Crates provide refuge for stressed cats

Forget cat's in the cradle. How about, cat's in the crate?

Letting dogs indulge their denning instinct in crates has become commonplace, but felines are not usually offered those molded-plastic refuges, except for being placed in carriers - often under audible protest - for the occasional vet visit. And at least one veterinarian, Myrna Milani, has said she thinks that's too bad.

"The one belief that is doing more damage to cats than anything else is the human reticence to accept that they are solitary animals in the behavioral sense," said Milani, who is also a veterinary ethologist in New Hampshire.

In a home setting, free-access crate training helps manage these instincts, said Milani, by giving a cat a permanent refuge from other resident cats or stressful household situations.

Initially, Milani used crating to deal with cats that had elimination problems; marking with urine or feces and scratching are natural reactions when a cat feels anxious or threatened. When their owners could not supervise them, the cats were confined to a crate large enough for a makeshift litter box until potty habits were under control.

And Milani found that most of the cats not only didn't mind the crating but settled right down and snoozed contentedly.

As a result, Milani has recommended crates even for cats that aren't stressed or marking, as a preventive measure. "Even though you can have cats that are incredibly social, if they get stressed, the majority of them will revert to this more solitary territorial mind-set," and potentially develop behavioral problems, such as marking.

Crating can also be helpful in multicat households, to prevent or stop conflicts between individual kitties, which often are over territory. "If you can crate-train them, then that becomes their personal space, and the rest of the house becomes neutral territory," Milani explained.

Plastic carriers are fine for most cats; or buy a crate that will also accommodate a small litter box. Another option is a cat-size cardboard box with an entrance hole, lined with a clothing item that carries your scent.

Place the crate in an area of the house where the cat likes to be. If at all possible, start crate-training in kittenhood, feeding and stroking the cat in the crate with the top removed at first. When the cat is comfortable, reattach the top portion, but always err on the side of caution: Later is better than sooner.

If you have an older cat whose only experience with the carrier has been those trips to the vet's office, Milani has recommended thoroughly washing the crate, then spritzing it with Feliway spray, which simulates the calming pheromones released by a cat's facial scent glands.

Milani has acknowledged that crating may not be for everyone. "I'm sure some dogs out there don't crate well, and I'm sure there are some cats, too," she said, making the positive introduction of a crate in kittenhood all the more important.

Reference: http://news.cincypost.com

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