised with its mother and socialized to people still understands that it's a dog, it can get along with other dogs, but can also form strong bonds to people. They actually read both dog and human body language and have an awareness that we are different species.

The companion parrot is raised to think it’s people, and as a result many lose the ability to form bonds with their own kind. in fact the reason many breeders remove eggs or chicks from the nest is arguing that the parents don’t really know how to raise their chicks- because they themselves were hand reared and never learned how from their parents! we essentially alienate them, and when they don’t have people around to meet their extremely high needs even if there's other birds around, the human-bonded parrot can become depressed and even self mutilate. parrots that were left with their parents, are raised as parrots, and weaned at their own natural pace overwhelmingly do not exhibit these destructive behaviours.

I think any parrot hand reared and imprinted onto humans is deeply psychologically damaged, they have been robbed of a normal parrot life.

 a productive relationship with a pet parrot is one that fosters independence, not dependence on the human. those owners act as more as a zookeeper to their parrot instead of coddling and creating a ‘velcro’ bird glued to the hip, and socialize via training sessions instead of letting their birds indulge in pair bonding behaviours like petting and preening.

[sleepy-bunny-boo]

✨️Masterpost✨️

My name is Logan, I'm 18 and I use xe/they pronouns, I am a (single) enby queer

I have 2 tuxedo cats named Ani and Obi and a pekingese dog named JoJo.

I work with animals, currently in a pet supplies shop! One day I hope to become a dog behaviourist.

✨Autism✨

I'm not all that interesting, my blog is mainly just me bitching and fandom reposts 😗✌️

I am open to talk, don't be afraid to drop me a message!

[puzzles-are-fun]

Dogs are confusing sometimes

I’m a pet sitter and I’m currently at a pet sit with two dogs and two cats. I’ve been sitting for these dogs for 13 years and I’ve noticed that they have this confusing and frustrating quirk. When we walk to a certain part of their neighbourhood, near a small playground that has a public garbage bin, the dogs (a greyhound and a Shiba Inu, but I don’t think breed has much to do with it) find the most interesting smell at the other end of the leash and somewhat refuse to keep walking the 5/10/15 feet to the trash bin. It somehow seems like they know I’m mere feet away from not having to carry their full poop bag anymore and think “Oh, cool! The most amazing smell I’ve ever smelled! I must stand here and sniff, forever!”. I don’t mind letting them sniff after (key word there!) I've thrown out the poop but having to wait while they decide if they want to listen to me. I’m aware that Shiba’s are very stubborn but it’s still annoying. As is walking two dogs if different heights and personalities. The greyhound is a sweetheart who loves people and some other dogs, the Shiba likes his humans, seems to like me (I’ve known him pretty much his whole life) and doesn’t like dogs. Or walks much. He’s a sweetheart, in a different way. He’s very chill and quiet! They both are. Except the greyhound, when I accidentally step on him because I didn’t realize he was underfoot. He doesn’t seem to understand how tall he is and that he’s too often in the way.

Anyway, if anyone (dog behaviourists or something similar) can tell me why dogs do that (the slowing down close to the garbage bin), I’d love to know.

I’m pretty sure most of the other dogs I sit for don’t do this, but I might not be remembering the other ones who do.

[localcatbehaviourguy]

Pinned Post

My name is Aaron, I'm a lifelong cat owner with animal behaviourism training (focused mostly on cat behaviourism) and some real-world experience helping cats and their owners figure out how to interact with each other. I've studied all kinds of behavioural issues and have diagnosed and treated quite a few in the field, though I am still relatively new at this. I also know quite a bit about dog welfare and some about dog behaviour, though not as much as cats, and I've studied on my own to learn a few things about exotics, though I'm not qualified to diagnose or treat those in any setting, even professional.

Disclaimer- I cannot, will not, and should not ever attempt to diagnose your cat here. Diagnosis requires actual real-life interactions with you, your cat, and your cat's environment, which includes any other animals or other family members, and many of the tests I run cannot be satisfied through simple videos or pictures. The most any cat behaviourist can accurately do online is say "Well, in cases I've experienced in real life, cats with these symptoms/behaviour patterns usually responded best to treatment for (behavioural issue) and here are some of the things they seemed to benefit from me doing," but I'm not diagnosing your cat. There's too much I could get wrong and that could lead you to treating your cat for the wrong thing and making the existing issue worse. If you need a cat diagnosed, take them to an IRL behaviourist who can interact with them in person to provide the best and most accurate care possible.

I am not qualified to diagnose health issues with physical causes. Think of me as almost a cat psychologist- a psychologist can't diagnose you with a brain tumor. This is why a behaviourist's first question will usually be "have you taken them to the vet over this," because it's best to rule out any physical causes before trying to treat a cat for a behavioural issue that may have a cause that I'm not qualified to work with. Take the cat to the vet first. If they give the cat a clean bill of health, then you take them to a behaviourist. In what I do, the vet's word is law. Physical issues are their wheelhouse, behavioural issues are mine. If they diagnose a brain tumor or whatever, that's something I am, again, not at all qualified to treat, so I can't help.

I also cannot and will not address issues of your personal cat's quality of life. That is something that always, always, needs handled by a professional who can actually interact with your cat to give you the information you need to make an informed decision. A vet will give you the accurate information so that you can make your choice based on what a professional who had actually interacted with your cat has noticed. There's no way I can give you an accurate answer in good conscience and it's not ethical for me to pretend I can. All of this is decided by people who actually interact with your cat.

I am also not qualified to work with exotics, even more minor ones like Savannahs. They're an entirely different thing I haven't been trained for and have only encountered once, and encounter I had to step back from because I was not qualified to help that cat. Some behaviourists, usually the older/more experienced ones, are qualified to help exotics, but I'm not one of them and will not pretend that I am. Exotic animal, you need exotic treatments. I'm strictly domestic. Properly caring for exotics would required specialized training that I don't have.

Well, what can I do? I can explain domestic cat behaviour, correct husbandry concerns, explain the importance of certain cat-related issues (interactions with small animals, outdoors cats, etc,) talk FACTS (not behaviour in a video, just the facts) about exotic animals, and answer questions you may have about your cat (I will tell you if something needs to be taken to an IRL behaviourist should that bridge be crossed.) I can, based on a fixed set of criteria, see if a cat video has anything that I feel is cause for concern, but I'm taking more of a "this is how this is wrong and this is how you can fix it" approach, rather than an "is this cute" approach.

No other discourse allowed. None. Zero. You want to talk human discourse? Send it to my main. I refuse to discuss anything that isn't animal-related on my blog. A few things to note

I am a transgender man

I am pro-euthanasia because some animals just need to be humanely put down

I am anti-outdoor cat and do not believe TNR or attempting to adopt out feral cats is effective or ethical

I am pro-zoo, sanctuary, reserve, ambassador animal, and working animal

I believe that exotics are not and cannot be (with maybe two exceptions in all of history) pets. If an exotic can't be in the wild, it needs to be at a zoo, reserve, sanctuary, etc. Not in your house.

I do not believe unprotected contact with megafauna is ethical. Zoos and exotic vets have safety measures in place because they know that a wild animal is always a wild animal first, and megafauna can easily injure, maim, or kill a human even on accident. If someone is interacting with megafauna or apex predators unprotected, they're stupid. Yeah, I said it.

I am firmly and unshakeably of the belief that all interaction with a wild animal needs to be handled by a trained professional. Yes, even pests like raccoons and foxes. Do not try to interact with them, don't feed them, don't do anything other than admire them from afar. Do you want rabies? Because that's how you get rabies.

I am firmly against any actions that habituate a non-domesticated animal to humans, unless that exotic is being cared for at a zoo and habituation takes place to avoid stressing the animal and help safeguard against potential incidents on the rare occasion someone does have unprotected contact with an animal.

Basically, unless you are a trained professional who isn't a fool, don't interact with non-domesticated fauna. Ever. At all. Period.

I'm big on rabies. I've seen it before- I was even once called in to treat a cat who had rabies, thank the gods I recognized it- and it's MAJOR. You will see plenty about rabies.

Vaccinate your animals

Cats are obligate carnivores who cannot survive a vegan diet.

Do not ever put a non-herbivore animal on a vegan diet. It will kill them.

I eat meat and believe that there isn't anything wrong with it when it's ethically-sourced.

I am pro-hunting within reason, pro-culling in ethical ways, pro-fur farming when done ethically, and extremely anti plastic fur or leather

Do not try this at home unless instructed to do so by an IRL professional.