Tracie Hotchner Blog

Dear Tracie,

We have a serious problem with our wild Japanese tabby cat, Nakoji, who was brought home from Japan 13 years ago when our cat was 3 weeks old. He was raised in Japan for a year before the cat was brought to America into our home.

Najoki is a quiet cat who obeys most house rules, however he is not social and one cannot pet him for more than a minute before he begins to “playfully bite,” sometimes getting angry. He thinks that my father is his real mother because he suckled on my father’s hand in absence of having a real mother cat. He only sleeps with my father.

Over the past six years he has been peeing on certain furniture within the house: a bed, a black leather chair, and today a new spot. He routinely will poop on the carpet as well. His pattern (although very unpredictable) seems to be when something changes in his environment such as visitors or when the kids come home from college, he will pee. We have lived with plastic on the beds and one chair, to keep him ruining from them completely.

Najoki has a litter box downstairs in the basement, which he uses. And is conscientious about this.

When guests come we have tranquilized him and locked him downstairs, we have had him checked several times at our vet (he is in good physical shape), we have de-clawed him (in front claws) and tried to play with him more. We have also thought about trying to put him outside in an cat fence, but on multiple occasions when the cat has gotten out of the house has become so scared that he has frozen completely stiff and hissed madly when seeing another animal or cat.

We are getting to the point where we are living in defense. We would be very grateful if you could provide some alternatives as to what to do next.

Thank you,
Gabe

Dear Gabe –

I have taken longer to answer your concerns than any other individual who has turned to me for advice. I waited months to reply to you, thinking that time would soften my sense of dismay and despair about how thoroughly you misunderstand your cat and have mistreated him. However, each time I re-read your letter it makes steam come out of my ears, so I am just going to jump in and tell you both how you are sorely uninformed on cat behavior and what you have done terribly wrong in trying to make him “obey your house rules,” as you call them. Let’s clear that up right away: cats are doing us a favor by living with us in greatly reduced unnatural circumstances. We humans are the ones who should be accommodating to a cat’s physical and emotional needs to make him at ease in the artificial environment we ask them to live in.

First of all, I have no idea what makes you refer to your cat as “wild,” but you have lived with him for 13 years and are only now seeking help for yourself?  Sad to say, Gabe, but it is the cat that needs help to recover from the poor choices you have made in trying to cope with his expressions of stress and discomfort.

First off, Najoki’s response to being petted is not a sign that he is wild, but a natural expression of “I’ve had enough” which many cats express when they cannot tolerate any further physical stimulation. Every cat has body language which signals he is reaching his saturation point for this stimulation — his ears will flatten out, his tail may switch, he may stiffen, he may even growl. If the person does not pick up these clues – does not pay enough attention to read his body language — then the kitty is going to bite to stop the hand that pets him. And, as you pointed out without realizing you had caused it, the kitty will get really angry if he is not given his space to compose himself when he has been over stimulated.

Secondly, if this cat lost his mother and siblings at 3 weeks old, then of course he is going to suffer and you will see the effects in his personality, whether it is suckling or kneading or being aloof. If you know that is his background then surely that would explains some of his quirks and make him as comfortable as possible in situation, which stress him.

As for the peeing around the house, you yourself already know that change in the household causes him stress, which causes the out-of-litter-box events. But if you know this household turmoil is hard on him, why wouldn’t common sense propel you to give him a small quiet room in the house where he can “sit out” the upheaval that rattles his cage. Make sure it has a litter box, a perch of some kind for him to get up on and a scratching post, which relieves tension, especially because it allows for a full body stretch a cat can only get by digging in his claws.

Oh! That won’t be necessary, will it?! Because you had his claws surgically removed! So now your uptight cat cannot even stretch anymore. The Cat Bible has a very clear description of the unequivocal mutilation of the foot which declawing requires: the entire first joint of every toe is cut off (as though your own finger tips were sliced off at the first joint). I don’t know the humane laws in Japan, but America is one of the few civilized places that permit this barbaric destruction of the cat’s natural foot — it is against the law in England and most of Europe. One pretty sure result of declawing is that it can escalate unwanted behaviors in a cat since their pain and stress levels skyrocket, often never to return to normal. You said you then tried to play with him more, but it’s unclear whether he wanted to play after that was done to him. You did not say he was destroying your furniture with his claws as your rationale for the procedure — but there are many ways to handle that scenario short of out-of-litter-box events often get worse after declawing.

As for your decision to tranquilize and lock Najoki in the basement when guests come, it is a pretty draconian punishment. Being tranquilized can have a boomerang effect because some cats become disoriented and fearful from being drugged. Simply closing him into a bathroom or small room with a radio on would have been a kinder way to alleviate his fear of change and of strangers. As for the litter box being in the basement, although you say he uses it consistently, having the litter box in the basement is often a cause of problems. People tend not to scoop the litter box every day — or twice a day — when it is out of their sight. As with real estate, the success of a litter box depends on location, location, location.  So it’s entirely possible that the kitty is using spots in your house because the litter box is so far away and also may be really smelly. In order to make a litter box appealing, the box itself should be washed in warm soapy water every month or so and the box thrown away every six months and replaced with a new one, and a plastic under-bed box works even better than most containers sold as litter boxes.

As for Najoki being fearful of other cats, I would guess that is partly the result of having missed early socialization with his litter. If he was 3 weeks old when he was separated from them that could explain fear or discomfort around other cats. However, most cats hate seeing strange cats in their yard or going past their window, so his response is actually normal. And as for his “freezing up” when outside, what did you expect?! He is clearly a cat who does not handle change or new things well so sticking him outside to be assaulted by all new sights, sound and smells would throw his sensory system into shock and he locked-up.

Gabe, you say that you are living in defense but I hope there’s some way for you to see that it is Najoki who is on the defensive, trying to survive and protect himself in a house where he is misunderstood and mishandled. Although I think you have tried to do the best by him, you have not had anyone to guide you in understanding what makes a cat tick nor in your decision-making.  The Cat Bible would have been a best friend to you and your cat, but if you don’t get it now, at least have a look at my website www.TracieHotchner.com which is filled with useful information.

I hope I haven’t offended you but your poor kitty has been so misunderstood — I do hope you can change some of your thinking so you can make life peaceful and fun for all of you. And again, my apologies for the long delay in answering and also for my inability to feel less strongly about Najoki’s plight.

Best of luck,
Tracie