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It seems difficult to realize this when we live with a cat who always has their head in a cupboard or their paw in the drawer. But all of this activity is their idea, and is thus wonderful.
Other People’s Ideas… well, that’s when the three principles kick in. Getting them to try a new food, moving their litter box, or getting a new cat companion will trigger the cat’s innate caution.
This essential counterbalance to their bright and curious minds is a vital safety measure. In the wild, the new was probably dangerous, and possibly hungry. Things that acted on the cat were to be avoided, while things the cat acted upon… was probably dinner.
How can we get around the cat’s resistance to change?
Use anticipation to enlist their participation.
Cats are highly sensitive to our moods. We often inadvertently sabotage ourselves by being anxious about how the cat will accept the new companion or the move to the new house. The cat will pick up our nervous mood, and become nervous themselves.
So talk about the new arrangements with a light heart and a lilting voice. Create moments, with props, where we can bring up the subject, and use these props later, as the new situation is evolving. We have the power to shape their response.
If we let them make up their minds without positive feelings from us, they will err on the side of caution.
Let them investigate and they will cooperate.
We make another mistake by not letting the cat proceed at their own pace, and by trying to force the response we want.
Useful aids to understanding can be a blanket rubbed on the new cat and placed on the floor for them to consider, without the presence of the other cat. Offer them both foods for a while. Get them ready for a move by creating a box just for their stuff, and make a fuss over where their box goes in the new house.
Give them time to think. Pushing them into something will increase their stubbornness, and now they will also have negative feelings about it.
If the idea is mine, I will be fine.
If we can set up the change so they are the ones making the moves toward it, acceptance will come much more quickly.
If their cat bed or scratching post has become so well-used we long to replace it, don’t throw out the old one before we get the new one. Have both around, but the new one is spiced up with catnip or there are treats in it. The old one can get a spritz of orange cleaner or something else the cat finds annoying.
Let the cat decide for themselves that the new item is better.
It takes a little planning and thinking to create the right situation for our cat to accept new things.
But… we are supposed to be the more intelligent creature, aren’t we?
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There’s more ways to understand our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on WHY CATS DO THAT.
