If you know quite a bit about cats you could be a cat whisperer. No license and no certification is necessary in most communities. It helps to understand their mentality, the reasoning behind the things they do, and the ways they are likely to react to various situations. Perhaps just as important, if you know something about people, and especially how they interact with their pets, you’ll have a big advantage.
Hang out your shingle, and you can do housecalls, helping people with their cats.
Your technique doesn’t much matter. You might offer the cat treats, you might talk to the kitty, you might wave a wand. Hopefully, your technique will correct cats’ behavior, or the cats’ owners’ behavior in a majority of the cases, but even if it doesn’t, and you certainly don’t want to guarantee it, you can charge your clients a surprising amount of money.
I’d launch a business like this on Craigslist, or any community website that serves your area. Have a nice personality. Tell all your clients how much you appreciate them talking you up to their friends and relatives. You’ll be amazed that even when the kitty’s behavior doesn’t change, they’ll still recommend you. Crazy, but true. However, I recommend being 100% legitimate. You really do want to do your best to help these kittycats, and their people.
By the way, it will probably more often be the people’s behavior that you’ll want to change, not the cats.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a couple of tricks you may find useful:
If two cats don’t get along, put a drop of perfume on their backs. The cats will smell just like each other, and they’ll think of each other as family. This can have an immediate effect.
If you’re trying to slow a busy cat, lift up slightly on the scruff of the neck. This lifting mimics what the mother cat does to carry kittens, and it sets off a reflex that causes the cat to immediately stop wiggling or resisting. You don’t need to lift the cat entirely off its feet. In fact lifting an adult cat in the air by the scruff might hurt the kitty.
An older male cat that starts urinating in bad places is probably suffering from urinary tract problems. I don’t know if it’s too late to help, but I highly recommend changing the diet right away if the cat has been eating solid cereal-like food all it’s life. Cats are meat-eaters, with a short intestine appropriate for a carnivorous diet. Giving them the wrong kind of food, even if the companies that make it insist it’s alright, can result in urinary problems, and probably other medical issues as well.
A cat that doesn’t want to be picked up is probably suffering from early memories of being held captive. Have the owner pick up the cat a few times a day, but set the cat back down right away, or as soon as the cat starts wiggling. In time, the cat will realize that it’s not being held captive, and may learn to love the warm attention.
A cat that scratches furniture will stop immediately if the furniture is covered in aluminum foil. They also won’t walk on aluminum foil, so that’s a good way to protect things like half-done picture puzzles.
Is a cat too playful with it’s claws? Are the owners getting scratched? Whenever the owners can, as they play with their kitties, have them gently press the kitty’s claws back into a retracted position, and hold them that way for several seconds. It may take a while, but eventually the cat will play better. Under no circumstances should a cat be declawed. It makes them miserable for weeks afterward, and leaves them unprotected if they have to deal with predators outside the home.
Avoid any sounds that sound like hissing. This upsets cats. They may not show it, but even mild hissing noises can set them off into bad behavior.
What do you do with a cat that stays under the furniture and hisses at anyone who comes by? First, put the cat’s food and toilet where it can be reached without undue exposure. Cat’s in fear worry about attacks from overhead, like big birds coming out of the sky. So they like to stay under things. People can, and should be in the same room with the cat. Let the cat get used to people all around. Don’t try to make friends with the cat. Don’t stare at the cat, and try to make the kitty come out and be your friend. Same with some dogs and cats. As long as the other animals in the room don’t attack or tease the cat, the kitty will slowly get used to the environment, and venture out from under cover a little more each day.
How to give medicine to a cat: If it’s liquid, put it on the kitty’s back. The cat will lick it off. If the cat needs pills, one of the best techniques is used by veterinarians: They quickly wrap the cat in a towel, so the cat cannot scratch, and cannot wiggle away. That seems terrible, but it’s less traumatic than a long battle. Another thing about the towel that’s interesting: Many animals, and sometimes people too, like being gently squeezed in a restricted space. It calms them. In cattle ranching, they have a thing called a “squeeze frame,” in which a cow is placed. It keeps the cow calm while medical procedures are administered.
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