My cheetoh cat is crazy. If you have one, you know. She gets bored real easy and cries. She takes random objects (like turtle food, and lotion, exc) to my room. She was literally addicted to tuna for a while and I had to cut her off. Any of this normal?
Hi Cameron… Cheetoh cats require a bit more interaction with their owners so as to minimize boredom. Generally cats that turn to rambunctious behaviours require a slight management adjustment in the family household.
Cats are quite clever at figuring out how to find ways to get attention from family, which is usually a result out of boredom. Think of them as a child who creates mischief to get attention. If they knock items over and you immediately come to them, they’ve learned that they have your attention and thus is reinforced so they repeat the pattern so you pay attention to them… again.
To retrain the unwanted behaviour, one must secure objects for a short while in the home and whenever kitty misbehaves, the family needs to redirect the cat to do something that the family prefers, very quickly following by rewarding your cat with either catnip or treats. Over time, kitty will learn that if I misbehave I get zero rewards or attention, but if I do the other thing my family has taught me, I’m generously rewarded.
Cats learn by association so if the event is positively reinforcing to them, they will repeat the behaviour. If it fails to get them any attention, they eventually bore of the habit and turn to something else to find reinforcement.
Tuna can be addicting to cats, however it isn’t safe. Consuming it causes a vitamin deficiency and over time develops into a condition known as steatis. You can read more about this in full details from an answer I offered to someone else about the dangers of tuna: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArSwNJhIBLPsuzRXJyOtmJHty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071217192600AAkdaiz
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