If you’re thinking of working with a behaviorist to address your cat’s behavior, you’re likely at your wit’s end and want the unwanted behavior resolved. While my focus is on cat behavior, I wanted to share a few tips for success that will apply to working with a behavior consultant regardless of which species you’re looking for help with. Whether you’re a client of mine or not, there are some ways you can help us help you to achieve the best results!
Understand The Process
My biggest tip when working with a behaviorist is to understand how we work and what we do. It will save you the disappointment of having unmet expectations and knowing what you’re getting into when you sign up for a consultation with one of us.
While we may do some interacting with your cat, most of what we do is help you figure out what isn’t working and leading to the unwanted behavior you’re seeing in your cat. In other words, if you expect me to come in and train your cat to use the litter box, you’ll be disappointed. You’ll be doing the work to implement the plan. That’s part of why virtual consultations work just as well as in home sessions: I don’t actually need to directly do anything with your cat to help you.
While that may sound like kind of a drag, you’re ultimately going to get better results as you’ll be consistently working with your cat. Plus, it matters most that your cat responds to you doing the interventions rather than me training your cat.
We analyze your cat’s behavior, have you make changes, and then make additional changes based on how your cat responds. In other words, it’s a normal part of the process to need to make changes to the initial behavior modification plan. Every cat is unique and what your cat needs differs from my cats. Some interventions may take time to start working as well so you need to give it time. Behavior modification is a process.
Communicate
Because this is a process, I expect communication after the session from clients. When working with a behaviorist, most include some sort of follow up after the first session. Take advantage of it and make sure you are letting them know what is going on. If we request a video, take the video and send it to us. If we ask that you e-mail us weekly, e-mail us weekly.
That said, don’t over communicate. When reintroducing cats, I sometimes get e-mails from clients after every meeting the cats have. That’s not only not helpful to me, but it also creates too much work for you. We’re looking for trends. Obviously, if you have a question or something goes wrong reach out. If not, it’s actually better that you don’t e-mail us too much. Once a week works in most cases.
Let Us Know Your Needs
If you have an unusual situation or need an accommodation during our session or to the behavior plan, please let us know. We’re willing to work with you. You don’t have to go into too much detail, but let us know what we can do to help. We can adapt plans or make changes. We can also make suggestions for products to make your life easier. For example, if you struggle with scooping the litter box due to a disability, we might be able to find a long litter box scoop to make the task easier.
Keep An Open Mind
While I can work around your preferences and in the case of a disability I’m certainly not going to suggest you do something that you can’t do or would risk your health, I can’t fundamentally change cats or change your cat’s personality. While it may not be ideal to have cat furniture in your living room, your cats will be less likely to scratch your couch and will be much happier if they have an easily accessible litter box.
To make sure you don’t think I’m not telling you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself, I have a litter box in my bedroom and the first piece of furniture you see when you walk into my home is a cat tower. Would I prefer not having a litter box near my bed? Absolutely. Is it the best place for it based on the layout of my home? Also absolutely!
That’s not to say we can’t work your preferences into the plan. If you prefer a certain look, I might suggest getting a nice looking cat tree from the Refined Feline or making your own cat furniture from human furniture. I’m only suggesting it because it ultimately helps address the unwanted behavior your hired me to help with. I have a reason for everything I suggest.
Expect It To Take Multiple Sessions
While some minor behavior problems can be resolved quickly, most are going to take time. If you expect a quick, instant result, you will be disappointed. It’s not unusual for it to take a few sessions to tweak things. This is where communication becomes extra important: When working with a behaviorist, we take the information we learn from having you try things and tweak the plan based on how your cat responds. We can’t do that if we don’t hear from you or you don’t meet with us again.
Cats are complicated and, despite their reputation as being easy pets, their behavior isn’t always straightforward. Working with a behaviorist is a great investment as we’ll make the process much easier and you won’t have to worry about getting not so great cat behavior advice from someone who doesn’t actually understand what they’re talking about. Ultimately, you need to help us help you, though. We’re a team and we all want you and your cats to live in harmony!
