Tips for Dealing with an Anxious Cat

When we moved into our current abode, my partner and I thought that our cat, Biscotte - a tuxedo mix of Persian and European - would be a little nervous. She'd gone through house moves before, though, so we weren't particularly worried. What we hadn't expected was the sudden invasion of half a dozen other local cats trooping regularly through our garden! Poor little Bis is afraid of other cats and doesn't get on well with them, so she needed some help. Being a long-time cat lover, I rushed to the local library and borrowed some cat psychology books to find ways to help. I thought it would be a good idea to share- with the caveat that I'm not a professional, just a concerned housemate (cats don't have owners!).

The first thing I needed to do was work out where she felt threatened. In our case, this was obvious: the back garden and the kitchen (which adjoins it) were the difficult places. Since we had lived in a home with an enclosed garden before, we had a habit of leaving the back door open for her to come and go as she pleased: in the new house, this was a problem as it gave outsiders easy access to her domain. Her litter tray (she used to be purely an indoor cat, so never learnt to use the outdoors as a toilet) and food are both located in that area as well.

So, the first step was to keep the door closed. The down-side of this was that she no longer had continual free access to the outdoors. However, the good thing was that it gave her the power to choose: it was Biscotte who would ask for the door to be opened; it was now her choice to go outside or to stay where her domain was secure. In addition, since one of us would open the door, she had backup. An outsider would not only have her to face, but a supportive human.

Over a period of a week or two, we slowly moved from being the first to step outside, with her following, to opening the door and encouraging her to go out. Then we would open the door and leave her to exit, but stay nearby. Finally, with encouragement and support, we reached the point where we could just open the door and out she went. If another cat turned up, she knew she just had to mewl and we would be there quickly - either visible to the other cat or, after a little time, just in the next room as moral support.

We also decided not to move her food or litter immediately. In some ways, this was a bad decision: while eating or, um, relieving herself, a cat is at her most vulnerable. This can be a serious cause for concern and can lead to spraying or 'leaving presents' elsewhere in the house. Ideally, we should have moved both items out of sight of the back door, so that she would feel hidden and secure. We were lucky, though, and the confidence she gained from going outside carried over. She had learnt (and proved to the other cats in the area) that the house was hers, so she felt safe.

Over time, with gradually reduced effort on our part to ensure her independance, Bis came to regard the house as her castle and the garden as somewhere she has the right to walk unmolested. It is now extremely rare for her to run into another cat outside and, when she does, she usually plays it tough while carefully retreating to her safety zone. I've even seen her go outside when another cat was lying not ten feet away: her confidence has grown enormously!