ArcaMax

ATLANTA, GA. -- These reader questions were answered at the 2015 International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants Feline Behavior Conference here, April 11-12. Speakers included veterinary behaviorists and certified cat behavior consultants on issues ranging from the social organization of cats to how to introduce an outdoor cat into the home. (To learn more about animal behavior, or find a behavior consultant at www.iaabc.org.)

Q: My cat likes to chomp my fingers. I've put on winter gloves, but she waits and bites them, too. This is very irritating. Any advice? -- M.M., via cyberspace

A: "This could all be a fun game to your cat, who previously learned that human fingers are fun to bite on," says certified cat behavior consultant Ingrid Johnson, of Atlanta, GA. "One option is to stop using the gloves, which may have become a cue to let the bite-the-fingers games begin, even more than previously."

"If you feel safer, then by all means keep the gloves on, but put lemon juice or vinegar on them (or spray them with a manufactured product such as Bitter Apple, available at pet stores and online)," says New York City-based certified cat behavior consultant Beth Adelman. "If the cat does bite down on you, say 'ouch!'"

"Gently push (the finger the cat is biting) into the cat's mouth (without gagging the pet). Don't pull out, or it may become like a tug-of-war game," adds Johnson. "Meanwhile, try to distract your cat with a (another) game, or maybe some treat-foraging toys (which the cat must maneuver to extract the goodies), or anything substantial to chew on and really bite into, which can enhance serotonin (a positive neuro-transmitting chemical found in the brain) -- not just a laser light game. Continue to reward your cat with these alternative and appropriate objects or food to bit, instead of your fingers."

Johnson sells foraging toys she's created on her website: www.fundamentallyfeline.com. Dozens of other choices are available at pet stores and online.

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Q: My husband and I are retired, and home most of the time. We're planning a vacation for about a week, the longest we've been away. More often, we go on one- or two-day trips. While we're away, a friend will come in twice a day to feed our cat, scoop the litter box, and maybe stay to keep the cat company for half an hour.

Our cat is on a very specific schedule, and I wonder if that matters. Will our cat miss us? Do cats have any concept of time to understand that this time we've been gone longer than a day? Our friends think we're crazy worrying about our cat but he's very attached to us. -- C.K., Buffalo, NY

A: It sounds like you're just as attached to the cat, which isn't a bad thing.

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