Consider the house cat who stops using the litter box. A traditional approach might label this "spiteful" or "difficult." But a behavioral veterinary lens asks a different question: Is this a medical problem? Often, the answer is yes. A cat with feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) associates the litter box with pain during urination. The "bad behavior" is not disobedience; it is a clinical sign of cystitis.
How animals acquire new behaviors and associations.
Consider the house cat who stops using the litter box. A traditional approach might label this "spiteful" or "difficult." But a behavioral veterinary lens asks a different question: Is this a medical problem? Often, the answer is yes. A cat with feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) associates the litter box with pain during urination. The "bad behavior" is not disobedience; it is a clinical sign of cystitis.
How animals acquire new behaviors and associations.
