Do you offer virtual or in-person consults?
At the moment, I primarily offer virtual consults.
A lot of cats tend to behave differently when there’s a new human in the house, so it’s often easier for me to get a good read of your kitty by visiting with you virtually. For behaviours that aren’t constant, a video is actually the easiest way for me to get an idea of what your cat is doing.
However, I’m happy to discuss your specific case to see if an in-person visit is better. I operate in the same service area for behaviour as for grooming and a travel fee will apply for any visits outside that area.
how long do behaviour problems take to resolve?
There’s really no set time for a behaviour problem to resolve. Some can be resolved quite quickly, others take months. For example, my cat Trixie is undersocialized, which means she was very scared of humans when I got her. I can trim her nails now, but it took me a little over 10 months to get her used to having her feet touched in order to do it. Resolving behaviour problems takes a lot of patience and consistency.
What's involved in a behaviour consult?
We’ll go over your history form and I’ll probably ask some clarification questions. We’ll then go over some ideas for how we can resolve the issue. With most problems, I’ll present a few options and we can discuss which ones seem feasible for you given your lifestyle, housing situation, budget, and other concerns. We will then spend some time discussing next steps and you can ask any further questions you may have. After the consult, I’ll send you a written summary including links to any products or resources we’ve discussed.
What's involved in resolving behaviour problems?
Resolving behaviour problems can involve moving or adding furniture, litter boxes, and other spacial considerations. It can also involve changing how you or your family interact with your cat as well as modifying daily schedules. It will really depend on what the issue is - solving a litter box avoidance issue is different than solving a furniture scratching one.
Should I see my vet prior to a consult?
This will somewhat depend on the issue. For scratching issues - likely not. For a litter box avoidance - definitely. Some medical problems in cats manifest as behavioural ones and if those medical issues aren’t resolved first, there’s no amount of behaviour modification that will help. Think of it like treating a cough caused by pneumonia. If you just take cough medicine, it may temporarily relieve the symptoms, but the cough isn’t going away until you get some antibiotics to treat the underlying pneumonia. Same with behavioural problems. If you mention on your history form that you haven’t yet spoken to your vet, I will advise you before booking if I think you should contact them first.