Ask the vet's pets: Help socialize cat with treats

Dear Christopher Cat: My name is Baby, and I live alone downstairs because the upstairs cats frighten me. The girl, Penny, doesn't misbehave, but the boy, Kuan Yin, follows me around, swiping at me with his paw.

I love my human parents and want to cuddle with them, but I'm afraid to stay upstairs where they spend most of their time. Can you suggest ways they can help the three of us cats get along?

Christopher responds:

First, you should understand that Kuan Yin probably wants only to play with you, not hurt you.

Your parents can help you become friends by placing a few plug-in Feliway diffusers in the rooms the three of you cats frequent. Feliway is a feline facial pheromone that signals contentment and security, and when it's wafting through the air, cats feel relaxed.

Also, your people should place you and the other two cats at opposite ends of the kitchen and offer you scrumptious canned food or treats. As you associate the yummy food with the sight of the other cats, your anxiety should diminish.

Each day, your parents should move your food plates an inch closer. After a month or so, you should be able to eat within a few feet of each other.

Soon you'll all coexist peacefully.

Dear Daisy Dog: When company comes, one of my dogs humps our visitor, which is quite embarrassing. Why does he do it, and how can I prevent this behavior? I tried locking him in a bedroom, but he barks incessantly.

Daisy responds: Humping, or mounting, behavior occurs for many reasons. The most common causes, especially when dogs mount people or objects, are anxiety and excitement.

If your dog is unsure about how to behave around company, his social anxiety may give rise to mounting that relieves his tension. Or his mounting may be a way to release his excitement or gain attention.

Dogs sometimes mount objects, such as blankets and stuffed animals, to soothe themselves, much as some children suck their thumbs as they fall asleep.

Mounting also can establish dominance, as when the more submissive dog allows the dominant dog to mount him.

We dogs mount each other during play, too, though during play, we take turns mounting, just as we take turns chasing each other.

Finally, mounting can be sexual, even in spayed and neutered dogs.

To prevent your dog from mounting visitors, leash him and teach him to sit quietly to be petted. Or redirect his behavior by giving him a special chew toy when company arrives. If he isn't neutered, consider that surgery, as neutering significantly reduces mounting behavior.

Ask the Vet's Pets appears Friday in the print edition of the Reading Eagle. The animal authors of the column live with Lee Pickett, V.M.D., who practices companion animal medicine at Bernville Veterinary Clinic. Contact them at www.askthevetspets.com, 610-488-0166 or P.O. Box 302, Bernville, PA 19506-0302.

Source: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=428446

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