I'm the best! I win!

27.
Q. A woman brought me her three cats regularly. She had warned me from the first visit that her big Siamese male made a habit of spraying around their house, usually on things belonging to her husband such as his leather shoes or briefcase. The three cats all did very well in the group environment that I offer and this cat never misbehaved at my kennel until last year. I caught him, right in front of my eyes, spraying on a wall. I was shocked. He’d always been very friendly and social. He left me with no choice.

I had to separate him into his own individual room where he behaved perfectly by using his litter box each day. Once in his own room, I decided to have a conversation with him to determine why he’d started spraying now at my kennel.

A. He told me that ‘He felt like it. He’s the biggest, the strongest and wanted the other cats to know that!’ I asked him why he did this at his home? He said essentially the same thing, gave the same reasons. I told him that his parents were very angry with him, especially his father, when he did that at the house. He said, "I know!". I told him that he was risking his parents getting so fed up that they would find him a new home. He replied, ‘She wouldn’t!’. I told him that his mother was getting a lot of pressure from his father to find him a new home if he didn’t stop. He replied again, even more confidently, ‘She wouldn’t!’ I said that he’s pretty certain about that! He said, ‘She won’t!’

When the woman returned to collect her 3 cats, I told her what had happened and about the conversation. I explained that he is very confident that she won’t get rid of him. She replied instantly and very strongly, ‘I won’t!’ I told her, ‘That is the problem right there!’ He knew, with certainty, that she wouldn’t find him another home.