The Way I See It

The way you see it, and the way I see it, are probably different (whatever “it” is).

Imagine, then, how different the perspective is between you and your pet!

The dog chews on the trim in your laundry room. You get verrrrry upset. Why not chew the CHEW TOY you’ve got?? Bad dog! (More on that statement later).

”I do,” puppy responds. “But I’m a puppy. I’m teething. Everything tastes good.”

Or, your cat decides to pee where there is no litter box. “Why, why, why?” You ask. A better question might be “what is it about that particular place that makes it better than where the litter box is?”

If we stop to examine what’s really going on in our beloved pet’s life, their behavior may make more sense. Let’s take a look at that litter box thing, because I have a real-life example of this one.

When we moved into our current house, we had five cats. There was a closet in the laundry room that seemed perfect for multiple cat boxes. They all fit; it was out of the way; it was private. The cats could come and go as they pleased.

All of the cats were on board, except Aloysius. He decided the best place to pee was in the dining room against the outside wall. He was very specific. This spot, under this table. He didn’t try peeing anywhere else. So I asked him what it was all about.

Right here. That’s where I want the Litter Box (our boy, Aloysius)

Turns out the closet was a little too confining. He couldn’t see any of his brothers or sisters coming. He tended to be picked on. He didn’t feel safe. If there was a litter box under the side table in the dining room, he had the wall at his back and could see in the other three directions. 

Now, the dining room is not exactly where I would want a litter box, but he was adamant that was the spot. So we put one litter box under the side table (no cover on the box), and he never gave us another lick of trouble. He always used the litter box from that moment forward. We hadn’t thought about a closet being a place of danger for any of our cats. To us, it was conveniently out of the way, AND it seemed to give them the kind of privacy cats tend to like. 

Not for everyone, evidently. We listened, we compromised, and all was well.

If you’re willing to look at a situation from your pet’s perspective, you can learn a lot and have an easier time in your relationship.

And that “Bad Dog” remark. There are no bad dogs (or cats, or horses, or hamsters or snakes). There is only bad behavior. And sometimes that behavior, in the eyes of your animal, makes perfect sense. You need to be open to hearing what they have to say, and then adjusting as needed.

Happy to help. It’s what I do.