常見貓咪行為問題

下列區塊為有身心症的貓咪常出現的行為表徵：

• 食慾改變（增或減）
• 理毛（增或減）
• 排泄 （噴尿，領域性行為）
• 社交互動（變得愛叫？）
• 肢體活動（增或減）

許多原因可以造成貓咪的焦慮，例如搬家，新的家庭成員（貓/人/其他動物），與主人分離，多貓家庭，喪失領域，被處罰，缺乏感官刺激（環境豐富化），生理疾病（如甲狀腺功能亢進），或是一些未知的因素。

這些問題如果已經發生，表示貓咪已經有迫切的需求，如果他們一再地被忽視，拖延，問題會變得更加複雜，解決會更具有挑戰。行為問題的分析及診斷需要取得先了解完整的行為史，且透過基本的檢查，如理學檢查，神經學檢查，血檢報告，影像診斷等，先行排除造成行為問題的疾病或症狀。

最重要的是，絕對不要因這些行為問題處罰貓咪。

Stress or anxiety in cats may be manifest in many ways. The most commonly seen behavioral signs are changes in:

• Appetite (e.g. a decrease in appetite or pica)
• Grooming (an increase or decrease)
• Elimination( e.g. spraying or-non-spraying marking)
• Social interactions (e.g. vocalization)
• Physical activity (e.g. increased or decreased)

Many factors are reported in anxiety in cats. These include environmental changes such as moving house, a new baby or spouse, separation from the owner, too many cats in the household or area, presence of new cats in the area, loss of territory, punishment by the owner, and lack of stimulation. However, some factors may not be ablet o be determined.

Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism have been associated with feline anxiety, as have some indications.

The longer that these conditions are unrecognised and untreated, the more complex they become and potentially the more difficult to treat.

Diagnosis is based on a complete behavioral history and thorough physical examination. It may involve complete blood work, dermatological and neurological work up as well as radiography to rule out contributing or concurrent medical factors.

Most importantly, Do Not punish a cat for expressing above mentioned behaviors. 

亂大小便幾乎是貓咪行為問題的基本款，佔行為門診的40~75%，如此廣泛以致不論公母，絕育與否，任何品種，年齡，都有可能發生。排泄行為的改變是需要與噴尿（標記行為）加以鑑別診斷的。貓咪在砂盆外便溺是一般主人可以觀察到的情況，此行為可能不具任何意義，而診斷分析前必須參考多項條件，包括排尿/排泄量，頻率/次數，及地點的改變，且不排除可能的生理病因。

下列為常見造成排泄行為改變的前置因子：

• 對砂盆反感（貓砂材質，或放置地點）
• 畏懼：負面經驗（疼痛，使用完砂盆被餵藥）
• 焦慮：分離焦慮，被其他貓盯著看

Elimination problems are the most common behavioral condition reported in cats accounting for between 40-75% of reported behavioral problems.

Both male and females, neutered and intact, present with elimination problems and they have been reported in all breeds and across all age groups. It needs to be differentiated from spraying or marking behavior. 

This involves urination and/or defecation outside the litter box. It may be normal. The elimination is of changed amount, frequency or location and may be associated with medical condition. It is a non-specific sign and not a diagnosis.

Several predisposing factors may contribute to the problem:

• litter tray aversion (substrate and/or location)
• Fear: aversive experience (pain, medication post to usage, etc)
• Anxiety: separation anxiety, presence of another cat

噴尿是一種標記行為，通常和焦慮有關。可能帶有領域，性，或是競爭的含義。在多貓家庭中，則有著明喻或暗喻的攻擊意味。約有10%的絕育公貓，及5%的絕育母貓會噴尿，而多貓家庭（10隻以上）則由100%的機率至少有一隻貓會出現噴尿行為。

噴尿的貓大多成站姿，也有可能為蹲姿，尿量少，並且多在直立的牆面上，當然有少數會在水平面上，噴尿後鮮少會有抓蓋的行為。

造成噴尿的前置因子包括許多泌尿道的問題（腎結石，腎衰竭，膀胱炎），及病毒性疾病如貓免疫缺陷病毒（FIV/俗稱貓愛滋），貓白血病（FeLV），甚至是肛門腺的問題造成不適。門診中約有30%的貓會因為生理問題產生噴尿行為。

另外，噴尿行為不乏源自領域衝突，競爭交手，或其他造成激動情緒的環境情況，如在室內或室外看見，聽見，或聞到陌生貓。分離焦慮，作息改變（新家，新成員）也都可以造成貓咪緊迫，而衍生噴尿行為。

Spraying is a marking behavior, often associated with anxiety. It may be territorial, sexual, or agonistic. In multi cat households it is associated with overt or covert aggression.

It is estimated that 10% of castrated males and 5% of spayed females spray. Spraying appears to be more common in multi-cat households with a 100% chance of at least one cat spraying in a household with more than 10 cats. 

Cats that spray usually stand, but may squad, usually produce a small quantity of urine, frequently use vertical surfaces but may use horizontal surfaces and rarely scratch afterwards.

Predisposing factors include medical conditions ranging from those associated with the urogenital system such as renal calculi, renal failure, cystitis, viral diseases such as FIV and FeLV to impacted anal glands. It is reported that up to 30% of cats that present for spraying may have a concurrent medical condition.

Territorial, agonistic encounters or any highly arousing circumstances such as environmental stimuli (e.g. the sight, sound and/or smell of another cat, within the household as well as outside) may be associated with spraying.

Anxiety related problems including separation anxiety, changes in routine for example moving house, the introduction of a new spouse, new baby or new cat in the area have also be implicated.