It’s been over ten weeks since we got Marsh! Sadly, he’s still confined to his quarantine room. Things are getting better between him and Gus but Marsh can still be too antagonistic which eventually leads Gus to becoming nervous. We’ve taken big steps back in their introduction to ensure that Gus doesn’t get stressed out, and to take bigger steps on Marsh’s behavior training. We have a cat gate coming that we’re going to use to give them a better intermediate step in the intro process. An exercise that Mikel Delgado recommended to us is called “voluntary sharing” — Marsh will perfom his tricks, hear the clicker, and then Gus will get a treat before Marsh gets his reward. We’re gonna do this through the cat gate.
Impulse Control Aggression
We’ve learned about impulse control aggression and it’s the closest thing we’ve heard of that describes Marsh. Dr. Karen Overall has a protocol1 on it that has been very helpful.
[…] these cats often seek people out and monitor their behaviors.
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Cats with impulse control aggression actively solicit attention by jumping into someone’s lap, and then biting if they are petted or shifted.
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Unlike the friendly, solicitous cat who is calm, relaxed, and attentive without being forceful when seeking attention from humans, cats with impulse control aggression are tense, forceful, vigilant, and watchful, and become more aroused and reactive as they seek and receive attention.
Sadly, this can be true with Marsh. He can be a very vigilant cat and gets very aroused about things like Gus using a scratching post, Gus going into his quarantine room when Marsh isn’t there, or us sitting on the couch.
The pathological need to control occurs despite—not because of—the behaviors of the human, strongly suggesting that these cats cannot read, process, or act on information about whether there is a truly contextual threat to them in social situations involving humans. Like dogs, their response to this pathological anxiety is to control and preempt any responses that they find uncertain.
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Affected cats behave in this way because it’s the rule that they use to avoid their own anxiety and to control their own reactivity about uncertainty. If we create an alternative rule structure that specifies how and when cats will get attention in a humane way we can change their behaviors, keep ourselves safe, and create a safer and richer relationship with our cats.
It blew my mind the first time I read this protocol and it felt like a missing piece.
Most of these cats are so persistent and distressed that they would benefit from anti-anxiety medication. Because of the impulsive nature of this condition and the uniquely feline pattern of recruiting many neurons quickly in reactive responses, medication may be the most humane choice. All medication should be used in addition to, not instead of, behavioral and environmental modification.
And so…
Medication
He’s been on fluoxetine (Prozac) for a week and a half now! There are risks to this, after eight weeks we have to be very careful about accidental sudden withdrawal. Thankfully, so far, there haven’t been any side effects other than some drowsiness. We haven’t noticed any huge changes yet. They say it takes at least 4–6 weeks to begin seeing a full effect. He’s certainly better in some ways. The “witching hours” portion of his day is narrower. And the amount of time he’s spending in his bed or tree without being so eager to get up at any activity allow us to positively reinforcement relaxation.
Protocol for Deference
One thing we’ve started with him is Dr. Overall’s Protocol for Deference. With this, we get Marsh used to sitting and looking calmly at us before he gets play, treats, meals, etc. He is already quite good at this!! He will sit after the verbal signal in most situations and look up at us. He’s even started adopting some relaxed body language while doing this.
Behavioral Training
Marsh is on an intensive but patient regiment of behavioral training. This includes:
- Positively reinforcing (using a clicker, praise, and treats) relaxed body language like blinking slowly, large breaths, and non-anxious grooming.
- Biofeedback/breath training
- Relaxation Training Tier 1 — he’s really good at this! We’re on Task Set 5.
- Pattern games.
- Switching back-and-forth between playing for a few minutes and relaxation training for a few minutes. He’s pretty good at this!
Desensitization and Counterconditioning
Marsh is pretty startled by sounds and I’m increasingly thinking that doing DS&CC for this is going to be a large part of all this.
He just keeps going after Gus though 😭
Noting that this is from a 2013 textbook and “status-related aggression” isn’t necessarily considered an accurate term anymore — Mikel explained that cats don’t have hierarchical social structures. ↩︎