The Top 10 Cat Behavior Problems, and How to Fix Them

We all know how weird and crazy cats are, and indeed, this is what, we mostly love about them. Their unlimited kneading, playing with something suspicious for them, kneading on our lap, and their bedding – everything automatically uplifts our mood and makes us happy with their too cute to handle gestures. Their playful nature, rubbing of their body against our hands and legs, purring, and looking confused – all these are normal behaviors in a happy and healthy cat. And this is how your cat should be.

 

But if suddenly you find out that your kitty best friend is turning into a stranger, then you need to be worried about it. If you mark any sudden change of behavior in them, like too much scratching, being aggressive or getting irritated often, and other such activities, then you need to be serious about it. Refusing from using their clean favorite litter box, or doing too much of night activity is not normal. These are a few signs that you need to pay attention to check on your mood uplifter’s mental and physical health. So, in this article, we are going to talk about some common behavior problems in your cat and how you can cure them.

 

1. Litter box avoiding:

Avoiding the litter box by your cat may not look like a significant issue, but this is a problem worth paying attention to. Won’t you feel strange if your cat starts avoiding its favorite litter box? Yes, you will, because this little change in the behavior tells a lot about your cat’s health and mood.

 

Here’s what you can do to fix this problem.

• Your cat may not like the litter box much. So, try with changing the litter tray. See what your cat likes.

 

• Your cat may have issues with unwanted smells. Using an unscented litter box might help you to make your cat like its pan.

 

• If you have multiple cats as your pet, then use a separate sandbox for each one of them. Usually, cats don’t like much traffic.

 

• Try placing the litter box somewhere in a quiet place, as your cat might not be friendly with too much crowd.

 

• Some cats like covered litter boxes, while some like it to remain uncovered. Know your cat’s choice first, and opt for the right litter pan for them.

 

• Try to clean the cat pan at least once every day. If there is more than one kitty, then consider cleaning it twice a day.

 

• If any of the above methods fail to work, you need to visit your vet to get the solutions. The occurrence of health problems like a stone in the bladder, presence of crystals in the urine, and other urinary tract diseases might be responsible for your cat’s such behavior. Here are some of the cat’s urinary ailments that might occur.

 

Diseases	How does it occur?
Urolithiasis	It occurs due to the accumulation of minerals in the urinary tract.
Urinary Infection	Alteration of the usual acid concentration in the cat’s urine causes this disease.
Urethral obstructions	Partial or total blockage of the urethra with urethral stones or urethral plugs leads to this health disorder in cats.
Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC)	It happens when the urinary system, as well as other body organs of the cat, start to get affected.

 

These health problems might cause them to avoid littering. So, keep track of it, and get your kitty checked by your vet as early as possible.

 

2. A sudden increase of aggression:

 

 

A sudden increase of aggression in your happy, playful, and friendly kitty may be the indication of a severe issue. Aggression in a cat may be seen due to many causes. If your cat is ill, depressed, bored with unsocialized life, pregnant, or a lactating mother, or maybe disgusted with the crowd, then they might show aggression. It is their way of expressing uneasiness. Make it easy for them to deal with things.

 

• See your vet and report about the sudden aggression in your cat. Let your vet do the diagnosis process to detect if any serious issue is there. Sometimes, pain may cause your kitty to have a bad temper. So, solve that with your vet.

 

• Don’t make the ambiance congested for them. There must be ample space in your house for your kitty to play around. Keep more than one litter boxes at different places in your home. Keep two or more food and water bowls at various locations in your house. Give enough liberty to your kitty to play around all over your house.

 

• Don’t hit your cat when they are aggressive. If your cats are trying to start a fight, split them up by sprinkling water at them, or making some loud noises. However, be careful while trying to separate them when they are fighting, as they might hurt you unknowingly.

 

 

• If your cat doesn’t like too many friends, then help them to find a comfortable place in your house to stay happy aloof. On the contrary, if your kitty loves to socialize a lot, then bring it one or two feline friends to play with.

 

3. Marking or spraying with urine:

Cats undoubtedly have their own weird languages to make others understand their intentions. It might be crazy sometimes, but it is something pretty crucial about your cat’s behavior. Sometimes, cats mark their way and spray urine to tell other cats to stay away from them. This behavior is seen in cats when they are trying to continue their conflict with some other cat, or looking for mates.

• Well, you can do nothing much in making your cat sort out issues with its friend. If there is more than one feline pet in your house, then maybe it’s a common sign of marking their distinct territories. So, if you come across anything like this, then you must consider keeping them separate by offering separate litterboxes, bowls, and toys for them.

 

• If your cat is feeling insecure, show them enough love and affection. Pamper them with interesting and fun to play with toys. Help them to understand that there is no reason to feel insecure.

 

• You can also use the technique of neutering or spaying your cat.

 

• Using an enzymatic cleaner to clean the place where it had sprayed urine might help.

 

• Don’t forget to ask your vet about its change in behavior.

 

 

4. Increase of night time activity:

Unlike us, cats are habituated to their own way of living life. They don’t have any particular time to sleep; they do it whenever they want. Also, it is quite common for your feline pets to do their nighttime activities unless they are familiar with the idea of sleeping at night. But it might be a problem for the cat owners to get disturbed while sleeping, due to their feline nocturnal activities.

 

• You can engage them into a tiring or indulging enough playing or workout session to make them feel tired enough. Making the cats habituated to it will eventually make them understand that nights are for taking naps, and not for playing around.

 

 

• Keep enough indulgences at your house to keep your kitty engaged during day time. Making them busy playing with their toys or the guessing game will make them stay into it. Let them watch the beauty of nature with their confused and curious eyes. So, engage them in playing the outdoor prey-catching game by arranging some artificial birds and rats.

 

• If your cat loves being engaged with friends, then bring it some companions to play with. It will make them busy all around the day.

 

• Feed your cat a good and big meal at night, as they tend to take a nap after a full meal.

 

• Consult your vet to ensure that your cat is not suffering from any pain or irritation.

 

5. Anxiety or loneliness:

Though there are some exceptions that cats have issues with too much crowd, most of them love socializing. They love the company of their friends and owner. But staying alone when they are not around might make the cats suffer from anxiety. Getting irritated from loneliness while you are not around might make your cat noisy.

• Make them get comfortable with your ignorance, some minutes before you leave. It will make them understand that it is okay to play sometimes alone.

 

• Try to keep them engaged with many toys and puzzling games. Use artificial animal toys to make them busy in chasing the items.

 

• Spend a sufficient amount of time playing with your little kitty so that it can take rest when you are not around.

 

• Bring one or two playmates for your kitty to keep it engaged with playing with its friends.

 

• Consult your vet to learn more tricks on how to keep your kitty happy and lively.

 

 

6. Being noisy:

Meowing is the only way of interaction for cats, so, it is quite normal for them to do so. Kittens do it quite often to make their mother know what they want, or out of fear, or confusion. But grown-up adult cats don’t make much noise unless it’s necessary for them. Also, they meow to get attention or to ask for food. But if they are doing it much often, then you need to pay more attention to it.

 

• Make them habituated by not feeding them every time they cry or ignoring them when they are crying for attention. Otherwise, it will make your cat feel that it is easy to get everything just by crying.

 

• Keep noticing your cat’s activities. If they are crying or meowing a lot without any proper reason, then there must be something that is irritating them. Consult the vet to know if your kitty is experiencing any pain or irritation anywhere.

 

• Keep your cat in a good company of its feline friends to help it avoid distress from loneliness. Spend some time playing with your kitty to cheer it up.

 

 

7. Rough play:

Your free-spirited kitty’s play might seem rough many a time. Sometimes they might act roughly with you, which might not seem quite playful or an affectionate touch of them. Their biting or scratching might hurt you. But you can’t beat your poor cat for that. All you can do is tame it from doing such activities and make them engaged with some other things.

• Give them soft toys with which they can play, bite, or scratch as much as they want. Divert their attention with toys when they start hurting you. You can buy Zenes Cat Toys to keep your pet engaged.

 

• You can trim their nails regularly to lessen its sharpness, or you can consider using some nail caps for them.

 

• Make soft bedding for them where they can knead and punch as much as they want.

 

• Keep noticing. If your cat is aggressive suddenly, then it might be caused due to some irritation or health problems.

 

• Keep yourself safe by not letting them playing too much with your hands and feet.

 

• You can make noises to pretend that you are getting hurt to make your cat understand that it is not the right thing to do.

 

• You can opt for a pet behavior consultant to understand your little kitty’s nature.

 

• Giving them fun games like paper bags or boxes make them stay engaged with it by scratching and biting it while using its energy to burn calories.

 

8. Obsession with grooming:

Cats groom themselves by licking itself, which is a prevalent behavior for them. They do it eventually to keep them clean and their skin good. But paying too much attention to grooming all the time may not be something normal. If there is any unwanted irritation in their skin, they overdo it to soothe themselves. But overdoing grooming is also not much good for their skin and fur. There might be several other reasons behind the obsession of the cat, in grooming itself.

 

 

• It can be a symptom that your cat has stress. The cats do a lot of grooming to reduce stress. Take the required measures to make your cat stress-free. Figure out the reason for stress in them. If it is the feeling of insecurity from other pets present in your house, then work on it. Make your kitty feel good by showing much affection to it, spend adequate time, and play with it.

 

• Also, find out if there is any skin problem, which might be causing too much irritation in your cat. Following are given a few common skin ailments, which you need to find a cure for, to soothe your kitty.

 

Skin diseases	Symptoms
Bacterial Infections	Due to some skin infections, bacterial growth may take place. It will make your kitty lose its hair and have irritating sensations.
Feline Acne	Poor grooming, stress, or infection causes to grow acne on their chin.
Ring Worm	This fungus attacks your cat’s skin in the shape of a ring, causing much irritation to their skin. It can turn their skin flaky and hairless. And it is pretty much contagious as well.
Allergic Dermatitis	Allergy from food or any other object can cause itchy redness on their skin.
Fleas	The catching of tiny insects on your pet’s skin and sucking blood from its body is quite a common feline problem. It causes itching and losing hair of your kitty.

 

These are some of the prevalent feline skin diseases, which you need to show your vet and treat immediately if you find any.

 

9. Too much of scratching:

 

 

Scratching is typical behavior that can be seen in your cat. The kitty might often scratch in a playful way to mark its territory, polish its claws, or kick off its boredom. But it might cause your favorite couch or curtain to become ragged. Preventing them from doing their favorite job might not be good enough for your kitty. So, what you can do is prevent your furniture from getting scratched.

 

• You can trim their claws. It is not at all difficult. Look out for some tutorials from your expert friend or the vet. Doing it regularly keeps your cat’s nails away from becoming sharp. Also, it lowers the chances of you getting scratched by them while playing.

 

• Arrange something else for them to divert their attention from scratching your furniture. Using some scratching posts for them and inviting your kitty to play by dabbing some catnip into it will undoubtedly help you.

 

• There are claw caps available in the market, which can come to your aid. Using vinyl sleeves for your cat’s nails prevents them from doing damage to your goods. Also, by using it, your cat can go on scratching without making you worry about your furniture. And the best part is that it makes your cat look fashionable enough.

 

10. Being compulsive:

Doing something repeatedly is quite a normal behavior in a cat. Feline creatures love kneading, biting, jumping, scratching, or punching a thing again and again. It keeps them busy in playing. Also, it helps them to burn calories every day to stay fit and active. But if your cat is doing it uncontrollably, or if you are feeling something wrong with it, then ask your vet.

 

• Indulge your cat by giving them multiple ranges of indulgences to keep them involved. Don’t let them stick with only one thing.

 

• To give them some relaxing therapy, pamper them, and offer them comfort and love. Massaging your kitty might help you in giving them the required relaxation.

 

• Engage them into interesting and confusing toys to feed their curiosity.

 

• Allow them to play at an ample space. The more you allow your pet to play independently, the more it helps in grooming it and aids its growth. It also allows your cats to stay busy with many activities and uplifts their mood. Reducing their stress is beneficial to make them stay away from being stubborn.

 

 

Additional Tips to Enhance Your Cat’s Mental and Physical Health:

Here are some more tips on how you can take care of your little kitty to make it stay healthy and happy. Check it out!

 

• Pay attention to their social life:

Cats are very social animals. Their social life is no less than yours having weekend fun with your pals. Also, they love staying surrounded by friends and companions. Making them stay away from other feline friends or the affectionate owner might lead them to distress and depression. So, don’t let your kitty stay alone.

 

• Having a lot of pet might cause a problem:

Of course, cats are much social with other pets; there is no need to doubt about it. But just like you might not like every colleague of yours, cats also have some adjustment issues. Also, having lots of pets can create a total mess and establish a sense of insecurity in your kitty.

 

• Spending some quality time is essential:

Consider giving your pet at least an hour a day; playing with them, while caressing and pampering helps a lot in strengthening the bond between you and your pet. It keeps both you and your kitty happy and helps it stay away from stress.

 

• Keep their place clean:

Though cats love messing around, still their fondness for cleanliness can be seen from their obsession with self-grooming. Keep their bedding and litter boxes clean. Also, clean their body regularly to let them stay away from diseases.

 

• Give more indulgences to keep them engaged:

Cats love to play, and their curious nature makes them explore more and more.

 

Following are some of the toys that might help you in keeping them indulged.

Toys	Specialty
Tower Ball Toys	This toy in the shape of a roller with moving colorful balls is quite attractive for a kitty to stay busy.
Artificial Fishes and Birds	Catching the artificial birds and fishes might be an enjoyable play for your kitty to feed its predator nature.
Chew Wheel	Cats love to chew. It keeps them busy and also helps in growing their teeth stronger. Chewing wheels help them to chew and play with it repeatedly without getting damaged.
Collapsible Cat Scratcher	This type of scratchpad is excellent for your cat to divert its attention from scratching your furniture and curtains.
Laser Toy	The laser pointer toys make your cats chase after it and jump quite often, which helps them to burn their calories and make them physically fit.

 

 

Conclusion:

Being a cat owner, it is normal to pop up questions in your mind regarding the behavior of your kitty. If you are new in pet parenting, then learn all the basics of dealing with your cute kitty’s mood. And if you have spent a lot of time already with your cat, and the changed behavior seems strikingly different from you, then you need to consult your vet as soon as possible. We hope these tips mentioned above will give you a guide in doing a proper assessment of your cat’s behavior.