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| Just Looking For Trouble - A 'Tail of Two Cats' |
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Dr Kim Kendall
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 This is a 'tail of two cats' - 'Mickey' who goes looking for trouble, and 'Misty' who runs from it.
Both of them end up with abscesses, which means blood poisoning setting in, a fever, and a trip to the vet. So let's look at how to prevent the problem for both of them!
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Mickey the 'bully boy'
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Mickey is a very territorial boy, and although he has been desexed, his problem is that he just can't resist getting into everyone's business and checking out neighbours' yards. Some of the yards are feline-free, but others have feline residents who object to Mickey's excursions. They defend their territory with tooth and claw, so Mickey gets his abscesses on his head and front legs...he goes 'head first into trouble' you might say!
The defending cat will also frequently sport a deep puncture wound - it depends on who has the strongest opinion about their territorial rights at the time.
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Misty the 'scaredy cat'
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Misty, on the other hand, gets her abscesses on her back feet and tail base because she has been trying to run away from her 'local Mickey'. It does not seem to matter how fast she runs, she is always half a second too slow, and in go the teeth and up come the abscesses. Her problem is that there is nowhere she can go to get away from the other cats - anywhere she can go, they can go, too.
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Overcrowding leads to territorial pressure
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Many of the 'modern' cat's problems stem from overcrowding. As far as your cat is concerned, there should not be another feline within a mile of your house, literally. 'In the wild', if there is enough food, then a small group of related females can be stable, but it is rare to have males co-existing peacefully.
In urban society this is rarely the case now, so there is much more territorial pressure on cats. Some of them do not adapt very well, hence the 'bully boy Mickeys' and 'scaredy cat Mistys', plus the cats who 'have their say' by spraying urine and marking their boundaries that way.
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Cat Parks and Cat Flaps
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The compromise comes in the form of some physical restrictions, such as Modular Cat Parks and Magnetic Cat Flaps. With the Modular Cat Park you can contain the cat by giving it a safe outdoors area by building a 'park' around trees, bushes etc. with runways between sections and also into the house. That way your cat can pretend it is still a wild and fearsome creature, but is safe from marauding cats, big dogs and fast cars.
Humans are now significantly more restricted in their activities, and so we are having to confine our pets more to keep them safe and happy. The Magnetic Cat Flap allows your cat to get away from from other marauding creatures because the magnetic 'key' on their collar opens the cat flap, and unless the chaser cat also has the same 'key', the flap slams in its face and keeps it out.
The Mistys of the owrld learn very quickly that they can get away, and so set off for a safe haven before the aggression sets in. The Magnetic Cat Flap is also useful if a neighbouring cat is coming in and marking his territory on your lounge (that is, spraying his urine everyone!). The flap won't let him in.
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Confinement is not wrong, only harder
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Cats in America and Europe have been much more confined than Australian cats for the last 50 years in the big cities, so these problems are not 'new', only 'new to us'. Many cats live safe and emotionally secure lives by not being allowed to roam at will, and as the trend for higher density living for people and pets continues, then more thought needs to be given to the emotional consequences of confinement.
The Modular Cat Parks, Magnetic Cat Flaps, and even the harnesses and leads for taking cats for walks in the park, are all responses to the changing world in which we find ourselves, and into which we also place our cats. Confinement is not wrong, only harder.
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Author: Dr Kim Kendall BVSc MACVSc (Feline Medicine) graduated from the University of Sydney in 1982 and established the East Chatswood Cat Clinic in 1994, a dedicated cat-only Veterinary Clinic. The practice does everything for cats and is a full service veterinary clinic.
www.catclinic.com.au
For more information on Modular Cat Parks you can contact Catnip Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1800 639 998 or Catmax Clearnet Enclosures on 1300 306 605.
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