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Expert: - 8/24/2011


Question
I have 2 cats, the female which I fed with a syringe after she was dumped.  I invited some guests for dinner along with their partners.  One of the wife's, whom I had previously not met, was very loud and rude to me.  The female cat, typically suspicious of strangers, walked up to her and urinated on her shoe.  A friend suggested I should speak to a vet regarding sedating drugs but this cat has never behaved inappropriately before.  She is not highly-strung or volatile and since this seems to have been a one-off, I am loath to medicate my cat (now 3 years old.  Do you have any advice or suggestions?

Answer
Danielle,

Is your cat spayed?  If not, that would be the first order of business.  If she is spayed, she may be an alpha female which could also affect her behavior. Have you had the cat checked for a urinary tract infection?  If not, that warrant a visit to the vet.

Although it is possible she has a behavioral issue, her history would suggest not. Sedating drugs with cats can have the opposite effect as cats may fight the effects of such drugs and become even more agitated.

If she gets a clean bill of health from the vet, you can check to see if anything changed in the household, but if she has never done it before and only done it to this one person, is she trying to tell you something?

Please let me know what happens.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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