The
Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and
Empathy - and Why They Matter (Hardcover) by Marc Bekoff (Author), Jane Goodall (Foreword)
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This Web site is a resource page for pets psychology. This is a topic that my students and I have been interested in for many years, so I decided to bring together some of my ideas on the significance of pets in human lives, both in this world and in the afterlife of eternity. At the same time I wanted to sample some of the amazing number and variety of other sites that are devoted to pet psychology, pet loss practices, pet spirituality, and so on.
From this page one can see how extraordinarily widespread and intense the interest in this topic is. We need to understand the difference between real pets and virtual pets. The human race needs to have a deeper perspective on pet psychology and have an understanding of the pet-human relationship, which is within the context of inter-species communication and interaction. When we talk about pets and spirituality, we are discussing our relationship to pets in the afterlife of eternity.
When you begin to realize how and why pets are super-important to people, you will be able to see some of the motivation that drives the rising virtual pet practices here, in Japan, and now spreading everywhere.
As I see it, humans perceive pets as a part of themselves, thus more than just as a belonging, like they might see when looking at a hammer or a watch, objects that are ordinarily replaceable. Some people however extend this emotional link and interdependency to belongings like a car, which they view as quasi-alive and needing protection and love from the owner. In the owner's experience the object has acquired characteristics of a living organism with feelings and dignity. In the same way virtual pets can serve as psychological surrogates to the real thing, just as it occurs with virtual relationships in the digital cyber world where people interact with each other through assumed personalities and traits by which they are known to others who are regular participants. And sometimes their real traits are not discovered until later when it might be too late, as in the case of financial sharks and romantic predators who pose and pretend for ensnarement.
I've seen documentaries of women who marry jail prisoners serving a life sentence, whom they may be able to see once in a while, or never. Mostly they have letters from each other and an occasional phone call. And yet the women speak in interviews like committed spouses. This kind of virtual marriage is being extended to the cyber world where two people have an electronic wedding attended by electronic friends and then go off to an electronic honeymoon and continue a married life thereafter -- and no doubt, go through electronic divorces, electronic children, and virtual pets. I predict that not long from now people will be able to be citizens of an imaginary world populated by real people in imaginary identities.
And I can easily accept the idea that they will live these fantasy lives with real emotions, real feelings, preoccupations, and much mental involvement in time and effort. It becomes their second life. Their psychological growth depends on it. The human and the pet, or the human and the surrogate object, become attached to each other organically like a vine that grows around a ladder abandoned in a field. You can no longer disentangle the vine from the ladder without ripping it apart.
Children already live in that kind of future. Their
keen imagination and receptive sensory world, allows them to be spiritual beings
who live within the mental world of eternity. You might think of a character in
our dream. From that character's perspective, if we could place ourselves there,
the world around would appear perfectly normal, the walls perfectly solid, the
food delectable, the tango with a beloved so real and emotionally arousing. So
it is with the world of children and their imagination as they apply it to
things around them. Pets are at the very top of the attachment hierarchy of
children.
Children enter into the world of pets. Animal and human become an integrated
biological system. Pet and owner become interdependent for living. My wife and I
call ourselves food gods when we are "conversing" with our three cats. We use
the term human cathead for adults like us, namely, who
enter into the
world of our pets. Not every pet owner does this. One can own a pet, love a pet,
treat a pet well, and yet not enter into the pet's world. This requires spending
time together, quality time. It doesn't count when we watch TV and the pet
sleeps on the couch.
There has to be contact in all the zones of animal-human
interaction. Human catheads discover that cats have a compulsive love, even an
obsession, for creating new interaction rituals with the human. Our cats
are
extremely involved in getting the Food Gods to walk them to the dish. The dish
is the sacred worship area. One of our cats has evolved what appears to people
as a "scoop obsession." He wants a new scoop from the larger container each time
he succeeds in bringing the Food God to the dish. Once there, he must have a
fresh scoop or he won't begin to eat. He just sits there and looks up cute.
Waits. After a while he makes a pitiful sound. But to a lifelong human cathead
like my wife, the expression "scoop obsession" is all wrong. "He wants to
relate." she explains. "This is the way cats relate. How else do you want him to
relate, by discussing the evening news?"
Human catheads, and also dog whisperers, and others who develop a symbiosis
with animals, discover that the animal is elevated spiritually by the
conjunction with the human.
For instance, one of our cats developed the ritual of walking with me around our backyard, stopping at specific places, doing various things like eating grass or scratching a tree limb, taking turns who is the leader, etc. This has become so hugely important in his little life that he looks forward to it starting an hour before, waiting by the window, coming around to look for me, and getting me to follow him outside. Sometimes he uses the ritual around the dish routine first, to get my attention and to interact with him. I see how this cat is elevated by my relationship with him. I feel terribly guilty on days when I deprive him of this elevation. His self-esteem as a cat is enhanced and dependent on this ritual with me. He would be devastated, totally, if I disappeared, or if we had to move and take him along. The new place will be to him frightening and he would be jumpy all the time and I would notice that he is unhappy and I will be in mental pain and emotional pain until I can fix his anxiety and disturbance. Such is the symbiotic attachment we experience with pets.
The loss of a pet is equally challenging to children and adults. Even if it is a virtual pet, the loss through theft or destruction puts an end to the rituals that the owner has evolved over the relationship. Now the owner has to face new thoughts that may not be pleasant or easily handled. Anxiety can grow, depression can ensue. Ordinary tasks become difficult to do, becoming almost impossible to motivate oneself to do them.
My wife's favorite cat comes to sit in her lap, sometimes the chest, and purrrrs furiously. She says that the vibration has a definite effect on her sensorimotor system. She notices becoming more calm. The stress and disturbance she feels from events and situations banish that calm she needs in order to feel herself, to feel happy, safe, and free. She talks about the loss she is going to experience when he is gone -- he is now 17 but does not show it in the least. Another cat will not replace him because he has been so personal with her since the beginning, and then more and more so as the years went by. She has developed an emotional dependency on her cat, depending on him to allow her to calm down in daily life. If he is gone she will lose this dependency and reliance. She will be challenged to cope with a new situation of being alone. Of course there is me, her husband, and she does not compare us or put us in a similar category, me and her cat. My cat too because he loves me also and I love him.
The grieving process is a large literature and I don't mean to comment on it at all. From my personal perspective humans are born immortal and carry their pet's relationship with them into the afterlife. Since the afterlife is the mental world of eternity we can all have our pets back. My students in theistic psychology, where we discuss such things, are intensely interested in seeing their pets in eternity. My research relies on the Swedenborg Reports -- see my Web site on it: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/swedenborg.html
Children need help in getting through the pet loss
experience. First they need to see that parents and siblings are sympathetic for
the loss, and acknowledge it as a loss. I am not necessarily recommending this
but I see from the Web that some people go into a grieving practice that
emulates the grieving practices for human beings, like burials, prayer
ceremonies, tomb stones, inheritance, etc. This is a socio-cultural practice and
has all sorts of secondary emotions that people attach to them, like reputation,
self-enhancement, loyalty, zany humor, etc.
Continued with Human Catheads and Pet Psychology About Cats
(see below)
From the Students of Dr. Leon James at the University of Hawaii
Personality And Pets:
The Existence Of Personality In Pets Shown Through The Human-Animal Bond
| MY SPECIAL INTEREST IN PETS ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED WHY DO PEOPLE OWN PETS APPLYING THE PERSONALITY MODEL TO PETS PET'S PERSONALITY vs HUMAN'S PERSONALITY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PETS AND THEIR OWNERS PERSONALITY OF OWNERS vs NONOWNERS PERSONALITY FUNCTION OF PETS SUBJECTS USED IN DATABASES LIBRARY RESEARCH PROCEDURES AFTERTHOUGHTS ON PETS AND PERSONALITY |
Psychology and Pets:
HUMAN AND DOG INTERDEPENDENCY:
The Benefits of Dog Assisted Therapy On The Personality As Well As The
Environment Of People
PET PERSONALITY AND THEIR OWNERS: PETS BRING OUT THE
BEST IN US
A
Look at Dogs, Their Personalities, and Their Relationship with Humans
THE EXISTENCE OF PERSONALITY IN PETS SHOWN THROUGH THE HUMAN-ANIMAL BOND
RELATIONS BETWEEN HUMANS AND PETS
The
Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and
Empathy - and Why They Matter (Hardcover)
by
Marc Bekoff (Author),
Jane Goodall (Foreword)
By Natalia Lukey, student
Instructor:
Dr. Leon James
I. Introduction: Cat pasts that are unknown to the new owner
II. Why is the cat acting strange?
III. What do these behaviors mean?
IV. Cat rituals
V. Cat psychological recoveries
VI. Conclusion
I. Introduction: Cat pasts that are unknown to the new owner
The adoption of an adult cat can be a tough challenge to the new owner. Cats like people have their past with all kinds of experiences, but unlike people they can’t talk, so it can be very hard, but not impossible, to know what is passing through the heads of our little friends. In this annotated bibliography, I will try to give you some useful information in the understanding of the past of these amazing animals, on how to communicate with them and understand what they are trying to tell you using their body language - their behavior and rituals.
But before we start talking about communication, I would like to share with you some of the reasons why people adopt adult cats. We tend to think that people adopt adult cats because they are already trained, more tranquil, and more independent. The replies that people sent me from the Cat Site forum not only mentioned some of these reasons as it also gave me many others:
“Two of my cats I adopted as adults, Fallon and Sampson. Fallon I adopted from the clinic I work at and she had spent the most part of her 1 and a half years in a little cage because no one wanted to adopt her...”,
“Kali came with her kitten, Alf (he was about 3 weeks old) and we think she was about two. Never knew what happened to her other kittens, as only Kali and Alf were found - cornered by a dog...”,
“Our 4th adult family cat passed away 2 years ago, and since then I have moved out and now live on my own. Within a month of moving out I *had* to adopt a cat. I knew I wanted an adult because of our past good experiences with them...”,
“The cat I already had was getting lonely while I was at work so I decided he needed a friend. I went to the local pet shelter and began "trying out" the older cats...”,
“Adult cats are more mellow, already house broken, only need shots once a year, are usually fixed, and aren't teething! Older cats are less likely to become ill and are less likely to be stepped on...”,
“When I adopted my cats I wasn't really in the market for a cat but I fell in love with their personality and decided that I had room for one more. Kittens are too much work than I care to bother with...”,
“Yep, it is that "feeling sorry" for the poor older cats who do get left in the shelters when all the cute kittens are adopted...”,
“The first was that I don't have the time to dedicate to raising a kitten. I spend a lot of time with my cat, but I have him adapt to my routine. I don't think that I want to go through that kitten training stuff..."
Every one had a different reason, but the same problem when it got to the interaction with the new comer. It is very frustrating when you want to do good to the animal and it reacts as if you were torturing it. Many cat owners complained that at the beginning their cat would be afraid of everything, that they wouldn’t meow, neither eat and would do their necessities all over the place. But with time, through a lot of patience, love, and trial and error they got to know each other and are now enjoying themselves. Let’s try to make this adaptation period more enjoyable and shorter so both, the new owner and the cat can be happy.
II. Why is the cat acting strange?
As I said before, each cat has a past and it is going to strongly influence its present behavior. If you are planning to adopt a cat I would like to mention the Pet Behavior Clinic web page where the author clarifies some myths about animals adopted from shelters so you don’t get mislead by one of them and will strongly consider the option of adopting your cat from a shelter. The first myth is that animals from shelter have trouble bonding to a new family. Animals from shelter actually bond strongly to their new family. The only problem is that they don’t like to be left alone what might lead them to think that you will leave them again as their previous owner did. Make sure you can check on him several times a day at least at the beginning while it is still adapting to you.
Second myth: Older animals have trouble bonding to new people. Older animals like younger animals do not lose the ability to attach to people it just might take a little bit longer to get attached. Third myth: A pet will long to be reunited with his old family. The period of time that separates the pet from its former owner lessens the pet’s attachment towards that owner. Fourth myth: Stray animals do not make good pets. “Stray animals are usually intelligent because they would not have survived very long without a family. Most are grateful for food and shelter and happy to comply with house rules.”
Fifth myth: Adopting a second hand pet is taking on someone else’s problem. “People give up pets everyday for reasons as simple as "sheds hair" or "needs exercise". Since all dogs and cats shed and require exercise, these are not problem pets. Be aware that people giving up a pet feel guilty. Guilt may prevent them from being honest about the pet's worst behavior or they may exaggerate to blame the pet for their unwillingness to meet the responsibility of caring for their pet. Information from a previous owner can be filtered through guilt.” Sixth myth: Animals from the shelter are usually abused. “Animals that actually have been mistreated are often outgoing and forgiving. Most animals in shelters were neglected, certainly lacking attention and exercise. Some lack social skills. The best remedy for these pets is a new home.” It is also important not to be tricked by the cat’s look. Meow Foundation web page can give you some advice on how to choose a cat based on your personality and on the cat’s. As you can see, there are several good reasons not to believe in misleading information.
Now let’s suppose that you took your cat from the shelter. Did the cat have an owner before or was it raised in the shelter? The new cat owner must find out as much information as possible about the cat to better understand it. If it had an owner before why did the owner rejected it? Scarlett J., Salman M., New J. and Kas P. in their article Reasons for relinquishment of companion animals in the U.S. animal shelters identified 71 reasons for rejection of their pets. The main ones were personal issues such as allergies and new baby. It is very important to make sure nobody in your family is allergic and that you are willing to spend a lot of your time taking care of your new pet if you decide to adopt a cat. Just imagine how traumatizing it can be to be rejected twice. This article also gives the former owners’ characteristics what might be helpful in finding some answers for the cat’s present behavior.
But what if your cat was raised in the shelter? Alger J. and Alger S. in their article Cat culture, human culture: An ethnographic study of a cat shelter, explains that within the cat community of the shelter, a distinctive cat culture emerges as a result of their adaptation to the shelter. The article points out the fact that because there are so many cats living in a small territory, the cats stop giving too much emphasis to territoriality and conflict and start caring more about affection and friendship. By knowing that your cat had lived in a community with other cats it might not be very happy alone, at least at the beginning. So instead of thinking that your cat is sick, just try to understand that it is now adapting to a completely different life style.
III. What do these behaviors mean?
One of the authors who write a lot about cat behavior is Pam Johson-Bennet. She wrote three books that in my opinion are relevant to our topic. In the first one “Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Shrink” Dr. Bennet gives us several examples of unusual cat behaviors and rituals based on real stories from her clients, and through them she tries to give us some explanation of what these behaviors mean and how the cat owner is supposed to respond to them. I think it was a good idea to use real stories in explaining cat behavior because it makes easier for us readers to understand the situation when we know in what context the behavior happened.
In the second book, “Twisted Whiskers: Solving Your Cat’s behavior problems” Dr. Bennet writes about felines’ communication where she gives more details about the meaning of cat’s touch, eyes, voice, purr and body language. She also gives some advice in training your cat in the first chapter called Behavior Modification. The third book, “Think like a cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat – Not a Sour Puss” is very useful for those who are planning to be cat owners. Here she writes about cat instincts that determine felines’ behavior whether they are good or bad, giving some basic knowledge about cats what is always useful when you are planning to have one.
The web site Feline Behavior is also very helpful in giving some explanations about some cat behavior perceived by the majority of people as weird. For example, it explains that hiding sometimes can be just a learned preference towards a specific place instead of a real hiding, that eating plants and throwing-up doesn’t exactly mean that the cat is sick, but that it is just trying to alleviate its indigestion, that sucking and kneading is a sign of happiness and it shouldn’t be punished if done in the right place, etc.
There are also times when our new cat’s behavior, or its ritual is actually inappropriate. If you are worried that your cat is expressing such behaviors, the web site Vetinfo could definitely help you. Here a veterinarian answers people’s question concerning several behavioral problems, such as excessive meowing, depression, personality changes, digging holes, destructive behavior, separation anxiety, aggression, licking, territorial problems, etc. You can ask questions to the veterinarian too. There is also the Best Friends forum if you are interested in other veterinarians’ points of view. Some kinds of behavior must be modified. The cat who cried for help: attitudes, emotions and the psychology of cats by Nicholas Dodman gives helpful advice for cat owners who want to retrain and cure their cats from undesirable behavior. It “examines aggravating cat habits and undesirable behavior, and shows how modifications in such areas as diet, exercise, and environment cause remarkable improvements in majority of problem cats.” He uses real case stories from his own practice what makes the book more entertaining and easier to understand. There is also the Cat Fanciers web page which provides several advice about how to deal with other problematic behavior such as scratching, ripping the carpet, etc. But remember, not only your cat will need to adjust to you as you’ll also need to adjust to your cat.
IV. Cat rituals
In Milani’s web site the author brings up the fact that some owners create very complex rituals with their cats and it can become a huge problem for the cat and its new owner if the previous owner can no longer stay with his/her cat “deliberately or unwittingly, some owners create relatively complex feeding rituals with their cats. Not only do these involve what they feed their pets, but how, when, and where. Although these may work very well for both owner and cat alike, what happens when that person is no longer around? Who will cut up Sergei's food into the tiniest little pieces, warm them in the microwave just so, and serve them to him on his special plate placed in that special spot on the kitchen counter? If he's lucky, his owner will have ensured that someone would do exactly that in her absence. If she didn't, it may take his new owner months to figure out that the cat's poor appetite results from how or where he's being fed rather than what. If his new owner doesn't, Sergei may never feel completely comfortable when he eats.” When I asked my friends and those from the cat forums about their cat rituals that is what they told me:
“Murka (female cat), stops eating the day before we go to the country-side (every other week). Murka knows that when she arrives there she always gets fresh fish and I guess everything else doesn’t taste as good as what she gets there. She finds out the right day by observing the fact that my dad always takes his country boots from the shelf the day before.”
“My cat Tom, comes running to me every time I take something to read. He just loves to lie on mine lap when I read.” “My mom used to have a cat called Tishka (male). He would wake up every day around 6am, lick everyone’s face, and then go to the window where he mewed until someone got up. This was one of the reasons why she gave him away to her friend. I used to have a cat called Misha. He liked when I stayed in the kitchen while he was eating his meal. If I left the room he would stop eating and would start following me around. He was the best cat I ever had. I also had a cat called Shusha. She was like a dog. I used to take her for a walk in the forest next to my house. Shusha walked right next to me without a leash. But if she saw a dog, she would jump into the first tree and it would take me forever to get her down.”
“ I have a very fat cat that can’t stand when he can see the bottom of his bowl. He comes to me and scratches my legs until I pours some more food into the bowl.”
“ My cat has several rituals, it always waits me by the stairs when I’m walking by it and when I go up stairs the cat waits until I’m almost in the second floor to chase me . He also likes to be the first to use the restroom. When I get home from work and go to the restroom, he chases me so he can pee before I get there. He likes to watch the birds every morning in one specific place. He always needs to touch my arm with one paw when he sleeps next to me. If I don’t get up when he mews (calling her), he jumps on her and touches her face.”
“I've got a nightly
ritual for you...
My three cats know exactly when it is time to go to bed. At 10 o'clock every
night they lay right in front of the stairway that leads to my bedroom. When I
get ready to head towards the door, I always say "Come on Kid's...lets go to
bed" and they instantly jolt up the stairs. By the time I go up the stairs and
walk in my bedroom, they are waiting patiently next to the bed. I've always
given them a little treat when it's time to go to bed, so they are very eager to
get me to go to bed. If I happen to go out on the town on a Friday or Saturday
night and don't make it home by "bedtime"...Tiki (my youngest) sits on the top
of the stairs and meows for me until I get home (at least that's what the rest
of my family tells me!). I just thought I share this with you, -Shell”
“Feeding time - everyone ALWAYS goes to the same bowl to eat! PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="Ripley always goes to bed with me, as well. My hubby tells me that the cats just know when I am close to coming home after work - he says that they methodically wait for me at the door. I know this is true, as I usually trip my way into the house.-Debra”
"My two also always know when I am coming home from work and try to trip me up" Corky also does the same thing each night at about 7.30pm when it's time for her to come in. All I need to do is open the back door and she will come tearing towards the house and then stop about a foot away from the door, and just sits looking at me with a look on her face saying "awww do I have to come in yet." She will then refuse to move unless I offer her some food.”
“I've posted this before, but a few months ago. Alf rattles the front-door letter-box when he wants to come in, and Ronnie has also learnt to do this. The problem is that the neighbour's cat Mittens has also cottoned onto this trick and keeps on knocking to come in.....” “When I get home from work my two cats, after a few rubs of the tummy, will go poop in the litter box. Now, this only a weekday thing. Weekends are poop when you want days. I've always wondered if they only poop when I'm home.” “My tow have a habit of always going in the litter boxes when I am trying to clean them out, even if they have only just used the box.
I think that is the only habit which does actually annoy me, but they are soon forgiven *sigh*” “Sam lets me know when he is hungry (or, to be more precise, when it is 6:00 am and I should be getting out of bed to feed him fresh wet food).First a gentle Meow. Next, a more strident Meow. Then MEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOW. Now, if those have not worked, he scratches the box spring - to make it echo - much more satisfying than just the mattress. Followed by - jumping on my chest and purring really loud in my face.
Followed by face licking, by which time he knows I am awake, because I turn my face away as he reaches my mouth - no kitty kisses on the lips, thank you very much. Now, if I still want to sleep in, I get head butts - that is, he starts trying to shove me out of bed. And if all else fails, he knows that I will give up if he lies across my chest with his tail in my face. So I feed him, he sits on his piece of paper to groom after the meal, and then he goes to his little cat bed and sleeps for the next 12 hours.” “I think I'm a full time mom to my four kitties now...I play with them all day in addition to caring for them as usual. And so they've grown jealous of me. If I go to scratch Major's head, Max will bite him on the ear and bat at me. If I switch to pet Max, Major will do a tiny little growl! They all love their bellies rubbed. Lucie is a general spazz and attaches herself to my leg, but Duke is still just a bit shy. Cats are the best- no dog would ever do this!”
“One of my cats (Nutmeg, 6 year old neutered male s.h. ginger) likes to be carried downstairs in the mornings. He stands on the end of the bed and shows by his body language (too subtle to define) that he wants a lift. When I stand in front of him he climbs onto my shoulder where he drapes himself. His hip joint acts as a pivot (hard to explain) so that most of him is hanging down over my back with his front paws extended to my waist level while his back legs dangle down over my chest. He likes to be carried like this for up to 15 minutes, completely unsupported, down two flights of stairs and through the process of making a pot of tea. He only does this in the mornings, and purrs loudly throughout the ritual. He also likes a cuddle in bed most nights. He forces his way under the duvet, flings himself sideways into the crook of my arm, sucks on a mouthful of nightdress and makes dough furiously in my armpit (very painful!) while drooling profusely. But he gazes at my face with such a look of adoration that I don't have the heart to stop him!”
“My two young cats chase me down the road every morning when I walk my dog, but stop just short of the park. They wait there mewing and when we come back run towards us, past us and then sit watching us disappear back to the house. Just before we get to the door they both come charging through the neighbouring gardens and demand a few dog biscuits. I accept that by giving them a biscuit I am rewarding them for this behaviour so in effect, I've trained it in. Not sure if that's the sort of thing you're looking for or not.” “Usually only once per day but sometimes more, she will sneak into our room (when we are not in it) and grab socks out of the closet. She then makes a particular meow as she parades into whatever room we are in and deposits the sock(s) on the floor in front of us.”
“Fitzy is usually at the door when I get home from work--if he isn't he comes running out of the bedroom to greet me. Then we go into the kitchen and I give him his wet food while I make supper (he stands on a stool with his paws on the handle to the oven while I put his food in his bowl--I make his supper on top of the stove). At night, I get ready for bed and give him a kiss. Then I go into the bedroom and put on my hand cream and turn on my sleep-mate noise-maker and go to turn the light off. By the time I get to the switch, Fitz is sitting just outside the door for his 2nd kiss. I turn off the light and go to sleep. Then Fitz goes into the kitchen and eats his dry food. When he's done eating, he comes in and sleeps between my feet. In the morning, he snuggles on my neck and after my 3rd snooze, he gets up. On weekends, he wakes me up at 7:00am by biting my arm or rattling the beads that hang on my bedpost. He also comes into the bathroom doing his squeaky noises when I turn the shower off. My baby is all rituals.” “I think that we can summarize: life is a ritual for a cat. Once we do something, the cat expects it to be done the same way, every day, over and over and over again. My apartment is dotted with pieces of cardboard - there's the "wait outside the bathroom door for mom to finish showering" cardboard, the "dinner is over grooming station" cardboard, the "wait beside the bed until mom is all settled and I can have a good night cuddle" cardboard - which is actually a pizza box, the "wait on the dining room floor for squirrels to appear in the tree outside the window" cardboard.
When I got back from a week's vacation, Sam was happy to see me, but also spent the evening checking to see that his cardboards were all in the right place. He went and meowed at each one - I think he was saying "Thank goodness nothing happened to THIS".”
“I don't know why my girls do this, but when I walk in the door to my apartment, they come and greet me and then the run to the scratching post and start scratching. I think it is adorable. As if to say: "Look Mom, we know what this is for". Every time. They are adorable.”
“Ivo waits at the door for me every weekday. She calls, and when I open the door she goes out into the hall, to make sure no bad guys have followed me home. Then, after I put my stuff down and go the restroom, she'll use her litter box at the same time (it's right outside the bathroom). Oh, and when I leave in the morning I have to tell her "Watch out for the bad guys and monsters, and don't let in any evil pigeons. I love you and I'll be back later. I'm going to work so I can buy you cat food." Well, maybe that's for me.”
“Russell waits at the door to greet my boyfriend when he comes home. And if he's late, Russell will meow as if to say, "You're late." rub Lee's leg and saunters off. Russell always announces when he's going to use the kitty litter. This one I taught him and he does it automatically now so I guess it's a ritual. Before Russell's bowl of food is placed down, he sits and wait until I've put it down before eating it.
And after anyone has had a shower, Russell has to jump in after to walk around and sometimes drink from the shower floor even though there is fresh water in his water bowl!” It is interesting that the majority of the rituals are connected with the owners’ schedule, when they come home, or when they go to bed or do a specific kind of activity.
In Fletcher’s site you can also find other examples of cat rituals. His cats also have rituals based on what he does. Another web site that contains several cat stories including cat rituals is the Cat Philes. If you are interested in sharing your own cat experiences with others and also read their stories there are several forums and chat rooms available, some of them give you a list of other cat newsgroups and chat rooms, such as Cat, Richmond Pets and Animal Forum.
V. Cat psychological recoveries
It is very important to consider the cat’s past in order to understand and modify its behavior or rituals. The Total Cat a book written by Carole C. Wilbourn mentions in some of the chapters (Your Cat and Changing Human Relationships, Senior Cat) how to deal with this kind of situation. She also talks about “caring for an abused refugee”. The Cats Exclusive web site gives some cute stories of successful adoptions, where cats were able to recover the trauma of being left by their previous owners.
Conclusion
There is a lot of information about cats in the internet, in journals and in books but unfortunately there isn’t much information about cats with a past and its influence in the cat’ behavior almost anywhere. By understanding the cat’s past the new owner will be able to make his/her cat a happy animal which in its turn will make the new owner happy. Animals like people develop certain habits during their lives and like us they also need time to adjust to the new situation they are put in. This report points out some necessary steps that the new owner needs to take in order to reach an understanding of their cats, like finding out information about the cat’s past, what certain behavior means, which ones are considered appropriate or inappropriate, it talks about the rituals developed between the cat and the owner and also about behavior modification. I hope this report will be useful in giving some ideas for those who are planning to have a happy relationship with their cat.
1. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=5
2. http://www.pethelp.net/adopt.html
3. http://www.meowfoundation.com/health/whatkind.html
4. http://www.feline-behavior.com/
5. http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/catbhave.html
7. http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/indexer.cgi
8. http://www.mmilani.com/commentary_0502.html
9. http://www.onthe.net.au/~flippy/rituals.html
10. http://www.onthe.net.au/~flippy/catphiles.html
11. http://www.catsexclusive.org/Tails.html
12. http://www.animal form.com/catmain.htm
13. http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/cat_news.htm
14. http://www.richmondpets.com/online/newsgroups.shtml
15. Scarlett, J.M.: Salman, M.D.: New, J.G.: Kas, P.H (1999). Reasons for relinquishment of companion animals in U.S. animal shelters. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. Vol 2(1), 41-57.
16. Alger, J.M.;Alger, S.F. (1999). Cat culture, human culture: An ethnographic study of a cat shelter. Society & Animals. Vol 7(3), 199-218.
17. “Think like a cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat – Not a Sour Puss”
by Pam Johnson-Bennet
18. Twisted Whiskers:
Solving Your Cat's Behavior Problems
by Pam Johnson-Bennet
19. Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Shrink
by Pam Johson-Bennet
20. The Cat Who Cried for
Help: Attitudes, Emotions, and the Psychology of Cats
by Nicholas Dodman
21. The Total Cat
by Carole C. Wilbourn
Pleasurable
Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good (Paperback)
by
Jonathan Balcombe (Author)
Balcombe is an animal behavior research scientist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C. To back up his claim that all vertebrates, at least, experience pleasure, he presents hundreds of anecdotes about animals playing, eating, copulating, grooming, loving—and enjoying all of it. Most examples come from biologists observing or experimenting with an array of species from moles to whales, but Balcombe also quotes pet owners and talks about his own menagerie.
To send a Dear DrDriving Letter: letters@DrDriving.org See Letters and Answers
By Diane Nahl and Leon James
Introduction
Every ritual has a goal and a beginning step Interacting through social rituals brings you close It elevates the cat’s life All cats learn rituals very early Discovering your new cat’s rituals
1 Bonding Rituals
Addressing your cat The Tail Hook Bumping Heads Pick Me Up Grabbing Your Attention
Let’s go the dish Let’s play I’m ready for some grooming now Door service Half-eye minimalism Causing trouble
I’m Rolling On My Back For You Come Over and Pet Me
2 Eating Rituals
Walking to the dish together Watch me eat Give me a new scoop Feed it to me one pellet at a time I need a treat now I want some catnip
3 Dominance Rituals
Cat fights Cat lickings I want that chair Marking the furniture Exploring all space Defending the turf Training another cat Training a dog
4 Grooming Rituals
Petting
Don’t’ touch me there Don’t overexcite me Touch me there again Keep going, don’t stop You’re stopping already?
Combing
Bathing
Applying medicine
5 Hunting and Playing Rituals
Bringing you a mouse
Bringing you a bird Bringing you gecko
Carry me in the box
Chase me I want to be a circus cat
Index
(to be continued)
According to Moira Anderson Allen, M.Ed. at: http://www.pet-loss.net/
Different people experience grief in different ways. Besides your sorrow and
loss, you may also experience the following emotions:
| Pet Loss and Children |
 Children and Pet Loss: A Guide for Helping (Paperback) by Marty Tousley "This guide will help the reader understand the child's attachment to the pet and the significance of the loss..." Key Phrases: pet loss, grieving children "Yes, this book has been needed for more than five decades to cure an illness that has 'tolled the bell' for many thousands of Americans." --Meyer Friedman, M.D., author of Treating Type A Behavior and Your Heart |
AVMA Guidelines for Pet Loss Support Services
Research has shown that the human grieving process following a pet's death is similar to that experienced by people who have lost a family member or close friend. Telephone helplines and support groups have been used for some time to address grief associated with the end of human-human interrelationships, but have only recently emerged as a means of assisting pet owners in dealing with the death of their companion animals.
Pet Loss Support Groups People often attend support groups as they attempt to address grief associated with personal crises or the end of human-human relationships, but only recently have people sought out this resource as a way to cope with the death of their pet. The AVMA believes that support groups may be of substantial benefit to animal owners in addressing the emotional aspects of attachment and loss if these groups are conducted responsibly.
From: HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERACTIONS LITERATURE
| Special Library Resources
Association Francaise d'Information et
de Recherche sur l'Animal de Compagnie (AFIRAC) The Delta Society
Society for
Companion Animal Studies |
|
See also: Google>Recreation>Pets>Loss>
| Coping with grief on the death of a
pet; tips on pet loss bereavement. www.pet-loss.net/ - 25k - |
| We welcome links back to the Pet
Loss Support Page. We cannot always guarantee a reciprocal link,
as we only offer links to sites that offer a significant ... www.pet-loss.net/links.html - 31k - [ More results from www.pet-loss.net ] |
| Pet Loss Grief Support is
the first place to visit when a beloved pet passes on. Here are
personal support resources, Monday Candle Ceremony, healing
poetry ... www.petloss.com/ - 25k - |
E-mails
can be sent to grief counselor, Director of Pet Loss Support
Services, Enid Traisman, MSW at etjournl@teleport .com. ...
 |
| One of the first pet loss support
websites on the Internet, online for over 10 years. Provides help for
pet lovers with a pet loss message forum, pet loss
... www.lightning-strike.com/ - 13k - |
| A collection of pet loss support
sites from one of the first pet loss support, online for over
10 years. Provides help for pet lovers with a pet loss
... www.lightning-strike.com/pet-loss-websites.htm - 37k - [ More results from www.lightning-strike.com ] |
| Pet Loss Support Hotline. Cat
Horse Bird. 607-253-3932 ... Pet Loss Support Hotline
College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University Ithaca, NY ... www.vet.cornell.edu/Org/PetLoss/ - 6k - |
| Pet Loss Support Hotline
Resources for Grieving. 607-253-3932 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Eastern
Time Tuesday-Thursday Dog Fish Cat ... www.vet.cornell.edu/Org/PetLoss/Resources/ - 8k - [ More results from www.vet.cornell.edu ] |
The Spirit World: Descriptions by Early Spiritualists
Barbara N. Starr
located on the Web at: http://www.creativespirit.net/spiritworld/
(...)
Animals and Pets
No animals exist in the lower spheres, but they are found in the higher ones. There is some disagreement about whether they are actual objective existences or subjective images. Herbine (1919) states that all flowers and animals, including birds and fish, communicate. Crowell's (1879) sources say that animals are more intelligent and understand each other better than on earth. The only ones mentioned are horses, dogs, cows, deer, rabbits, domestic fowl and birds.
Tuttle (1900) feels that it is not esthetic to think that the spirits of all animal, insect and fish life will be in the spirit world. Others agree that animals do not survive the dissolution of material bodies, although they main retain their individuality for a brief period after leaving the body. They are then merged into a vast realm of elemental spirits.
Animals that have enough mental activity to gain a hold on spiritual vibrations have a place in the spirit state, so pets may be found in the spirit world (Longley, 1908). Some pets can retain their identity by the will of a spirit who can give it component spiritual elements. DeKoven (1920) believes that anything that is evolved enough to possess a semblance of a soul has a counterpart in the spirit world. A spirit can create anything that is wanted for happiness by desire, so earthly pets may be there until their purpose is served. Peebles (1902) goes on to say that there is no organic growth, or animal or vegetable life, in higher spiritual existences, but that can be the result of the immediate action of mind upon the atmosphere.
(...)
| Provides a non-judgmental outlet for
people to express their feelings and concerns. The hotline is staffed
by veterinary students trained by a professional ... www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/petloss/ - 10k - |
| California Veterinary Medical
Association--links to pet loss support resources in CA ...
UC Davis' pet loss support hotline web page--includes advice
for ... www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ccab/petloss.html - 20k - |
| Owners appreciate being able to talk
with individuals who share their compassion for animals and who
understand the impact of their loss from a very ... www.tufts.edu/vet/petloss/ - 4k - |
| Pet Loss Support Programs.
Volunteers staff the hotline Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 6:30
p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Eastern time. (517) 432-2696 ... cvm.msu.edu/petloss/index.htm - 4k - |
| The Pet Loss Support Hotline
is a non-profit program provided by the College of Veterinary Medicine
at Michigan State University. ... cvm.msu.edu/petloss/petloss.htm - 7k - |
| Offers chat rooms, forums, a pet
memorial photo gallery, and links to other support resources. www.petsupport.net/ - 14k - |
| find resources for pet loss,
pet death, grieving the loss of a pet, pet loss
support, pet funeral, Mourning the loss of a
pet, explaining pet loss to ... www.paws2heaven.com/Support_directory.htm - 140k - |
| Pet Loss Grief Support,bereavement
support organizations, resources, library, directory, pet
cemetery,cemeteries,cemetary, beloved pet death, personal
pet ... www.paws2heaven.com/Support_directory_tem.htm - 100k - |
| (888)ISU-PLSH (888-478-7574) Pet Loss
Support Hotline hosted by the Iowa State University College of
Veterinary Medicine. ... www.avma.org/careforanimals/ |
| Concise, straightforward guidelines
include key considerations for establishing pet loss support
helplines, groups, and Internet counseling. ... www.avma.org/products/hab/pet_loss.asp - 28k - [ More results from www.avma.org ] |
| CARE Pet Loss Helpline is the
first place to visit when a beloved pet passes on. Here are
personal support resources for you and other family members who
... www.cvm.uiuc.edu/CARE/ - 13k - |
| Many veterinary Schools Sponsor pet
loss support hotlines (grief counseling.) Here is a listing of
hotlines we are aware of: ... www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/loss.html - 13k - |
| When your pet is terminally
ill, your veterinarian considers psychological as well as physical
needs, and home care is usually prescribed. ... www.rabbit.org/journal/2-1/loss-support.html - 13k - |
| We provide assistance to individuals and
groups across Canada who are trying to establish a pet loss support
group in their own community. ... www.petlosscalgary.org/ - 8k - |
| The loss of a pet, cat,
dog, animal death, dealing, coping, grieving, with pets bereavement,
grief, urns & petloss comfort. www.mypetloss.com/ - 7k - |
| Pet Loss Hotline volunteers are
specifically prepared to help people cope with ... The Pet
Loss Hotline thanks for their generous support of this
project. ... www.vetmed.wsu.edu/PLHl/ - 11k - |
| About the Pet Loss Hotline
About the Pet Loss Hotline · Questions to Consider Questions to
Consider · The Grieving Process The Grieving Process · Support
of ... www.vetmed.wsu.edu/plhl/home/ - 13k - |
| Pet Loss and Support
Resources - Chance's Spot provides pet loss and grief
resources, games and information to help those who have lost a pet. www.chancesspot.org/ - 27k - |
| Pet Loss and Support
Resources - Chance's Spot provides pet loss and grief
resources, an online support group, games and information to
help those who have ... www.chancesspot.org/supportgroup.htm - 14k - [ More results from www.chancesspot.org ] |
| The San Francisco SPCA Pet Loss
Support Group meets on the first Tuesday of every ... Dr.
Carmack leads the free Pet Loss Support Group to help grieving
pet ... www.sfspca.org/special_programs/petloss.shtml - 27k - |
| Pet Loss Helpline & Support
Group 630/325-1600 Wings – Pet Loss Support Group ...
The CVMA provides a Pet Loss Support Group called Wings. ... www.chicagovma.org/petlosssupport/ - 20k - |
| Pet loss tributes, memorials,
support, and candle light rose ceremony. www.in-memory-of-pets.com/ - 19k - |
| Offers information, comfort and
support needed to better understand the grief that accompanies the
loss of a pet. Inspirational stories, information on the
... www.cheyennepetclinic.com/petloss.html - 30k - |
| Free Pet Loss Support group
sessions are held 5 times per month: Drop-ins welcome. .... a
donation to the DoveLewis Pet Loss Support Program was made by
... dovelewis.org/programs/Pet_Loss.aspx - 32k - |
| Dove
Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital is Portland Oregon's only nonprofit
emergency and critical care animal hospital. Pet loss support,
Portland Oregon lost ...
|
