112 Chapter 7Redirecting behaviours or offering alternative targets
Behaviours that are innate and necessary for the cat’s general well-being can also
become a problem if the target of the behaviour is unacceptable in a human household.
Another problem is when unwanted behaviours are self-rewarding and it is difficult or
impossible to remove or prevent the reward. When this is the case, it is often best to
offer the cat an alternative and more acceptable target for the behaviour.
Practical feline examples
● Scratching is a normal feline behaviour beneficial for health and welfare. But
scratching on furniture is unacceptable for many cat owners. The problem may be
resolved by offering a suitable scratch post and/or scratch pad and training the cat
to use this instead.
● Cats can sometimes engage in unacceptable predatory-type play towards other cats
or people. This can be resolved by re-directing the behaviour towards a toy instead.
Factors Influencing Learning
Motivation – learning new behaviour
There are several factors that can influence an individual’s ability to learn, a major
one being motivation. If a cat is ‘not in the mood’ to perform a behaviour, or is not
interested in the potential reward, then performance of the behaviour is less likely to
occur. Even if the cat does initially perform the behaviour, if the reward is something
that the cat is not particularly interested in at the time there is less chance that the
behaviour will be reinforced and therefore repeated. One of the difficulties in training
cats can be in finding the right time and the right reward so that the cat is sufficiently
motivated to perform the behaviour in the first place, and sufficiently interested in the
reward so that the behaviour is reinforced.
Practical feline examples
● Cats spend a lot of time sleeping. A tired cat is less likely to want to engage in
training.
● Trying to teach a cat to relax is much less likely to be successful when the cat is in
the mood to play.
● The reward on offer can depend on what the cat most wants at the time. The
motivation for food treats can be stronger when the cat is hungry, but if the cat is
more interested in affection and attention at the time, then being stroked will be
a stronger motivation and better reward. Likewise play may be the best reward
when the cat wants to be active.
Motivation – modifying unwanted behaviour
When trying to change a previously learned behaviour, the motivation to perform the
new behaviour needs to be stronger than the motivation to perform the old
behaviour.