Dear Fisher,

I have wonderful humans who my sister and I live with. We have been living with them for 1 year. Before our current owners, we lived with a family that had to get rid of us because they were moving to a new place that wouldn’t allow cats. They give us lots of loving and we are happy we found each other. My owners are huge fans of your column and they suggested I contact you. My sister and I are very happy now and love our home, but I am such a curious cat that sometimes when my owners open the front door I run out. I usually get scared and come back inside quickly. My owners try to control it and watch me as they open the door but sometimes I escape. My owners are worried that one time I might get out and not come back due to my curiosity. Fisher what would you recommend to keep me safe and inside?

Puppy

P.S. My previous owner had a three year old they allowed to name me. My current owners didn’t want to change my name.

Dear Puppy,

After some hesitation, I decided to cite the old adage, “curiosity killed the cat.” That is a little harsh, I know, but it is an old adage for a reason. I am concerned that one day your people will not see you slip out. They may unwittingly close the door behind you, and there you are in a whole new dimension. The world out there is not always safe or friendly to scared little cats.

You really have two options here. Plan A: mind your manners and not scare your humans by running outside. Plan B is that if you continue this errant behavior, you must have a back-up in case you end up outside on the wrong side of a closed door.

Now, Plan B is extremely tricky and depends on how fast you run out the door. Is it fast enough to smuggle out treats, water bowl, and a fuzzy blanket? These are absolute necessities to keep you safe while you wait for the door to re-open. If they do not know you slipped out, you need to be prepared.

Some ideas for your people to try:
1.Hang a rope of bells on the door knob so it makes a clatter when opening the door.
2.Put cat in another room with door slightly ajar, then rush out the front door.
3.If cat greets you at the door when you get home, do not acknowledge cat until you are well into the house. A treat will reinforce this new practice. Reverse when leaving.
4.Create wicked door – see the video.

Many do not know cats can be trained, but we all know it. Help them think they trained you.

Your friend,
Fisher

Dear Fisher,

I am Bella and my house mate is named Dante. Dante is an 18 lb gigantic sweet retard. I am a 9lb aggressive Tortie. We have been good friends for five years, but then I had a serious bout of redirected aggression the week before Thanksgiving and our people are very upset. I turned a scary situation around on Dante and now I’m the one afraid of him. He loves me but if I do anything to act out at him again, he will happily finish it.

Our humans have separated us and are slowly reintroducing us to each other. All is going slow, but well, and they think we will be OK together before they leave for Valentine’s weekend, but I can tell they are still scared to death to leave us alone. We do have a cat sitter coming in but our people don’t want us to get hurt if we backslide while they are gone. What should we do?

Bella

Dear Bella,

I have to surmise that your little bout of redirected aggression was an outright catastrophe (no pun intended). Your people are going to great lengths to keep such a display from happening again and they obviously want Dante and you to resolve your issues as soon as possible. I cannot help but wonder if injuries affected egos only or if bloodshed was involved. Either way, you must now help your humans regain their confidence in you.

The one thing to know about redirected aggression is that there is an underlying cause. Sometimes it is the result of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The “scary situation” caused your adrenalin pump to turn on and you acted out. The concern is not so much what you did, but what caused you to do it. Paying attention to the original underlying source and working to change it, will help solve the problem.
Some suggestions for your people to prepare for Valentine’s weekend:

1. Desensitizing your fear of Dante by leaving the two of you alone in the house for varying periods of time. If the house is intact and there are no injuries, reward with treat or new toy.
2. Give individual attention to each in the presence of the other. Then give pets to both at the same time.
3. If cats are not “getting it”, put both in time out, possibly through mealtime. If cats rush to food bowls in unison without confrontation, problem is close to solved.
4. If confrontation takes precedence over late lunch, contact pet sitter and extend getaway weekend.

I highly recommend your people take a look at Pet Wave. And for you two, remember Valentine’s is a celebration of love and friendship. Go ahead. Give peace a chance.

Your friend,
Fisher

Dear Fisher,

I’m a lady, 13 years young, who doesn’t get out much. I find it very entertaining to bash my food bowl about. I do it when my people are home. But when they’re gone, I nudge the bowl to unlikely places – like under the bed, in the middle of under the bed. It’s hilarious to watch them search all over. Especially Ma. She acts all mad and laughs her butt off at the same time. I love that!

Another thing I do is bury the food. I kick it over and cover it, say, with an area rug. This is interesting, but more obvious. It does serve to make food readily available, though – all I have to do is go around and tidy up. The one time I dug up dirt from the potted plant to cover my dish, Ma got out the vacuum cleaner. Can’t stand the thing!

Why don’t humans understand that dogs have a well-developed sense of humor? I mean, everything isn’t instinct, is it?

Maddie

Dear Maddie,

What you are describing here is instinct with a good dose of humor, except for the part about the re-emergence of the vacuum. Evidently not horrific enough to curb your creative side by adding humor to your life and entertaining your humans just to the edge of frustration. May they keep their good sense of humor!

The instinct part is your need for attention which is quite common in most dogs. Instinct may also come into play as you “bury” your food for future ingestion. But, that is where it stops and your playfulness and humor take over. My what busy days you must have.

Many dogs suffer from separation anxiety which is not funny and must be dealt with. Symptoms are excessive barking, whining, or chewing up everything in the house. You do not do these things, so let us explore your sense of humor.

Humor has many different forms, for instance:
1.Slapstick – basic level, usually physical: Tripping over your dog dish to get a laugh.
2.High-level, involves thought: Next time you dig in the plant, hide the vacuum.
3.Psychological, involves startling: Hide in dark corner of hallway, jump out at Ma first thing in the morning.

You are engaging in all three: hiding the bowl under the bed, in the middle of under the bed, and making her scold and laugh at the same time. I think that covers it. You can find more information (and a few new ideas) by visiting Practical Pets, Do Dogs Have Humor? My vote? Of course they do.

Your friend,
Fisher

How are you helping your humans get ready for Christmas?