Category: Common Problems ¤
  Author: M. Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Cat Retraining Protocol v1¤

Jennifer Laus wrote:

> I think it was Shirley that mentioned she had a sure fire way to
retrain
> kitties to use litterboxes, but I don't think I saw it posted to the
> list (maybe I missed it, my mails been a bit weird lately).  I'd be
very
> interested in knowing what this method is (even if it has to be sent
> privately), since we are having this problem right now.

Oh, yeah! I'd forgotten I'd offered to send the "recipe" to the list.

Back when I did rescue and volunteered at the local shelter, my
"partner in crime," Ursula Delworth (a research psychologist who was
named by the APA as one of the 100 most influential women
psychologists), did cat rescue and I did dogs. She had never heard
of crating before and didn't know that there was such a thing as cat
crates. I had a cat crate to re-train my first cat, Rudy, when he
stopped using the litterbox after a bladder infection (BTW, the vet
who finally successfully treated him said her rule of thumb was to
give a course of antibiotics twice as long as she thought would be
necessary because in many cats, bladder infections are very
intractable and shorter courses means the cat is subjected to cycle
after cycle of infections, which is bad for their minds).

When he died, I donated his cat crate to the rescue program and it
opened whole new doors for them--a legacy I am sure he smiles about.

Ursula and I put our heads together and came up with the following
protocol. It always worked with *healthy* cats, even males that were
intact adults (hence very prone to spraying). The cat must be
healthy and free of any UTIs.

1) Restrict the cat to either a cat crate or a small room that the
cat has never sprayed. Make sure that the area (cat crate or room)
contains a comfortable bed, a place for water bowl and a litterbox
of a size the cat can use comfortable. Some very large cats need
larger litterboxes (usually improvised from other containers). The
cat is going to be in this restriction for three months, so make
sure it's comfy.

2) Clean the litterbox at least daily. More often is preferable but
daily is the absolute minimum.

3) While the cat is in restriction, thoroughly clean every single
sprayed spot. I recommend Anti-Icky-Poo (which has both enzymes and
specially engineered bacteria). I used to purchase it from a
professional carpet cleaner. At the same time, also purchase a
syringe with a large bore needle (the same company actually sells
these, as well) if you have carpeting with padding underneath. For
every spot on the surface, imagine an inverted cone. A four inch
spot on the surface spreads to about twelve inches wide at the
bottom of the padding. Use the syringe to inject the Anti-Icky-Poo
in a wide area around each urine spot.

4) Purchase a black light to make sure you've found every spot. I
have since learned there are two types of black lights and only one
type causes bodily fluids to fluoresce (can't remember if it's the
short or long wave ones). You want the black light that people use
to inspect antiques for hidden repairs--these are available online
for $10-20. After dark, go over every inch of your house. A diffused
pattern of extremely fine drops is probably a sneeze--larger drops
are probably urine. If in doubt, treat.

5) As you are checking out the house, try to figure out if there is
an understandable pattern to the spraying. Cats often spray near or
on things that frighten or upset them or things that symbolize (to
them) the frightening or upsetting thing. For instance, many cats
spray on suitcases because they associate the suitcase with the
owner leaving. If the cat is spraying near one or more windows,
spend some time observing (or videotaping) outside that window to
see if there's something happening outside that bothers the cat. In
such cases, often what is bothering the cat is a loose cat outside.
Try to either fix what bothers your cat or find a way to block the
cat's view from or access to those windows (there's a company that
makes beautiful stained glass pattern vinyl window glass coverings
that stick to the glass via water surface tension that are
attractive, allow some light in but block the view outdoors).

Sometimes the spraying just defies human attempts at figuring it
out. No doubt there's a pattern from the cat's point of view but if
you can't figure it out, just clean thoroughly and don't worry too
much about it.

6) While your cat is in restriction, get the cat out for 2-4
exercise sessions a day, about 15 minutes each. Use the room in the
house that the cat did the least spraying in and make sure it's
thoroughly clean before taking the cat in there. You *must*
continuously observe and interact with the cat during these
sessions. Really get the cat active. Try laser lights, squeaky toys,
crackly toys, toys on a string, crumpled up cellophane wrappers
(watching cat to make sure it doesn't consume any part of it, of
course); whatever gets that cat active and moving around.

After two weeks of activity in that room; when the cat is focused on
the activity and not the environment, start introducing the cat to
other rooms in the house while playing.

If the cat sprays while you are watching, just pick it up calmly,
return it to restriction without a comment and clean up the spot
immediately. DO NOT scold, yell, holler or attempt to physically
discipline the cat by spraying it with water or scruff shaking, etc.
Such things usually do not stop the behaviour and often make it
worse. It might help to pretend you are a robot or some such thing
to help you deal with the cat as neutrally and non-emotionally as
possible.

7) Feed the cat two meals per day and two snacks per day. You can
combine one or more of the meals or snacks with exercise sessions by
pitching kibble around a room for the cat to chase. Again, your
attention must be focused totally on the cat. If the cat sprays, see
item six (above).

Start out in the room least sprayed for two weeks. After the cat is
focused on eating (which can take awhile with cats that were free
fed), introduce the cat to the other rooms in the house.

8) Give the cat 2-4 training sessions per day, using the clicker and
a treat that is not the usual meal or snack food (something better).
Many cats are nuts about strained meat baby food, cream cheese,
nuked bologna (a lot of the same stuff dogs are nuts about). Deliver
sticky treats via the end of a chopstick or long handled spoon (just
a taste, please). Deliver non-sticky treats by dropping them into a
special little bowl or saucer that is for training sessions only.
Cats are generally hesitant to take treats quickly from a human
hand, so getting your hand out of the treat delivery process helps
speed up treat delivery.

Cats can be taught to target, jump from one place to another, play
the piano, sit up and "pray," jump designated items, use a small
teeter-totter, roll over, just about anything a dog can be taught.

Start in the room least sprayed for two weeks. After the cat is
really into the training game, introduce the cat to other rooms in
the house for training sessions.

9) Get the cat out for 2-4 cuddle sessions a day, each one slightly
shorter than the cat's desire for cuddling (usually 10-20 minutes).
You can combine cuddle sessions with massage or Tellington TTouch.

Start in the room least sprayed, then move around to other rooms
when the cat shows signs of being comfortable and eagerly
participating in the cuddling, massage or TTouch.

10) After one month without any spraying, pick the end of a day when
the cat has been unusually active. In other words, you want a tired
kitty. Get the cat out and bring it into the room least sprayed (but
now very clean); instead of any structured activity, allow the cat
to wander or nap as it will for about 30 minutes. Keep the cat under
continuous observation! If the cat sprays, see item six (above).
Give the cat another two weeks of combined restriction and
structured activity, then try again.

11) When the cat has successfully handled two weeks' worth of
unstructured time in one room, pick another day when the cat is
unusually tired and take the cat into the next least sprayed room.
Let the cat wander around without structure or nap as it will for
about 30 minutes.

12) As the cat successfully handles 30 minutes of unstructured time
in each room for two weeks, continue to introduce the cat to each
room in the house as above. It is very important to continuously
observe the cat while it is wandering around the room to make sure
the cat does not spray. Depending on the size and number of rooms in
your house, this stage can be very short or take quite a while. Be
patient and do not try to hurry the process. A little effort now
will pay off for the remainder of your cat's life!

13) After the cat has successfully handling 30 minutes of
unstructured time in each room of the house, start gradually
extending the amount of unstructured time the cat gets in each
session by adding five minutes per day. Use a different room of the
house each day. Don't let up on the continuous observation!

14) When you have worked up to 60 minutes of unstructured time
successfully, start allowing the cat to wander into and out of the
restriction area at will when you are at home without continuous
observation. CONTINUE THE ACTIVITY, MEAL, SNACK, TRAINING AND CUDDLE
SESSIONS!!! This is very important--giving the cat a structure to
their day helps them feel secure, keeps them happily tired and gives
the cat something to focus on than whatever it was that triggered
the spraying in the beginning.

When you are not at home, return the cat to the restriction area.

For the first month, make a regular inspection of the house via
black light to make sure the cat isn't spraying when not under
observation.

15) After the cat has successfully handled a month of wandering at
will through the house when you are home, start allowing the cat to
be loose when you are out of the house for short periods of time.
Start with a five minute absence. Leave without saying a word to the
cat and return without saying a word to the cat for at least ten
minutes.

Gradually increase the length of your absences until the cat is
handling a normal (say, 8-9 hours) absence without any problems.

16) When the cat is handling a normal absence successfully for at
least a month, you can start gradually cutting back on the
structured activities. Cut back by gradually shortening the time of
the activity period by 1-2 minutes per week.

Don't cut them out entirely! By this time your cat is looking
forward to them (and I hope, so are you).

This protocol has had a 100% success rate when followed carefully.
Trying to shortcut often leads to failure. It's the combination of
restriction (preventing giving the cat a chance to spray) with
structured activity that seems to be the secret to success. As in
many things in life, you get out what you put into the effort.

M. Shirley Chong
Grinnell Iowa
http://www.shirleychong.com