The Bond of Trust

An essential requirement for your cat’s health and happiness is regular and predictable, loving interaction with you. It's the only way for the all-important bond of trust to be developed and maintained. Building this trust depends upon patience and consistency. The timing is always up to the cat rather than at your convenience.

Cats receiving personal loving attention have fewer behavior problems.

Studies have shown that when your cat receives regular, compassionate attention from you, the chances of developing behavior problems are reduced. And when you provide that positive interaction with your cat, you will experience a boost to your immune system. You will feel less stressed and your will experience less anxiety. This is on average of course. Actual mileage may vary.

Cats that lack regular, compassionate attention do not develop a deep level of trust in their human companion and they often experience a level of anxiety that, over time, leads to behavior problems.

Punishing a cat does not bring the results you want.

Trying to discipline a cat will not bring the results you want and almost always make any problem worse. Only positive interaction will stop unwanted behavior. Behavior problems usually result from a lack of resources necessary for normal, social behavior. To learn more about your cat's essential needs for health and happiness, select Happy Cat Home from the menu bar at the top of this page.

For more information on developing that bond of trust, visit the Purdue University Center for the Human-Animal Bond. The website can be found by selecting Learning Resources from the menu at the top of this page.