Dear Matthew: I've been a cat lover all my life, and I've always had several felines in my house to keep me company. For the past four years, I've had three cats in my two-floor town house. Things were going just great - all the cats were getting along, and we were one big happy family.
Until I brought home our newest arrival, that is. Leo is a 2-year-old calico I took from a friend who was moving to Europe. Leo was always well-behaved when I was around, so I thought there'd be no problem getting him adjusted to my household.How wrong I was! Ever since Leo arrived, things have gone completely crazy. All my cats are fighting with each other, and it seems they've all forgotten how to use their litter box.
I'm starting to think that Leo is a bad influence. I'm almost willing to get rid of him, if it will make my problems go away. Is the new cat to blame, or is there something else at work here?
- Cat Lover in Turmoil
Dear Cat Lover: Before you accuse Leo of being a bad seed who has taught your other cats their wicked ways, let's step back and take another look at the problem.
Exactly how big is your town house? Could it be that it's just big enough for three cats but not for four? The problems you mentioned sound like strong evidence that you've got feline overcrowding.
With less elbow room, none of your cats feel like they have any privacy. That would explain both the fighting and the litter-box problems. If I stuck you in a small room with three other people, I bet you'd go a little nuts, too.
But does that mean you're going to have to get rid of Leo? Not necessarily. First, you should try to take some measures to improve your cats' sense of privacy. For instance, make sure they each have their own food and water dishes. If they're eating out of the same bowl, that's just a recipe for disaster.
You should also have more than one litter box - at least have ones on the first and second floors. I'm sure you don't like waiting to go to the bathroom, so why should your cats?
Finally, you should try to create places around your house where your cats can spend some time by themselves. Buy some cat trees or houses from your local pet store, or arrange your furniture so there's room for your felines to crawl around. You might even want to sometimes keep your cats sequestered in different parts of your house.
Oh, and one more thing. I'm assuming that all your cats have been neutered or spayed. If not, you should get that done immediately. An unfixed cat is much more likely to start a fight.
Dear Matthew: My dog's barking is driving me and my neighbors crazy. Every night, she'll stand looking out one of the windows in my house, yipping at anything that attracts her attention.
I used to keep her outside all the time, but I read in your column that it could lead to barking. So I convinced my wife to let me bring her inside, but the problem still is with us.
Now, my neighbors are suggesting that I take my dog to the veterinarian and have his bark "removed." I mentioned this to my vet, and he refused to do such a thing.
Should I find another vet? Is there something else I can do to limit my dog's noisemaking? I'm running out of options and patience.
- John in Lampasas, Texas
Dear John: Don't even consider having your dog de-barked. You wouldn't have your child de-voiced because he makes too much noise, would you?
It seems to me that although you've brought your dog indoors, you still haven't eliminated the real problem: Your dog sees things going on outside, and that's making her bark.
So, what I suggest is that you find a room in your house that doesn't have any windows and keep your dog there during the night. A garage, if properly heated during the winter, would work. A spare bedroom would be even better.
You could also try buying some blinds and keeping them closed while your dog is in his nighttime room. I've found this often works, too.
To get back to my main point, though, you still have a number of ways to solve your problem. And if you ever get to the point where you're going to have your dog de-barked, find a new home for the dog instead.
Write to Matthew Margolis at 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.