How to solve common problems with cats

Here are some tips on dealing with common problems with cats.

Cats are usually easy pets to keep. Unlike dogs, cats are difficult to train. They are also stubborn, and sometimes they seem to do things that will deliberately upset their owners or the owner's neighbors.

Domestic cats tend to be quite docile unless provoked. A cat will normally give a warning that playtime is over and it wants to be left alone.

Unfortunately some cats can be very aggressive towards humans or other cats.

Cats are territorial, so an established cat will not always react well when a new cat is introduced into the household. Predicting whether one cat will like another cat is very hard. Sometimes they get along very well, but most of the time you're left with a mutual disdain for each other. Having separate feeding areas is normally a good idea, as is ensuring they both have separate places to sleep.

Some cats get stressed out by young children. Again this will depend on the temperment of the individual cat. Younger cats might enjoy playing games a lot more than an older cat who will prefer to sleep. Don't forget to tell your children about the warning signs that a cat might be agitated - signs include growling or hissing, lowering of the ears, arching of the back and much tail movement.

Some cats seem to have a fixation for certain household objects. My sister's cat loves to lick photographs! I used to own a cat that found rubber bands delicious.

I'm not sure what causes these traits, but always be on the lookout for signs that your cat might be eating or chewing something that isn't good for them.

Cats can sometimes follow you around all over the house. Sometimes this is a sign that they haven't got anything stimulating enough to occupy them in the house. Such a cat might need to be encouraged to go outdoors more often if that's possible.

Always ensure that a cat has adequate toys to play with, such as a scratching post, or plenty of places where they can sleep.

I'm not sure there's much you can do about this!

I've owned cats for years and no matter how many times you shout at them for doing it they never seem to learn. I think they like to sharpen their claws on furniture just to annoy you. Obviously providing a scratching board can help.

If a cat has access to the outside then sometimes they will go and sharpen their claws on a tree or a fence.

Cats like to roam around and ensure their territory is free from other cats. For some reason a cat will usually prefer to sit in a neighbor's garden rather than their own. This is very annoying!

So what can you do with problem cats who keep coming in your garden? Unfortunately if a your garden is more attractive to a cat than their owner's garden, there's not much you can do to stop them visiting. Cats are excellent climbers so fencing or wire isn't really going to stop them much. The best solution for a problematic cat is to discourage them from visiting your garden.

Amazon sell a range of products that can help discourage a problem cat from visiting your garden. The two major cat deterrents work by targetting the cat's excellent sense of hearing and smell.

Ultrasonic animal repellent systems work by producing a high frequency noise that is undetectable by most humans, but sounds very loud to the cat's well developed sense of hearing. It's worth giving one of these ultrasonic anti-cat devices a go. The sound doesn't hurt the cat in any way, but the noise is designed to be irritating enough that the cat decides not to stick around the source of the noise.

Alternatively there are a number of spray bottles that can be used to spray chemicals in your garden that to a cat smell really offensive.

Note that some of the cat deterrents also work indoors and can be an effective way of preventing a cat from urinating on furniture or in the corner of a room.