BEHAVIOR

Cats often lick their lips to groom themselves after a meal. It may come from their instinct to remove the scent of prey they have just eaten, both to hide their presence from other nearby prey and also not to become prey for a larger animal. But lip licking can also signify a number of other things:

A 10-pound cat may need only about 250 calories a day—very little from a human standpoint. Thus, it may seem as though she’s not eating enough, even though she is. That can lead someone to keep trying different kinds of food until the cat consumes what’s put in front of her, creating the notion that felines are finicky eaters.

It stands to reason that if a cat is in pain, he may grow grouchier. But there’s another reason an older cat may become more temperamental: dementia.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners has come out with new Intercat Tension Guidelines: Recognition, Prevention, and Management. The aim is to help two or more cats who live together under one roof do better with each other—and to help their human family members broker peace and stability between them.

Q: I can’t get my cat to stay off the kitchen counter. If I catch her there, I yell at her to get down, and she does. But it doesn’t stop her from jumping up again at other times. 
Any suggestions?
Dee Jonas
Houston, Texas

Almost 40 countries have now banned the declawing of cats except in situations where a claw is irreparably diseased or beyond repair. The United States is not among them, although we are starting to make inroads state by state. Virginia just passed a declawing ban earlier this summer, joining New York and Maryland. If cats could applaud, they would. They use their claws to scratch for myriad reasons.

Q: You mentioned in a recent issue that the American Association of Feline Practitioners had some ideas for getting a cat to take her medicine when she normally refuses it. Can you say what those strategies are?

You’re a two-cat or multi-cat household, and all of your felines do fine together. They don’t mind looking out the same window at the same time and even do some hanging out and playing together. Then one of them goes to the vet. Or both go, or they all spend a couple of days at a boarding facility. When the one cat or the group of cats arrives back home, you might assume there’d be relief at the routine going back to normal, but instead, things turn aggressive between the pets. There’s swatting, maybe biting and scratching. It’s as if the cats never knew each other—even if they were taken for their appointment in the same carrier! 

It’s untrue that cats are universal water haters. Sure, no cat wants to be unceremoniously dumped in the sink and have water and suds poured all over him willy nilly, but felines’ reputation for being aquaphobic is belied by the facts. Consider that many people think cats can’t swim. But cats in general can swim just fine, and some breeds actually enjoy it. Among them: the Turkish Angora and the Turkish Van.

Behavioral scientists call them Frenetic Random Activity Periods, but you probably know them as the zoomies. We’ve all seen them. A cat goes from lounging languidly to tearing back and forth with no warning. It’s more common in kittens and other young cats, but many cats never grow out of the behavior completely. What drives it?