Cat behaviorist, Carole Wilbourn, plays a special type of music and brings cat toys to her appointments with cats that she treats. She also enters the home in a very calm manner using her Reiki training.
She also brings a special catnip which has been selected for the cat concerned. Before the meeting Carole contacts the cat’s caretaker/guardian so that she can learn about their cat’s problems. She also asks that the caretaker feeds her/his cat before the appointment.
Her modus operandi is to appeal to all of the cat’s senses of hearing, touch, taste, scent and sight.
I thought that her method was interesting. However, it baffled me slightly because she is introducing special calming and distracting stimuli which would take the cat out of his natural or usual state which would mask the behavioral issues that she is there to correct. Perhaps she is judging the cat’s reaction to these stimuli.
My thoughts are that 90% of cat behavior problems can be traced back one way or another to the cat’s owner and how she interacts with her cat and the type of environment that she has created.
Cat behavior is most often a reflection of human behavior. However, no doubt some behavioral issues are rooted in mental health, genetics (inherited characteristics) and the early weeks when the cat was raised by her biological mother. The former is correctable. I’d have thought that a deep understanding of the cat owner’s beliefs, thoughts and actions unearthed in a human to human interview would also be part of Carole’s process. No doubt it is.
Carole is working on her seventh book. The other six are about cat psychology. She recites an interesting story about her cat, a traditional Siamese and rescued cat named Orion.
He came from a shelter. He suffered from post-traumatic-stress disorder she says. When in the shelter he smelled and was aggressive. The shelter staff thought that he was neutered but he was not. They could not see his testicles. They bathed him 35 times to get rid of the smell. I guess she thinks the whole experience traumatised him.
He is now fully recovered and has a delightful personality thanks to Carole. Nice ending.
P.S.Carole is the world’s longest running cat whisperer.
Interesting. Food for thought.