Older cat - strange behavior

[Katie]

My 16 year old neutered male cat has two odd behaviors. The first is his obsession with having fresh water every time he drinks. Doesn't matter if you changed it 5 minutes ago, he runs to the dish every time you walk by begging for the fresh stuff. Is this a matter of cat training the owner?

The other behavior is his habit of trying to mate with the lap blankets in the house. We find them bunched up with teeth marks in them every morning or whenever we return home from an outing. Is this stress related?

[Carmen Buitrago, MSc, CPDT]

Hi Katie, a visit to your vet is definitely in order first to determine if his water obsession is related to a medical problem...especially in a cat his age. Once anything medical has been ruled out by your vet, then we'd be ready to look at whether he's training you. Definitely a possibility because our pets are pretty good at that! :-)

The blanket behavior could be mating or it could be fabric sucking, both of which may be part of a compulsive disorder. This disorder can be brought on by stress, but sometimes it's not. In the event that it is, I've attached a document for you on Feline Enrichment, which will give you lots of great ideas for jazzing up his life and easing anxiety. If that doesn't seem to help, you need the help of a cat behavior expert. Go to www.certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com to locate a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) in your area.

[Katie]

Thanks for your help and the resources. He has been diagnosed in the early stages of Kidney disfunction and we have switched him from our well water to distilled water, in addition to moving to a higher quality dry food. As for the blanket behavior, the compulsive disorder would not surprise me. This odd little character won't eat but one kind and flavor of canned cat food - turns his nose up at everything else. Poor thing must be a by-product of having human parents after being orphaned.

[Bettie]

Have you tried one of the fountains that circulates the water with a little spout that adds water to the bowl?