Starting from Scratch: How to Correct Behavior Problems in Your Adult Cat

Let me start by saying I have only read half of this book so far. However we have implemented several of the suggestions/ideas from this book into our lives and it has fixed our major problems at home. I was impressed by the knowledge of the author and the results from implementing her teachings that I had to give a review. I may update later after I have finished it. I had one cat peeing outside of the box and it was getting to the point that I wondered if I really could keep him. (And I've never believed in relinquishing your animals unless you medically/physically cannot care for them anymore....it had gotten this bad when I found this book). Living in an apartment made all of this worse because not only was he ruining several of our furniture items, I know we will have to replace some things in the apartment that do not belong to us before we move out. In this book there are several solutions to this problem, you just have to figure out WHY the cat is behaving this way. The author gives different ideas/ways to tell what the problem is and maybe some trial and error in figuring out the problem and then the solutions to change the behavior. She is very thorough in the process. The author lets you get inside your cats head and teaches you how to read the body language. She also helps you figure out the pecking order of your cats (if you have more than one) and distinguishes the meaning of their reactions to each other. It is all very interesting, even if you aren't having these kinds of problems in your multi-cat home. It all helps you understand what is going on inside that crazy little cat head and then able to help the poor kitty by fixing the problem that he sees in his home. I really like that the author uses 'fixes' that don't associate the owner with a bad feeling. Its all very sneakily set up and the cat won't make the connection to you. Personally I really liked the toy suggestions in the interactive play time section. I have bought so many cat toys and my cats just don't care about them. You have to find what they like....I'm not a cat toy expert. The author suggested several toys that are a hit with the cats she has worked with and these toys do work! I purchased several of them (even for my inlaws cat) and I even got some interaction out of the least interested cat in the household. We have even started clicker training. It's been successful for the most part (one isn't motivated by food)...I suggest the Cat training in 10 minute book for that. Here is an overview of the chapters in the book: 1. Get Reacquainted with your Feline Einstein Body Posture Ears Eyes Whiskers Nose Mouth Tongue Tail Vocalization 2. Real Estate Reality Check - Is your Cat's Environment Part of the Problem? Indoor/Outdoor Vertical Thinking Hideaways and Tunnels Scratching and Climbing The Litter Box Environment The Feeding Station Bedtime -Feline Home Makeover: Operation Enrichment -Climbing and Perching -Stimulation -Safety -Familiarity 3. Serious Fun - Play Therapy Obesity How to Use Play Therapy to your advantage Interactive Play Choosing Interactive Toys Interactive Play Therapy Techniques Play Therapy Schedule Interactive Play Sessions for Multiple Cats Interactive Play Therapy for Retraining Solo Play Catnip Clicker Training Clicker Training in a multi cat home Beyond Basic training 4. Retraining old habits and More Serious problems you thought you had to live with Retrain with the right 'starting from scratch' attitude Rebuilding trust Correcting those Little Annoying Problems -Counter Hopping -Door Dashing -Plant nibbling -Curtain Climbing -Computer Crashing, cat style -Interior decorating with toilet paper -Toilet water fascination -Faucet fixation -Nightly noises and crack-of-dawn wake-ups -Oliver Twist Syndrome Correcting More Serious Problems -Boredom -Depression -The grieving cat -The fearful cat -Fear of people -Separation Anxiety Compulsive Behaviors -Psychogenic alopecia -Compulsive licking -Wool sucking, chewing and pica behavior -Feline hyperesthesia Medicating a Cat who doesn't want to be medicated -Knowing your options -Pilling -Administering liquid medication -Applying ointment or cream -Eye medication -Ear medication 5. Tired of those Out of Box Experiences? - Retraining to the litter box Reevaluate the Current setup -What we assume cats want -What your cat really wants you to know -Why problems occur -Spraying and indiscriminate urination Back to the box -Products you'll need -Spraying -Retraining a Sprayer -Indiscriminate urination -Retraining and indiscriminater -Location Strategies -Turf Claims and overcrowding -Other deposits that occur outside the box -Toilet training cautions 6. Tattered and Shredded - Retraining inappropriate scratching The need to scratch Declawing Nail Caps Refresher Course on Scratching Rethink the Current scratching post setup The Retraining process: Operation Velvet Paws -Furniture Armor: Set the stage for retraining -The right post -The right Location -Retraining -Bonus retraining tips 7. Mealtime - I want what I want when I want it! Maybe the Bowl is the problem, not the food The bottomless bowl: pros and cons of free-feeding Pros and Cons of Scheduled Feeding Finicky Eating Syndrome and Fixed Food Preference Retraining the Finicky Eater Bowl Bullies Cats on Different diets Tubby Tabbies: Safe Mealtime Retraining Stick to the Plan 8. Spits and Spats - Aggression, Biting, and FIghting The Biter Aggression -Fear Aggression -Petting Induced Aggression -Redirected aggression -Pain induced aggression -Territorial aggression -Play aggression -Predatory aggression -Intercat aggression -Status related aggression -Maternal aggression -Idiopathic aggressions The Starting From Scratch Reintroduction Technique Other Uses and Variations on the Reintroduction Technique When professional Help is needed Psychopharmacological intervention 9. Why Can't we all just get along? - your cat and other family members Is your cat meant to be the only cat in the house? -Dislike or Fear of the new cat in the home +Starting from scratch with a proper introduction Dog panic Birds, hamsters and other small pets When the new baby creates kitty crisis -If the baby isnt home yet -After the bundle of joy arrives Kids and cats Fixing Blended family cat-astrophes The cat avoiding spouse The spouse avoiding cat 10. Travel retraining - on the road with your own Mr. or Miss Grumpypaws Look at travel from your cats point of view Retrain Your Cat to the Carrier -The starting from scratch retraining process -The emergency technique for getting a carrier-hating cat into the carrier Long Distance Car Travel Air Travel Home Alone Kitty: Retraining the cat who hates pet sitters Boarding Woes How to reduce anxiety for Vet Visits Leash Training an Adult Cat Moving to a new home -Start early -Moving Day -The new home 11. Cat versus Brush - groom your cat and live to talk about it Look at your current grooming technique from kitty's POV How the grooming session should be view by kitty and the cat owner The retraining process Time for tools Brushing and combing Nail trimming Ear cleaning Teeth cleaning Bathing Hairballs 12. Looking ahead - Senior Cat behavior Behavior and physical changes Make adjustments as needed The litter box Feline cognitive disorder Other companion animals in the home Show patience and tolerance Enjoy this time together Pros: -Understand what your cat is thinking/what he wants -Understand What you are really saying to your cat by your actions -More than one suggestion on fixing each problem -You don't become the bad guy when fixing different behavioral problems -Great suggestions on items/products that work -Doesn't just tell you to 'make it more interesting for your cat'...actually gives suggestions on how to do that -Informative book for the new cat owner and the old cat owner. Cons: -I really couldn't think of any.... I cannot vouch that all of the suggestions in the books works, luckily I haven't had all of these problems with my cats. All I know is that the ones that I've tried have worked. My cats are more interactive and I can use what I've read in the book to help in future situations. Example that might not be obvious to all cat owners: I dropped off one of my cats for some dental work yesterday and after picking him up close to 5, I brought him home and my other cat flipped out. She was hissing at him and running up to him acting like she was going to bop him one on the nose. So from the ideas I had gotten from this book, I figured that 1. she had anxiety that he wasn't there all day with her. 2. He spent all day at the vet and smelled like the vet. 3. He was still drugged up and walking funny...causing her more confusion. Before I read the book I probably would have scolded her for trying to smack him around but instead I separated the two cats for awhile until he was acting more normal and hopefully smelled a little more like home. They were both fine after that. I hope this review helps some people. I definitely recommend the book to anyone with cats or a love of animals. It is a very interesting read either way. ( I purchased the Ebook and I'm very happy with it since you can click on the different titles in the table of contents and go back easily for a refresher.)

I cannot give this book too many stars. It is definitely one of those 100 star books that are rare and meaningful and find you right when you need them. Five days ago something awful happened in our house. Our oldest cat, Bear, who was best friends with our youngest cat, Sage, turned wild. All of a sudden she started hissing, growling and screaming any time Sage was anywhere near her. This upset me greatly because they had always been best friends. So what to do? I quickly did an online search to find some help. The first result pointed me to this book and boy am I glad it did. This book was immediately accessible as a kindle book so I downloaded it immediately. I was happy to find it had a clickable contents page or shall we say pages...this book is very long...and I was able to locate the section on intercat aggression. Immediately we separated the cats and kept them separate for a few days. Then Pam Johnson-Bennett told me how to start a reintroduction process. It all worked. My two cats are now friends again and I'm happy the last five days are over. I don't know what I would have done without this book to guide me through the process. During the five days I read the whole book. It takes that long because it is like 6848 locations long. I read it every chance I got. Some of the good things I learned included the fact that cats are aggressive because they feel fearful and threatened. So you have to do things to make the root of the problem go away. This book also alerted me to the fact that I could use a pheromone spray to calm Bear down quite a bit. The first day I found one I used it and it knocked her out. She slept for a long time the second time I used it too. I used it four times over the five days and each time it was effectively calming. So that was worth the price of the book. I would not have known about the spray I found otherwise. Also this book is really funny in places. I lost track of all the times I laughed out loud with delight. Basically this book gave me the confidence to solve the problems I was having with my two cats. Some of the other things I learned include: How to interpret your cat's vocabulary Good reasons cats should stay indoors Things to consider when buying a cat a cat stand or tree Why creating other options for your cat will solves many problems - like having a good scratching post Pam Johnson-Bennett says it and it is true: "You can't force a cat to do anything." However she has ways of training cats that really work. This book discusses clicker training a lot. I know my cat can be trained because I've trained her to ask for treats. What this book does is it helps you seek out the underlying causes for problems. So you feel a bit like a detective. A lot of problems are apparently natural responses to a cat feeling threatened. This book also solves the problem of why cats go for the person that doesn't like them. You will learn so much from this book. Reading it is an investment in your future happiness with your cats. Everyone who loves cats and has them as pets should read this book. ~The Rebecca Review

This was the preferred text for a course I took through HSUS. It's an easy read with lots of examples. Covers all kinds of typical cat behavior situations...inappropriate urination and defecation outside the litterbox, inappropriate scratching and spraying, inter-cat aggression in multi-cat homes, redirected aggression, stress behaviors. The only thing I did not like was that she recommended aversive methods like a squirt bottle, and needing to "show them who is the boss." Methods that I believe are more harmful than good. There may come a time when you do need to use mild aversives, but they should never be your go-to method. That's not how it was presented in this book. Otherwise, a pretty good resource.

Creo que es uno de los mejores libros sobre comportamiento en gatos adultos. Abarca un amplio espectro en tipos de conducta y es bastante efectivo. Mi gato solía despertarnos por la noche y ahora hemos conseguido que poco a poco vaya maullando menos. Lo recomiendo a cualquier interesado en conducta felina.

A very comprehensive and well-written book about the relationship between cat and owner/servant. It gives a good understanding of how a cat's mind functions and the best ways of sorting out any bad/antisocial behaviour. Must now get a clicker as recommended in the book!

I recommend this book to anyone who has adult cats with behavioural problems, or who just want to understand their cats better. The author has a great deal of experience with these creatures and understands them very well. Understanding the problem is the first step in solving it, so read up!

Diese buch hätte ich auch 6 sterne vergeben...Sehr hilfreich für die kleinen und größere katzenverhaltenprobleme. Ich habe es mir gekauft nachdem ich die fernsehserie dieser ausserordentlichwn dame gesehen habe, weil ich probleme bei meinen 3 eigenen katzen,noch in der erziehungsphase,vorbeugen wollte und auch weil mir der "wieso macht sie das" aspekt des katzencharakters einfach sehr interessiert. Dieses buch und das "cat vs.cat" buch für den mehrkatzenhaushalt kann und muss ich jeden katzenhalter wärmstens empfehlen,auch ohne "problem" katze.

We adopted a Bengal cat who has behaviour issues. Mock attacks being the main feature. This book has been really helpful in guiding me through the retraining process for this otherwise amazingly energetic year old cat who came from a very unhappy past. We have had him for a month and whilst we are not there yet the progress is being made in the right direction.