Season's Greetings

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A 1-year old mini aussie under the Christmas tree with presents
Photo: Eric Isselee / Shutterstock

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year 
from 
Companion Animal Psychology Blog!

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The Five Pillars of a Healthy Environment for Cats

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How to set your house up for your cat. Do you provide these five things that your cat needs?



Every morning at about the same time, my tortoiseshell cat Melina jumps on the bed with a chirrup and comes up to sniff my nose and ask to be petted. She purrs while I pet her on the head in the places where cats like to be petted, and a very short time later my alarm goes off and it’s time to get up. This sweet morning interaction is part of her daily routine.

Cats are wonderful pets, but people don’t always understand them well. If we provide a cat with the things they need in their environment, it helps them to be happier and healthier. This applies not just to the physical environment, but also to social interactions with us and any other animals in their space. If these things are not provided, the cat may become stressed and show signs of behaviour problems.

The five pillars of a healthy feline environment are described by the International Society of Feline Medicine and the American Ass…
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The Ultimate Dog Training Tip

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The one thing every dog owner should know about how to train a dog.



There’s a lot of incorrect dog training advice on the internet, which makes it hard for people with dogs to sort out which advice is good and which is not.

Does it matter? Some of the time, despite using methods that aren’t recommended by professional organizations, you can get away with it. Maybe you will have a well-trained dog or maybe you will muddle along. Maybe your dog will actually be a bit afraid but you won’t notice (people aren’t very good at recognizing fear).

But unfortunately, for some dogs, there will be issues. And perhaps, instead of blaming the method, you'll blame the dog.

Here’s what one scientist concluded after reviewing the evidence on dog training methods (Ziv, 2017):
“it appears that aversive training methods have undesirable unintended outcomes and that using them puts dogs’ welfare at risk” Dog training is not regulated and so trainers do not have to be transparent about how they describ…
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Does It Matter What Age You Neuter Your Kitten?

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New research investigates whether age of neutering affects feline behaviour – and looks at punishment and other variables too.


There are so many cats without homes that some shelters neuter kittens early, at 8 – 12 weeks old, so they are neutered prior to adoption. This is the only way they can guarantee that a kitten will be neutered. These days, the early neutering of kittens from 6 - 14 weeks old is supported by organizations such as the American Association of Feline Practitioners (many vets set a weight limit of at least 1kg).

In the past, cats were normally neutered at 6 – 8 months old. But even kittens can have kittens, so this does not prevent unwanted litters. It comes as a surprise to many people that even a 4-month old kitten can have kittens.

Kittens, like puppies, have a sensitive period that is an important socialization opportunity; if not properly socialized during this time, they will be more fearful as adults. Therefore some people worry that early neutering could ca…
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