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Enriching your Cat's Lifestyle!
Aromatherapy has become popular as a means of promoting health, curing
sickness and providing a sense of well-being ("wellness") in humans. Did you know that aromatherapy can benefit cats too? Of course it has to be their own particular favourite smells. Strong fish smells for example are well-known as a means of tempting cats to eat when they have lost their appetite. The Catnip (Nepeta cataria) plant is probably the most potent aromatherapy agent for cats, and its power to induce kitten-like play behaviour in cats has been used to reduce aggression. Aromatherapy and taste-enhancement are two of the ways in which Professor Robert Young (Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Minas Gerais) suggests that we provide more "Environmental Enrichment" (EE) for our animals. He writes in the world's first comprehensive manual on the emerging art and science of EE for domesticated animals. Details of his book on EE, which has just been reprinted after selling out, can be found he www3.btwebworld.com/pdic/MEDIA/P/BOOKS/BEHAVBKS.HTM "Environment Enrichment" is not just about improving the happiness and well-being of our animals, it has huge implications for building disease resistance... The plain fact is that bored and frustrated pets, and pets in an environment which they find threatening (e.g. a cat eating and sleeping in a place where it can smell strange cats) are just like bored, frustrated or restless children - i.e. very prone to develop: a) antisocial behaviours (fighting, urinating and defecating in inappropriate places). b) self-destructive behaviours (e.g. self-injurious self-licking and self-chewing) In addition, boredom, frustration and misery (depression) are also proven now to be bad news for the immune system and disease resistance. Wild felines and other animals have a range of ways in which they keep themselves healthy, and these have been succinctly reviewed by Cindy Engel in her study "Wild Health", see http://www.lovehealth.org/books/animal-healing.htm To return to "Environmental Enrichment", they say that there is "nothing new under the sun" and enriching the environment of our pets e.g. by providing safe (to other animals and birds) outlets for their hunting instincts is not entirely new. However, there is much we can learn from the emerging art and science of EE in which carers for a range of animals (including zoo and domestic cats) are pooling their expertise and combining it with scientific investigations into the stress-reducing and health-promoting benefits of EE. Wishing everyone and their cats an enriched lifestyle! Mike |
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