When I started volunteering at Cat Adoption Team (CAT) several years ago, it was as a fan of the feline species. I had a bit of cat experience, but certainly no expertise. Then I joined CAT’s Behavior Modification team and learned many lessons.
The Behavior Modification team (or “B-Mod” team) is a group of staff and volunteers who receive additional socialization and behavior training to help cats that require extra support. When CAT asked me to share about my experience in this role, I realized that nothing has taught me more than the cats themselves. So here are some of my thoughts and interpretations borne out of my experiences with the cats that I’ve been lucky to get to know.
Lesson #1: Every cat is an individual.
Every cat is a unique variation of perfect. I haven’t met a cat I wouldn’t joyfully spend the rest of my life with! The main thing that differentiates the cats is that their specific personalities require that I get to know them, and adapt as I come to understand who they are.
Lesson #2: Cats reward trust and respect.
I often say: “cats are just love with fur on top”. There is not a single cat I’ve met who wasn’t a complete affection machine once they felt comfortable. It’s their reward for the human showing and earning mutual trust and respect. When the cat sees that you understand them and care enough to respond accordingly, they know you are worth making friends with.
There are a lot of references available for learning the general ways that cats express themselves, whether through body language or vocalizations. But each cat often communicates in their own subtle ways as well. As in any relationship, it’s all about communication and how well that is accomplished on both sides of the process.
Cats have a broad range of strategies for trying to communicate with us. But the ones that might be of most concern to the human are the ones we fear might result in harm, like scratching, biting etc. But most cats don’t resort to this behavior unless their early warning signs are missed.
Lesson #3: Cats are thoughtful and rarely resort to intentional harm.
Being the sensitive and empathic creatures they are, cats can sense a person’s emotional state with high precision. But they can’t know why a person is in that state. A cat may be on guard and then respond defensively or fearfully if it is the person themselves that triggers that apprehension. If the human is worried about such a physical reaction, that anxiety can be the thing that increases the chances it will happen! Therefore, I try to quell any apprehension so I’m not bringing it into the interaction. And it’s not just negative emotions, like apprehension, that cats pick up on; it’s also the positive ones. Going into an interaction already allowing myself to fully feel how much I love them just for being a cat, is very often a quick path toward establishing trust and comfort. Unconditional love makes for quite an ice-breaker, at least with non-human animals.
Lesson #4: It’s all about the connection.
The best adoptions are those that are matches between the cat and the human, their home environment, their lifestyles, and the ability for the cat and the humans to form a deep and wonderful bond, built on respect and trust, and above all love. I can’t tell anyone how they should go about their process of trying to bring home a fuzzy friend, but I will say that when a person comes in with a preconception of what they want, it can potentially impede really hitting the jackpot. When you want a truly special connection with a lifelong friend, it’s best when it’s authentic and organic. When someone comes into the shelter with no preconceptions, meets a few cats, and then finds magic with one in particular — maybe it’s when the cat is the one doing the choosing — that’s when I know someone just hit the jackpot!
I don’t do adoption counseling at CAT, but I do often get to witness someone hit the jackpot. Seeing the excitement when they realize it’s a match is joyfully tear-inducing. I’ve met so many unfathomably amazing cats that I envy every jackpot winner who’s gotten to take those cats home with them! But then I remember that I get to spend a little bit of time with all of these special, individual, unique little balls of love with fur on top. I get a taste of the jackpot dozens of times each day.
Our behavior modification efforts to help socialize the cats brings them the confidence to show off who they are. And the more they can show that, the more I know they will melt and steal human hearts—and inspire a lifetime of love from those humans.
Loving a cat, to me, means wanting their experience of their lives to be full of joy, wanting them to thrive in getting to be who they are, and knowing how much their human friend adores them. So while we call it “behavior modification,” I think of it as “experience enrichment”. I get to help each cat be thrilled with their daily experience and feel deeply rewarded for being the perfect and precious little souls they are. Because, as Lesson #1 taught me long ago: Every cat is perfect!
— by guest author and volunteer Tim C.
