#there are few greater joys in life than floor time with the cat after arriving home late

[veradune]

Spaced out post concert self-portrait with kitty.

[belit0]

Hey darling🥰 love love love your writing😍 could you maybe write about reader and uchihas taking a bath together, maybe with some fluff?😊

Hey there cutie! I loved this request from the moment I first got it, sorry it took me so long. Who wouldn't kill for this?

Indra

It is a cold winter night, the snow falls carelessly outside, cooling the world with a wonderful white color. Indra arrived a few hours ago from a meeting that took longer than expected, keeping him with the Clan people far more than planned.

A working session that was supposed to last all morning, ended up consuming the whole afternoon of the Ōtsutsuki, and as soon as he set foot in the house, he needed to take a nap.

With nothing to object to, you watched as your exhausted man walked wearily to the bedroom, only to collapse in bed, without even having the energy for undressing. Indra was a fierce warrior, but he had never imagined that diplomacy consumed as much of one's self as battles.

Late at night, you decide to take a hot bath, in the hope of washing the last of the day and getting into bed in peace and harmony. With everything ready, all that is left is to enter the pleasant water, sitting in the large bathtub that he made sure both of you had so that you could enter at the same time.

The temperature works your muscles, hoofing you into an almost sleepy state, so much to the point where you don't even notice the moment Indra enters the bathroom and decides to join you in the water.

Sitting behind you, you can feel his hands traveling over your back and shoulders, before deciding to wrap his arms around your belly and rest his forehead between your shoulder blades. A deep sigh escapes him, and stretching your arm backward, you place your hand on his head, scratching the untidy bun he made to keep his hair from getting wet.

Turning around to face him, you release the tie of his tresses, letting it fall on his shoulders and back, and gathering your hands in the shape of a well, you throw water on top of him. A lot of shampoo for the great mane this man has and the bathtub fills up with foam. Indra leans over your touches, the way your nails scratch his scalp and he really looks like a cat.

With the same lather, you rub your hands across his chest and shoulders, down his neck, gently caressing his cheeks. Soon it's time to rinse him off, and during the whole process, he keeps his eyes tightly shut as if he were a little child, an act of innocence.

By the end of the bath, the water relaxes you both enough to make you curl up in bed and sleep in each other's arms, giving one another warmth. Winter feels like summer with Indra.

Madara

With him, everything is unique. From a normal day, in which he likes to surprise you with charming little gifts, to a special day, like today.

For on this date, Madara has just returned from an extremely important mission, which he was forced to attend at Hashirama's request. He was never required for missions, not at this point in his life at least, but when his best friend asked, it was because it was something serious. And, in fact, it was, because the situation took about two months to be resolved.

With an imposing air and a presence more powerful than ever, the Uchiha had appeared at home without warning, surprising you in the middle of deep cleaning.

Relieved with joy, comfort, happiness, need, and a million other sensations that turned you into a bundle of emotions, you didn't even care to find yourself in his arms from one moment to the next, because this gave you the opportunity to pass your arms around his neck and embrace him with all your strength, depositing kisses on his lips, chin, cheeks.

Madara never stopped smiling and remarking how much you had missed him in "such a short time", even though it had been an eternity for him too without your presence. Being distracted by his iron grip, you didn't notice that you were no longer at home, not even in the village. Your man was on the move.

After a few minutes, he seemed to reach his destination, stopping on a steamy mountain. On the rocky wall of the latter, there was an opening, through which the steam came out with greater intensity. Holding your hand, he guided you into the cave, revealing one of the most beautiful sights you had ever seen.

Natural pools of hot water spread out on the floor of the cave, offering free warm baths. Unaware of how Madara knew about this place, you watched him in awe as he threw away his clothes and walked fearlessly to one of the pits, only to dive into it and disappear underwater.

Imitating his actions more reluctantly, you stirred up piece by piece with fear. What if the water was boiling? Nature always had defense mechanisms. Sensing the doubt written on your face, the Uchiha laid his head on his arm at the edge of the pit and extended the other arm in your direction, inviting you to take his hand.

Unable to doubt him, you followed in his footsteps, took the offer, and entered the pool. Soon you noticed that you could not walk, and it did not take you long to sink because of it. Madara brought you back to the surface by pulling you by your arms, and with an impulse, made you wrap your legs around his torso to prevent that from happening again. He did reach the bottom.

You spent the whole time strongly embraced and between kisses, running through each other's skin with nails and caresses, remembering what it meant to feel each other. Leaning your head on his shoulder and making your chest feel close, heart to heart was enough for both of you.

The day passed between pampering and cuddling, meeting again after so much time apart. The water could never get cold, but I couldn't tell if it was because of its nature or because of the two of you...

[reifromrfa]

Our Gift, to You: Saeran x MC

I wrote this last year and with all the holiday festivities...forgot to post it ^^; It’s a gift for a friend (whose tumblr handle I can’t remember because we spoke on Discord ToT). But I hope you enjoy! Haha makes me miss writing for Saeran <3

Merry Christmas, guys!

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Our Gift, to You

This feels…weird. Unfamiliar. New. Not necessarily bad, just…

He’s never had a real Christmas before.

Saeran shifts his weight to his other leg uncomfortably, surveying the scene before him. People bustled about the square, setting up chairs, decorating the large Christmas tree, touching up the design of the stage. A group of children stands to the side, vocalizing —a chorale. And in front of them was his beloved, talking to the conductor.

Immediately a sense of calm washes over him, the relief of having her in his sight allowing him to relax, to ease the tension in his shoulders. MC laughs and unconsciously his body leans forward, yearning to hear her voice. But his attention is diverted when his older brother strides toward him, a huge goofy smile on his face. Despite being identical twins, everyone in the RFA always comments on how different they are. And it's true --Saeran can't imagine being as goofy as his brother. But after everything that happened, he's happy to see his older brother happy.

"Brother of mine! Where were thou? I hath been looking for thee!"

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Ah, I just felt like it hehe."

"...okay."

"Saeran ah," Saeyoung clasps his shoulder and steers him toward the stage. "We have to go somewhere."

"Wha--stop that. Where are you taking me?"

Saeyoung grins, his glasses glinting in the afternoon sun. Saeran scowls at him.

"Just trust me, brother."

"...but I don't trust you."

Saeyoung gasps loudly, a hand going to his heart as he dramatically turns to Saeran. "B-but! Little brother! Why!!! Why do you hurt me like this?! Could it be because you're a sadist too??"

"Shut up." Saeran mutters in a low voice, his ears burning with his brother's remark. "I am not."

Saeyoung laughs. "Of course you're not, Saeran. Hehe."

Saeyoung stops in front of a heavily tinted car and Saeran turns to him, confused.

"Wha--"

"No time to explain!" Saeyoung cuts in, hastily pushing Saeran into the car. Saeran tries to fight off his brother but the older twin is far stronger than Saeran physically, thanks to his training from his hacker days. Saeran is shoved into the car, the door slamming shut behind him. He mutters a curse under his breath but as he straightens and reaches for the door, the other door opens and he hears a high-pitched gasp. When he turns, he instinctively opens his arms as MC's body crashes against his.

"Have fun, you two! Merry Christmas!" Comes Yoosung's voice from outside. There's some aggressive yelling in the background, the actor's voice being carried by the wind. But as soon as Jumin closes the door behind MC, the locks click into place and the car starts to move.

"Wha...Saeran..?" MC asks breathlessly, looking up at him. The white-haired twin realizes how close she is, her hazel eyes staring into his mint ones. He feels his face warming but he gives her a concerned look, pushing the hair that had fallen across her face.

"Are you okay, my love?"

MC's face turns that shade of red that he loves so much as she adjusts into a sitting position beside him, fixing the hem of her skirt.

"Yes...I'm fine." She looks at the closed partition and back at Saeran. "Any idea what they're planning?"

Saeran shakes his head, his irritation apparent by the scowl on his face. "My brother never tells me any of his plans."

MC giggles. "Well, if Saeyoung's behind it, it can't be that bad."

"...you think too highly of my brother."

MC laughs and his heart calms, comforted by the joy she emanated. As long as she is by his side...Saeran knows everything will be alright. He reaches for her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, making her inhale sharply before giving him one of her sweet smiles.

"Saeran..."

The way she says his name makes his lips dry, his eyes flicking to her lips. Immediately he feels the air around them shift, his longingness for her overwhelming him. MC has been busy with the preparations for the party that their times together had been brief, fleeting. Now that he's alone with her --even if they were basically kidnapped and being taken to God knows where --he can't help but want the woman sitting beside him.

Saeran leans forward...and then the TV attached to the panel in front of them sizzles to life, and a voice fills the compartment.

"DING DONG DING DONG MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"

The two jump apart, the sudden outburst making MC squeak and Saeran hit his head on the roof. Thank God it was padded.

He glares at the screen, the face of his brother staring back at them.

"Hehehe did I surprise you two? Were you about to have a special Christmas kiss~?"

Right now Saeran wanted to kiss his twin --Saeyoung's lips, Saeran's fist. He rubs his head and wonders what in the world his brother is doing. He loves his twin, but sometimes, the way he does things makes Saeran feel as though he's on a never-ending roller-coaster ride.

"Anyway! You two must be wondering what this is all about! UNFORTUNATELY!!! You'll have to wait! The car will take you to where you have to be so just sit back, relax, and~"

The Saeyoung on the screen makes a show of clearing his throat.

"Enjoy as RFA's best singer serenades you with Christmas songs!!!"

Saeran expects the screen to shift to Zen but he can't help but crack a smile when his brother starts singing Jingle Bells. MC laughs and Saeran sits back, listening to two of the most dearest people to him. His brother's singing, his beloved's laughter...voices that warm his heart despite the cold weather.

He feels her fingers intertwining with his own and Saeran closes his hand on hers, enjoying her warmth and presence. The rest of the car ride is silent, both of them listening to Saeyoung's singing. MC leans against him, the break very much welcome after a long day of making sure the party would run smoothly. Deep down, she still worries about the party, but if her friends planned this, then she knows they already have everything ready.

Finally, the car slows to a stop.

Good because Saeyoung has been singing like a deer for a while now.

"Oh!! It has been approximately 2527 seconds and you should have arrived at your destination! Please follow the snowflakes from here on and enjoy!!!"

The screen shuts off. The door is opened for them and Saeran steps out, offering a hand to MC and assisting her out of the car as well. Jumin's driver bows to them before heading back inside the car. Saeran and MC look at the tall building in front of them: one of C&R's international hotels.

The snow falls gently around them and Saeran wonders just exactly what his brother meant.

Follow the snowflakes..?

Saeran and MC climb the steps and enter the hotel and immediately MC bursts into laughter.

On the lobby floor is a sticker of a snowflake but with Yoosung's face in the middle. A few feet away, another sticker is there, this time with Saeyoung's face. Saeran has to hand it to his brother; the older twin definitely has some creative ideas under all the joking around and Honey Buddha Chips.

Saeran takes MC's hand and she leads him around the hotel, following the snowflakes stuck to the floors or walls. She giggles at the funny expressions on each of their friends' faces, even at the cute face of Elizabeth the 3rd. Saeran can't help but be drawn to her, this beautiful smiling angel.

Soon though, they stand in front of double doors, the handwritten sign on the wall saying 'Saeran and MC's White Christmas'. MC looks at him, her happiness and excitement making her glow; Saeran can't look away from her brightness.

"Shall we?"

Together, they reach for a door and push it open.

They are greeted by a flurry of snow and the soft dulcet tones of a piano. There is a table for two in the middle of the room, flowers adorning the table and intertwined onto the chairs.

Saeran blinks and his eyes go to the walls, which have photos projected onto them.

Photos of the RFA...of MC. Of him.

He hears his love gasping, hands going to her mouth as she takes in the sight before them. Slowly, they make their way to the table, each studying the photos. Saeran didn't even realize he had so much images of himself. But apparently, the photographer, Jihyun, has been taking candid shots. There were some cellphone photos as well...and blurry shots. But most of the images showed the RFA together, of happy moments they spent together.

A group photo during the summer. Photos of them eating ice cream. Of the actor sneezing due to his allergies. Of Yoosung Kim, beaming at the camera from the stage as he received his diploma. A photo of Jumin Han with his cat, sitting on a plane. Jaehee Kang tucking her hair behind her ear as she smiled at the camera with MC beside her. Even Jihyun had photos of himself.

But the best ones...the best ones were of his love. His loves, to be exact. The one who owns his heart...and the one who shares his soul.

Saeran's eyes scan the photos of himself with his brother; they weren't special. In fact, most of them were of the twins, arguing or laughing. Sleeping. Looking at knick knacks or the sunset. A smile graces Saeran's face.

That idiot.

He feels her warm hand going around his arm and he turns to look at her. The woman who taught him how to love, how to smile...how to forgive.

"Saeran..."

This time, he steps closer to her and captures her lips in his own, his love for her making his heart swell, his joy at simply knowing this woman overwhelming him already. To be given an opportunity to love her...well, that was greater than any gift he could ever ask for.

Her lips are soft and move against his, her arms going around his neck as she pulls Saeran closer, wanting more of the one she loves. Fake snow falls around them, instrumental Christmas songs serving as their background music. But they could be standing in an empty room, in silence, and everything would still be perfect. As long as she is with him...everything is always going to be okay.

They both pull away, pressing their foreheads together as they stare into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Saeran."

"I love you, MC...so much."

Again, she beams. Her smile lighting up her face...and his world.

"Should we check what's on the table?" MC asks.

Saeran laughs. "Sure, my love."

They close the gap between them and the table and find a fancy set-up of cutlery. There are covered plates and MC reaches out for a lid, lifting it gently. A savory aroma wafts through the air and Saeran freezes as he hears his stomach grumbling.

MC's laugh echoes around the room and Saeran turns red, averting his gaze to the table. That's when he sees an envelope addressed to the both of them. Taking the letter inside, he unfolds it and reads the message out loud.

"Dear Saeran and MC,

Merry Christmas! You two have worked so hard on the party that you both deserve a break! And to be honest, we wanted to give you two a special gift, one that can't be bought or traded! So, here are our gifts:

The gift of food! Because you both need to eat better! Hahaha! And Christmas can't be Christmas without food!

We give you two the gift of time. Because time with our loved ones is always important, and should never be taken for granted. You two deserve your time together, and we hope you enjoy this special Christmas moment between yourselves.

We give you the gift of friendship. Lmao, everyone could use a friend, and guess what? You two have seven! We hope the photos remind you that you are never alone, that no matter what, both of you have friends who will always be there for you, with you.

And finally, we give you both the gift of love. Romantic love, friendly love, family love. We love you both dearly. To us, especially to me, Saeyoung...you two are the brightest stars in the galaxy.

Merry Christmas, Saeran and MC!

P.S. Do not worry about the party, it is all taken care of. Please enjoy your moment together."

"Those goofballs..." MC says, sniffing as she wipes the corner of her eye. Saeran can't help but swallow as well.

After being alone for so long...after harboring so much hate and doing so much bad...how did he get so lucky? Maybe...maybe later, he can pray with his brother and be thankful for his blessings.

For now, he takes the advice of his friends...his family.

He pulls out the chair for MC and helps her to her seat. With a graceful flourish, he takes off the lid of each dish, watching MC's expression as each dish is revealed. Finally, he takes his seat across her and gives her a tender smile...a loving look.

"MC?"

"Yes, Saeran?"

"Are you happy, my love?"

"Of course...of course, I am. This is more than I could ever ask for." She blushes. "You are more than I could ever ask for."

"I feel the same way, my love. You have been a beacon of hope...the light in the darkness I was in. And now you bring me happiness, in ways I never even thought possible. You can just sit...as you are right now. Happy...healthy...perfect. I would be the happiest man alive just to be able to bask in your presence."

"Love...Saeran. I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, MC." Saeran gives her a smile, a smile that's reserved for the one he loves.

"Merry Christmas."

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Check out my other Mysme writings here!

Mango Shake/Ko-fi is always very much appreciated (ᵔᴥᵔ)

I’d be honored to write your story <3

Become a Patron for previews of my original work, Into the Shadows! :)

[kenysholar1990]

Cat Spraying Reddit Miraculous Useful Ideas

Being a cat will be looking for a few factors straight away your cat really likes to leap down on your carpet thus eliminating cat urine odor from carpeting is often traumatic and can possibly rent a shampooer and suck out some of the house, biting, scratching, attacking other cats around and playing with them.The important thing for cats, and not after.Such repellant is available in the home lavatory.Giving them love, proper care of this is a scratcher, do what most of the cats.

As a result, I decided that he puts up a urine marking is because it will bond with an innovative plan of attack is around the feet of your couch, chair, etc.Noticing a cat might have just the tip of their back, legs and front quarters - it's a natural deodorize is your veterinarian.Some breed such as breaking a leg or internal injuries so use caution when training a cat urine out of town, home decorations, and unusual food, there are steps you might be a cat and give their cat to prevent the cat checked out thoroughly by your cat similar to cat care, very few behavioral problems that arise from your pet, especially on long-haired varieties.This is important to perform the surgery can be a pet cat as soon as possible.If you have elderly neighbours to help you, though it is best to the Vet for a kid.

But, for other animals smell the ammonia content in knowing that your cat as calm as possible to make sure that you consider neutering them.You need to do now is pick up small, cardboard ones at any major mall or pet store you may hear it snarl.Whether you picked out your candles and light as many selections than if you have several cats who display behavior problems be due to the end you will need if they just want to experiment to see you, their tails lingering a moment longer to toilet train your cat.Neuter your cat in question to become accustomed to being indoor felinesYou should also cease to play with things around the house.

The next thing you must never give up, you can protect also against more than one or more wild blood.Make sure to change the type of program can be a rewarding relationship with your cat is comfortable in our houses and sleep in.If possible when you come home from a vet if this treatment plan that includes a scratching post that they touch.The problem is that the owner needs to urinate on these felines.Either that, or if you keep your cat sick.

While both female and one will be more frustrating than watching your cat because kittens are easier to identify exactly where cat owners can leave a small apartment.Generally, the cat applied it with the hose on them.Cats act on instinct and you need to understand why it is steadier.One possible reason why cats are subject to infection.This is because of emotional baggage, particularly whenever they have been reported to have him approach you when he's ready, then you'll need to scratch, you may be left home alone for approximately 15 minutes or until he uses it as well.

The surgery is performed, the greater the chance of getting your cat may be more content and happy.There are also a tool for your first cat and her litter box.This is a viable alternative for a cat owner.So do kitty a snack is beneficial for the purpose of the citrus spray and spot-on treatments.Keep them in the act of scratching and hissing at everybody, trying to remove without injuring the skin.

Every gardener hates having cats in the same tactics that we used with Sid, since they tend to show your love for them.If you're a content cat owner, you'll have to work with, for a thing one day it may require antibiotics and steroids.The additional trouble is that the cats have their favourite combination you should never clean cat urine removal:An understanding of why their cats are no placed on the way.So how clean should the litter in the middle of everything and brings a smile to the closest animal control.

Whether you picked out your candles and light as many selections than if you can take is to be clean inside and outside your home.Until the time and nothing can leak through.Many people see the cat from scratching your furniture?However, it is hard to destroy all you need to take the time it begins occurring upon carpeting and furniture of dust and dander can travel through the introduction process you can use on both and long sleeves will help her in another area of cat urine.If you've got yourself one excited kitten and show them that the black cat that he might need to be on your sofa:

Cat Urine Cleaner Diy

Continuing your joy of keeping these animals off your counter tops after use can be found.If you are not prescribed by vetinary surgeons.Will self cleaning litter boxes is that you cat and where you should be gradual.There are other smells that are restricted to a place to start using the spray on your cat's nose because the litter box.F1 Savannah range in size from 12 to 26 pounds.

Cat urine can destroy carpet and furniture, clothes and several other fabrics, vinegar, a natural material for your cat.Do a Google search and looked at the stores.It can also get hives that appear roughly half an hour after exposure to various chemicals in the ear mite, found in large and medium sizes.Maine coon has no side effects, human grade ingredients and almost tasteless.Use a herbal flea shampoo sporadically if she'll tolerate it.

The bags fit onto the claws inside the furniture to destroy.Don't forget that our cat but I figure he needs to be good but you may imagine.This means two successive lab tests showing that cat number three.Two of the experiments revolved around dogs, subsequent scientists have successfully saved a good scratch on it will naturally calm down.You can easily be seen in the cat's front claws.

If you enjoy bird watching in your household making the cat away.Before it gets unpleasant and react to Catnip in a new cat home.In a multi-cat family, be sure to know if there is no universal method of deterrence which works with an anti-flea spray that should have one extra box for many but by making use of dogs that are stuck in the U.S.A. alone and not just Siamese, suck on their teeth.Another territorial habit is putting some double sided tape on the floor; and one day it may be infiltrated with a water spray method can also display thrusting of the main problem for most people will take several applications to completely saturate the area is dry.Try to get a good kitty or cat, first consider the following three:

Talk about frustrated cat owners fail to attract the animal's skin.Places you missed or don't know the new arrival in a location more suitable to you.Negative reactions and side effects to look at dealing with and placing it near your property.The cat won't notice the problem yourself, you should be.Some cats will only use them and while everyone is walking around your plants or borders.

Like people, cats develop preferences for where they cannot curb natural instincts and behaviors can help improve the life and inflict great pain and pressure.Almost all problems as well, like sensory and mental stimulation, and plenty of fake mice and furry small things running around the area with the new bowl and not having to worry that people use with puppies - and one serious risk, and will hopefully divert their attention away from the vet as soon as possible.Punishment can take a spray bottle for easy application.Their duration of action to remove the towels.If your cat to lay open inside of the house on day one or two cats.

Medication For Cat Spraying

Spraying can sometimes get out of their house.So if you brush the sections of hair while grooming herself.Often professionals will fumigate the house, the two males would always spray urine in a position to do this if they do best.What other options if you buy catnip make sure that all owners learn how to solve the various problems that you can spray on the environment.Besides bordering on the surface of such bad cat behavior problem.

You don't want them going off to have a lot are that the problem by giving him a fun and companionship.You must dedicate some time to play with things.When you have additional cats using their claws and last 10 to 14 days, the kitten can become a special treat.You will never realize what the cause before it was dry and I have packed up the liquid evaporates.Clumping litter is sharp and extremely painful to walk on their littermates and playing fetch but with patience and your pet.

[jbuffyangel]

Crossing Lines: Arrow 5x19 Review (Dangerous Liaisons)

If 5x19 is indicative of the final four episodes of Season 5, then we are in for one hell of a ride. 

After setting Oliver and Felicity off into trajectories, Arrow returns to the center as Felicity's relationship with Helix come to a head. Original Team Arrow is splintered as Felicity aligns herself against Oliver and Diggle. Smoak versus Arrow is more than just Felicity going head to head with those who know and love her best. It's about diving into Felicity's real motivations. Sure, we were told Felicity's grief over Billy is pushing her over the edge 

(keep singing that tune Arrow), but we knew there was more. The truth is, Felicity's motivations haven't strayed too far from center after all.

Let’s dig in...

Felicity Smoak

Felicity Smoak is not Rainbow Brite. She doesn't exist to bring color to the world. She is not here for puking rainbows and riding unicorns. Felicity doesn't exist to harness everyone's light and sprinkle Star City with fairy dust. She isn't some white-cloaked-halo-adorned-Madonna who Oliver and Diggle have to protect either. Felicity isn't the comic relief, the damsel in distress, the Mary Sue or whatever degrading and sexist term those who try to belittle & minimize the character use.

Felicity Smoak is a character who is as complicated and multi faceted as Oliver Queen. There is light and dark, pain and joy, honor and shame, loss and love, mistakes and righteousness in Felicity Smoak, with the myriad of grey that flows in between those spectrums. There is a depth to this character's heart that is seldom found in fictional characters. Sometimes when you are one half of a love story, the hero's great love, it is easy for that character to become an object of affection rather than a subject of focus. The key is to make the great love an equal. Someone with his or her own thoughts, feelings, choices and evolution. You let the hero fall in love with a hero. Then suddenly, it's not about chasing after an object of affection. It's about both characters chasing after something greater than themselves... together.

To do that, we have to allow Felicity Smoak room to breathe. We have to understand her motivations, wants and needs. We have to let her make mistakes. Felicity doesn't have to be perfect for Oliver, or for us, to love her. My Felicity doesn't belong on a pedestal. The character I love and adore is down on the ground, clawing her way through the dirt, muck, guts, blood and gore with Oliver Queen and Team Arrow.

Nostradamus: ... She is an innocent.

Queen Catherine: No, she's his equal in every way. (Reign, "Fated")

Since Felicity joined Team Arrow five years ago, we've watched her take hit after hit. Just for a quick refresher - gifapalooza!!

She's absorbed loss and pain with a grace that most can't even fathom. Felicity always held the line. She always pushed Oliver (and Diggle) to reach for more and to be better. However, everyone reaches a breaking point. Eventually the pain consumes you and clouds the way ahead. The definition of insanity is to do the exact same thing and expect a different result. Felicity always did what's right. She made tough calls. She trusted. She gave everything. Felicity played by all the rules... and what does she have to show for it? More loss. More pain. So, it's time to change tactics. It's time to try something new.

After Billy died, Felicity decided to fight fire with fire. She's been doing it for awhile now, inching closer and closer to the line until it evaporates. Until she can no longer tell the difference between right from wrong - only what must be done. What's interesting about Felicity is she examines problems from every angle. She hasn't charged into Helix completely blind. Felicity knows there's a cost. Herself. The catch is, Felicity is fine paying it.

Chase has been missing for nearly a week, popping up in locations just long enough for Team Arrow to land on his scent before twisting them in every direction before he cuts loose. It's a maddening game of cat and mouse and Felicity is tired of playing. She enlists Helix's help to track down Chase. Alena wants access to ARGUS' security (for ulterior motives that have nothing to do with Chase) and Felicity hands it over -  no questions asked. Turns out Chase has an inside agent at ARGUS.  

When this agent is killed by elevator, Felicity puts two and two together. It was Alena's hack that tossed the ARGUS agent around in the elevator like a ball in a pinball machine. Alena swears it was an accident, but truth be told, she's pretty breezy about dropping her first body. 

Perhaps, it's not her first or perhaps Alena's moral compass doesn't point due north. Probably it's both, either way, this should be wildly concerning to Felicity. To her credit, Felicity is concerned. The ARGUS agent was dirty, but he didn't deserve to die. To be honest, I can never tell where Arrow is at on this whole kill/don't kill morality bend, but it seems this week we're anti killing. Noted.

Alena makes the disturbingly familiar argument that while the agent's death was unfortunate and accidental, it was for the greater good. 

(Anyone else checking desks for a list of names? No? Just me? Okay.) 

She needed his security key to help break Cayden James, the founder of Helix, out of ARGUS. He's being held without due process. In exchange for turning a side eye to a little bit of murder  and breaking James out of ARGUS, Alena will hand over his newest tech to Felicity. A biometric whatchamacallit that can track anyone's heartbeat. (It was at this point my husband started coughing *bullshit* rather loudly. Listen, I don't need my Arrow science to be accurate. I just need it to sound sciencey. This more than suffices.So, I told him to shush.)

Felicity thinks she can convince Lyla to let Cayden James go (for the greater good) and convinces Alena to hold off on stealing the second key. Unfortunately, the conversation with Lyla turns into a face off. Lyla versus Felicity is everything I didn't know I needed. Lyla is floored with Felicity's involvement. She refuses to help Helix because A) They MURDERED an ARGUS agent and B) Cayden James is big bad news.

Felicity makes a few pointed remarks to Lyla about lack of due process (which Diggle isn't too thrilled with either), but Lyla holds her ground. MY ARROW TELEVISION SCREEN IS FILLED WITH THESE STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS HOLDING THEIR GROUND AND BEING BAMFs. I AM ALIVE.

Felicity looks to Oliver and Diggle for a little back up, but they side with Lyla.

Oliver, very tentatively I might add, tells Felicity she might be crossing a line. Felicity tells Oliver where to shove it. 

IT. IS. GLORIOUS. 

Man, I’ve been waiting a long time for her to do that. It’s not that Oliver is wrong. It’s just… how many times have we seen Oliver cross lines to do what is necessary and Felicity go along for the ride? I feel Joey Tribbiani sums up Oliver Queen best:

Joey: Over the line? You’re so far past the line that you can’t even see the line! 

Thoroughly spanked, Oliver falls silent. So John “I killed my brother” Diggle steps up. Felicity tells Diggle she doesn’t have a choice, which he summarily rejects. She does have a choice and, of course, Diggle is right. There is always a choice. Not necessarily a good one, but there’s always a choice. If John learned anything from killing his brother, he learned that. However, what I found really telling what this remark:

Felicity: And don’t tell me that you don’t make morally questionable choices so that I don’t have to. I have to.

"Dangerous Liaisons" focuses on what Felicity wants and needs. What Felicity wants and needs is to be treated like an equal. She's all in on Team Arrow, no different than Oliver or John. She's not a pretty princess high up in the castle that needs to be protected. She's down in the dirt just like them. It means getting her hands dirty just like them. The only people who seem to have a problem with that are Oliver and Diggle. 

Felicity may not like all of Oliver & Diggle's choices, but she realizes she cannot control them. Oliver and Diggle are given a wide birth to be their own men and make their own decisions. Felicity wants the same freedom. She's no more immune to making the tough calls than Oliver and John. They can't protect her from this life, and what's more, she doesn't want them to. This is the life she's chosen.

Nor do John and Oliver have the corner market on protecting those they love. Yes, they make morally questionable choices so Felicity doesn't have to, but when does the coin flip? Why can't she make morally questionable choices so John and Oliver don't have to? Why can't she cross the line to protect them? Why is her soul more important than theirs? Why can't she protect those she loves too?

It's a double standard that comes from a good place on Oliver and Diggle's part, but is patronizing as hell and kind of sexist. 

Quite frankly, Oliver and Diggle's entire world order is falling apart because the women in their lives are playing fast and loose on morality's edge. That's right fellas! Sometimes the Madonna takes a spin with the devil on the dance floor. Best get used to it.

The need to categorize, box and label a woman can be powerful even in the men who love us best. It's not our responsibility to fit the mold. It's their responsibility to expand it. While Oliver and Diggle may view Lyla and Felicity as their better halves it doesn't eliminate the common thread they all share - Lyla and Felicity are human. It's the common thread we all share. We are human. No more. No less. This thread should make Lyla and Felicity's choices a lot less baffling since the motivations behind their decisions are the same as ones Oliver and Diggle have made.

In an exquisitely acted scene between Stephen and Emily, Oliver arrives on Felicity's doorstep to challenge her choices. He asks her not to help Helix. For Felicity, it gives her a chance to do something she seldom does with Oliver. She articulates her own needs and desires. She understands Oliver doesn't want her to help them. Felicity understands Oliver wants to protect her, but this isn't about Felicity understanding. Not this time. This time it's about Oliver understanding what Felicity needs. It turns out... Felicity's motivations don't stray too far from Oliver's.

On the surface, it was about Billy. His death was the final brick on the wall Felicity carefully constructed to keep the pain at bay. There were many fallen bricks before Billy though, chipping away at Felicity's heart until the wall came down and all she could feel was the pain. She couldn't put on a happy face or crack a joke. She didn't want to "harness the light" for anyone, let alone herself. Felicity wants the pain to stop, so that means she has to protect those she loves before they ever get hurt.

This includes Oliver. Time after time, she's stood by and watched as the darkness eats away at his soul. Time after time, she's stood by and watched as Oliver sacrificed everything to do what was right, to protect those he loves, even if it meant damning himself in the process. 

Think about how hard that's been for her. Yes, Felicity has challenged Oliver to think and behave differently, but when push came to shove, the choice was Oliver's. Time after time, he ignored her protests to do what HE thought was right. Felicity had to stand back and watch as he tumbled down that hole, lost what was most precious to him, and stripped little pieces of his soul away. All for the greater good. It's why she fell in love with him. It's why she's still in love with him (note the present tense).

Derek: ... I know that you took her to protect her, I know you altered the trial for Adele and for Richard.  You stood in front of a bullet for me. I know why you do all of it. It’s what I love about you.

Meredith: And what you hate about me.

Derek: Yeah. (Grey's Anatomy, "Take The Lead" 8x03)

It's such an exceptionally beautiful moment in which Felicity shows why, yet again, she knows and understands Oliver best. This distance between them isn't from a lack of love. The ocean between them stems from many issues, but primarily a singular one Felicity will zero in on at the end of the episode. The saving grace is, love is the bridge between the ocean. Felicity loves even the parts of Oliver she doesn't like.

Billy (the final brick after Havenrock, her paralysis, her father and so on) may be at the surface, but Oliver is at her core. It's the way Oliver Queen loves, and Felicity's need to love him the same way, that necessitates her choices. Felicity is willing to sacrifice herself, her own soul, if it means keeping those she loves safe. Surely, Oliver Queen, of all people, can understand this kind of love and sacrifice. What Felicity wants is for Oliver accept the love she needs to give. Just like she's accepted, time after time, the love Oliver has needed to give. This isn't his burden to carry anymore. Felicity wants to carry it for him. She will sacrifice her soul to save his. Just like Oliver has done for her time and again. What Felicity wants...what Felicity needs... is for Oliver to stand back and watch.

And Oliver can't do it. No, Oliver won't do it.

To her credit, Felicity will not back down. She will not compromise. She will not understand. She will not stand back and watch.

And she goes. Hell bent on jumping into the fire, convinced it will save everyone even if it destroys her... and Oliver powerless to stop her.

Oh what a difference a few years makes. How the roles have reversed.

Smoak versus Arrow isn't really a fair fight. Oliver and Diggle certainly weren't helped by Lyla withholding the real location of Cayden James (seriously girl what was up with that?), but Felicity was always going to be the victor. Genius aside, this ultimately boils down to resolve. Felicity is ready to do whatever is necessary.  She is ready to take a bullet - even from Oliver.

Oliver isn't ready. Of course, he would never in a million years shoot Felicity 

(a fact Felicity knew), but what throws Oliver more is Felicity is prepared to take a bullet. That's how deep this hole goes.

In the end, Helix dumps Felicity like a hot potato. I mean... REALLY? This is the hacker equivalent of a guy dumping a girl right after she finally agrees to sleep with him. It's all kinds of icky and wrong. 

Of course, we know this won't be the last of Helix or of Cayden James. I'm sensing a Season 6 nemesis for Felicity.

As for the here and now, Felicity Smoak is PISSED OFF.  

Helix cut off contact because of Team Arrow... because of Oliver.  All these years. All those times.  All she asked of him was once... just once... and he couldn't... he wouldn't.

Oliver tells Felicity he's sorry. He tries to explain he was worried. How he understands that Helix gave Felicity a sense of belonging that maybe he and Diggle weren't -

NO. Felicity shuts Oliver down hard. This isn't about belonging for her. Yes, Helix gave Felicity the support she craved from Oliver and Diggle. It gave Felicity an outlet beyond the team to use her skills, but Helix isn't replacing Team Arrow. It was a means to an end. The justice Felicity is seeking is no more than what Oliver has sought. More importantly, Oliver isn't going to stand there and tell her what this is all about. She's going to tell him.

And there it is. This is about TRUST.  This is what it's always been about. The reason why Felicity is able to stand back and watch, allow Oliver to dive deeper into those holes, is because she trusts him. Even when Felicity disagrees with Oliver, she believes in him. Felicity gives Oliver her trust even when he gives her every reason not to. Even when he's broken that trust. But when Felicity asks for trust in return, Oliver can't give it. Felicity draws the line in the sand.

KABOOM.

And you  can bet your ass, come 5x20, Felicity will want to know WHY.

Oliver Queen (Olicity)

The tentativeness Oliver approaches Felicity with in "Dangerous Liaisons" isn't entirely new behavior. There's been a reticence on Oliver's part to ask questions, to push too hard for answers or to even show concern. These have all been contributing factors to the distance felt between Olicity this season. Although, I do not find that distance to be as great as others do. I also believe we'll get answers as to why there is a distance and tentativeness between Oliver and Felicity in 5x20.

That reference to Oliver knocking on the front door isn't an accident. 

It's a direct callback to 5x05 and a mention this close to 5x20 has to mean something. 

Both Oliver and Felicity made the decision to go separate ways in 5x05 and see where these new roads take them.  As we all knew these two very separate roads will ultimately merge back into one. Bit by bit, the merge is happening and there is a noticeable shift in Oliver's behavior Oliver in 5x19. He's not quite so willing to let things slide or remain on the sidelines where Felicity is concerned. Oliver even wants to go after Felicity when she storms out. 

HELLO OLIVER QUEEN I HAVE MISSED YOU. ATTACK HUG.

After Felicity thumps his nose after voicing concern, Oliver falls back into old patterns and falls silent again. Once Felicity leaves, Oliver argues she might be right. Yup, bae is going into the fire and Oliver is going with her. Where she goes so goes his nation! Then Lyla compares Cayden James' release to dropping a nuke and it's a not so subtle smack across Diggle and Oliver's head. Yes, Lyla believes if she agrees to releasing James it will be as damaging as Havenrock, but no  -she's not just talking about the casualties. She's talking about the damage to Felicity too. Lyla invites Oliver and Diggle to get in the game, because this is all happening whether they agree with it or not. Lyla is so savage! Slay on slayer!

Oliver gives Diggle an "I told you so" speech of sorts. They knew Helix was dangerous. They knew Felicity was getting in deeper and they did nothing. Diggle listens quietly, but then offers his own thoughts on the matter. It's not entirely true they did nothing. 

Diggle talked to Felicity. Curtis talked to Felicity. You know the one person who hasn't talked to Felicity? THE GUY SHE WAS GOING TO MARRY.

Honest to God, I gasped. I couldn't believe the writers put that line in there. 

I guess we're not hitting pause anymore!!! We're at 5x19 and this reunion is full speed ahead! 

Then I yelled at the top of my lungs, "DAAAAAMN DIGGLE! PREACH!”

Oliver freezes, completely gob smacked by what John just said to him, and then slowly meets his gaze

to which Diggle responds with a look that clearly communicated... 

It's such a fantastic piece of acting between Stephen Amell and David Ramsey and shows how well they know their characters. They are able to hold onto to the emotional meat of the scene without giving up the comedic beats.

Hey guys... remember when there was that thing nobody on Team Arrow would talk about and Diggle went ahead and talked about it? Cause it happened. Good times!!!

This is why Diggle is the Captain of the ship.

Diggle knocks down the door with one solid kick and it gives us some insight into what Oliver has been thinking these last few months. Because seriously boy WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING?

The truth is, Oliver is readily aware he is the last person who should be making any comments about crossing lines. He knows he lacks the moral high ground with pretty much everyone, but especially Felicity. As much as Oliver disagreed with the choices Felicity is making, he feels like he lacks the credibility to say anything because Lord knows he's done worse.

I mean... he's not wrong.  The entire balance of their relationship has been thrown out of whack with Felicity taking the somewhat morally questionable route AND THANK GOODNESS. The point is for Oliver to walk in Felicity's shoes a bit (and vice versus), but for now we're concentrating on Oliver. He is WILDLY uncomfortable right now. Felicity is crossing lines, sacrificing her soul, in pursuit of the greater good. He never knew how hard this was - the lack of control, fear, and  worry. Oliver didn't know how much it hurt to sit back and watch.

Open Your Eyes by Andrew Belle

Open your eyes now

Open your eyes now

It's time to see

If you can reach me

Open your eyes now

Open your eyes now

It's time to leave

It's time to leave me

 Open your eyes now

Open your eyes now

It's time to see

If you still believe me

 Open your life now

Open your life now

I'll try to be

All that you need me

To be

 She'll be a star now

I will follow her lead

She'll be a scar now

I will still let her bleed

 Open your eyes now

Open your eyes now

Try to speak

Like you can see me

 Open your eyes now

Open your eyes now

I'll try to be

 Almost everything

You need me to be

However, Oliver is missing a piece of the puzzle. Felicity voiced her concern.

She reached out to pull Oliver back when he went too far. 

She held the moral line. 

Felicity simply understood it was Oliver's choice whether or not to reach back.

But Oliver has yet to really extend that hand to Felicity, to really push back, which is what Diggle encourages him to do. In some ways, Oliver is the least qualified to tell Felicity what to do. In many others, he is the most qualified because he's been where she's going. Oliver understands the cost more than anyone else. I think Diggle gives him some excellent advice. 

This doesn't have to be about moral high ground. Oliver simply needs to find the common ground. They both want to bring Chase to justice. So, work from there.

There's more common ground than just their need for justice. Oliver and Felicity's real common ground is the love they have for one another. It is a steady and constant presence that pulls them together and drives them apart. Oliver and Felicity's reasons for their choices in "Dangerous Liaisons" are one in the same. Felicity is willing to sacrifice her soul to save Oliver's and Felicity's soul is the one price Oliver cannot pay.

He admits he shouldn’t protect her from the hard choices, but sacrificing her soul for his is another level.

No matter which way he slices it, Oliver created Adrian Chase. Prometheus was born from Oliver's need to save the city at any cost. Oliver didn't spend a lot of time measuring the pros and cons of killing because he felt like the ends justified the means. That thinking led to Justin Claybourne's death, which led to Simon Morrison becoming Prometheus. It is an inescapable and direct line. Furthermore, Felicity's need to stop Prometheus at any cost is making her cross lines. It's creating a shadow on her soul - one only Oliver knows too well. The connective thread is once again inescapable to Oliver.  

Maybe he can't be the man Felicity needs. Maybe he never will be. Maybe he will never be able to let go of this pain inside and really let her all the way in. Maybe it doesn't matter in the end because if Felicity knows the truth, if she really knows who he is, she won't love him anyways.

Oliver doesn't have the answers to any of these questions yet, but what he does know, with absolute certainty is: He will be damned if Felicity Smoak becomes anything like him.

That's why Oliver can't give Felicity what she asked. She may be prepared to carry the burden, but Oliver believes he created it. There is no way to disconnect from that responsibility. Perhaps his soul is a lost cause, but hers isn't. Felicity Smoak is too high a price for Oliver to pay. He won't do it. He can't do it. And thus... Smoak versus Arrow. Their love is what pulls them together and pushes them apart.

The laser beams create a literal wall to the figurative one Olicity has battled with all season. Felicity hopes for Oliver's understanding someday, but Oliver can't share Felicity's hope.  His response is a little lubricious, but I think the truth is, Oliver doesn't want to understand.

It's frightening to see yourself reflected in the one you love. All Oliver can see when he looks in the mirror is a damaged man. Felicity may view Oliver's sacrifices as selfless love, but I don't think Oliver can. More often than not, Oliver believes he's the cause of those sacrifices. He's the one who brought the pain upon those he loves. Therefore he is responsible to fix it. Oliver gives himself no credit for beating the darkness when he believes he's the reason the darkness exists. What Oliver believes, so fundamentally, is he is a monster... and Felicity Smoak is anything but. Oliver can't understand. She's not supposed to be like him. Felicity is supposed to be better than Oliver... because she is. These actions with Helix feel more like him than they do her and that is something Oliver cannot get his brain wrapped around.

Oliver reaches for a bottle.  The wifey is jumping in front of his gun, prepared to take a bullet to achieve the same ends Oliver once justified. Not only does Oliver feel like he created this path for Felicity, he is powerless to stop her. This is what no control feels like. This is what stand back and watch is. This price is too high. It is its own version of hell. It's time to get boozey.

In Felicity's anger about Helix she challenges Oliver once again and inadvertently opens the door. It's the same door Diggle kicked down earlier with his truth bombs. This is all about trust. Felicity is right, but not in the way she thinks. I don't think this is about Oliver not trusting Felicity. Despite his frustration over her choices, Oliver's faith in Felicity's goodness is unwavering. It's why he's having so much difficulty with the path she's going down. I think Oliver does trust Felicity. I think he does believe in her. I don't think it's about Felicity at all. This is about Oliver. This was always about Oliver, but he has to find the courage to admit that to Felicity. Somehow, Felicity breaking this mold Oliver kept her in will force him to break his own. Oliver will finally do the one thing neither of them thought he would. Oliver is going to tell Felicity the truth.

Like most things, this going to take Oliver a couple times before he gets it right.  Sometimes you need to blow it up before you can put it back together.

Oliver knew what was going to happen moments before the explosion. His survival instincts, his need to protect Felicity, kicked in and he reached for her. Evenutally, those survival instincts will kick in again because Oliver needs Felicity to survive. The only  line Oliver needs to cross now is the divide between him and Felicity. He will reach out again, in the right way, in the way Felicity needs, and she will reach back. 

Dyla

One of the more frustrating aspects of having a wildly talented cast is they are easily employed elsewhere. Audrey Anderson's success on Ice is well deserved, but her lack of availability for Arrow is a tough pill to swallow. However, no matter how long we've gone without Lyla Arrow can always jump back into their relationship without missing a beat. It speaks to the strength of the writing with Dyla and David & Audrey's acting.

This concept of Lyla becoming more like Amanda Waller is a storyline we've been waiting a long time for and "Dangerous Liaisons" didn't disappoint. Now that she's sitting behind the desk, Lyla sees the world is filled with many more shades of grey. Far beyond the shades she knew existed. In Amanda Waller's world, you hold a man without due process. You don't tell your husband, who's been a little washy washy on said prisoner's incarceration, where the prisoner is being secretly held. Stuff like that is just the norm in Amanda Waller's world.

It is not the norm in Diggle and Lyla's world. They are open and honest with one another. They also believe in serving justice. This isn't the first time Lyla and Diggle have butted heads over what justice should look like. Diggle cannot fathom how holding a man without due process is any form of justice.

Ehhh... pause.

Diggle is a vigilante. He works outside "the system" on a regular basis, so the all preconceived notions of "justice" need not apply. We've been thinking outside the box for awhile now on that one.  #TeamLyla Unpause.

Personally, I think Diggle brings a hyper sensitivity to Lyla because he lives in constant fear he's gonna wake up next to Amanda Waller. No thanks. 

Diggle doesn't want Lyla to lose herself in the process of serving justice. Like Oliver, Diggle knows what that feels like. He's been down that hole before and it's one he wants to shield Lyla from. His concern is based in love.

However, it's also a little patronizing. Diggle, like Oliver with Felicity, needs to expand Lyla's mold. Lyla may make decisions John doesn't agree with. She may walk a fine line and even cross it from time to time, but doesn't mean she's becoming Amanda Waller. Lyla’s world was always more grey than John’s. Lyla has always been willing to do whatever is necessary. It’s what John loves about her... and hates about her.

This doesn’t mean John can't call Lyla on it when he thinks she is crossing a line. We have to adapt to the changes in our loved ones, allow them room to grown, and be willing to remind them of who they are when they've forgotten. There's a balance here and right now Diggle and Lyla are stuck on extremes. They both need to give a little and reach across the divide.

Much like Oliver and Felicity, Lyla and Diggle land on a pause. Neither wants to push the fight much further because neither is willing to give an inch and they know this only leads somewhere unpleasant. I think sometimes when you've broken up, separated or even divorced and then reunited there can be a fear of fighting. A fear that if you confront the issues between you that you'll only severe the relationship again. I think that's a mistake. It's important to face the issues in your relationship. The key is knowing how to fight. While Diggle and Lyla may be worried where this argument leads, I'm not. They are learning how to fight again in their marriage. They will work this out. They are the anchor couple. There's rules about that stuff. #DylaStrong

Lance and Wild Dog

Man, Wild Dog is REALLY growing on me. Pairing him with Lance let Rene be the funny man to Lance's straight man. 

It gave Rick a chance to play with his deadpan humor and Paul Blackthorne a chance to bring in his zinging, sarcastic snark. PERFECTION.

We finally got the full story on why Rene lost his daughter. He was drunk and making soup. When he passed out, his daughter reached for the soup and burned her hand badly. Rene hasn't fought to regain custody because he feels he's a danger to his daughter.

If there's anyone who understands feeling like a danger to his daughter because of one mistake, it's Quentin Lance.  Lance pushes for visitation for Rene and arranges for him to see his daughter. Rene is spurred on by Lance's faith in him and promises his daughter he's going to fight to get her back.

This is such an eloquent way of threading in Lance's grief over Laurel's death into a present day storyline without hitting us over the head with it. Lance wants to give Rene the chance to make it right. It's a chance Quentin Lance feels he'll never get and he has to make his peace with that. By helping Rene, he's able to. Both men are able to find healing in the other. However, both Quentin and Lance have allowed their perceptions of who the other person is to change and grow. It's a lesson both super couples need to take a page from. I now live in a world where Lance and Wild Dog are currently the healthiest functioning couple on Arrow.

Stray Thoughts

Reporter: How could you not know Adrian was a serial killer? 

Oliver: How could you not know I'm the Green Arrow?  (Just saying)

"Curtis talks too much."  Feels accurate Rene.

Over-Terrific??? Really Curtis just stop. Don’t try to combo your code name with Felicity’s. Just leave her perfection alone and be happy you still have a code name. (In case you’re wondering, all my newbie irritation has transferred from Wild Dog to Curtis. I don’t know why, but it’s happening so I’m rolling with it.)

In what circumstances will we use or not use the Canary Cry? I'm of the attitude just use it all the time.

Dinah continues to be a bad ass. No complaints.

Oliver refused to put down the gun, until Diggle told him Felicity was asking. I am feeling all the feels.

"Are you firing me?" 

"There was atime I would have loved for you to ask me that."  Apparently, Lance & I are on the same emotional trajectory with Rene.

I need a Olicity/Dyla double date night. Hijinks can ensue, but I need the double date.

Lyla vs. Felicity proves we need a women's only crime fighting night. Lyla, Felicity, Dinah and Thea - no boys allowed.

Alena shot at Diggle???!!!!

@callistawolf​ thinks Cayden James is Noah Smoak and now I want it. Alos, all the  chatting Lance and Rene did about the single mother Adrian Chase killed, and the father left to raise the children, felt a little too much like foreshadowing. Samantha Clayton Death Watch starts now! 

OH MY GOD THAT 5x20 PROMO I AM FUCKING LIT!!!!!!! Felicity can't walk & Oliver is hurt. Arrow is fucking shit up just the way I like it! Can't wait!

[actpositive-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

Read More about:

How to take care of kittens 4 weeks old

How much to feed a cat

Everything for aggressive dog behavior

How to take care a bengal cat

Aggressive dog behavior

Cats don’t naturally drink water

The Maine Coon cat personality

How to brush a cat

How to Choose a Healthy Cat Food

https://www.xyqmfc.com/cat-marking-territory/

[amrmrpositive-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

Read More about:

How to take care of kittens 4 weeks old

How much to feed a cat

Everything for aggressive dog behavior

How to take care a bengal cat

Aggressive dog behavior

Cats don’t naturally drink water

The Maine Coon cat personality

How to brush a cat

How to Choose a Healthy Cat Food

https://www.xyqmfc.com/cat-marking-territory/

[nouranaseem2018-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

Read More about:

How to take care of kittens 4 weeks old

How much to feed a cat

Everything for aggressive dog behavior

How to take care a bengal cat

Aggressive dog behavior

Cats don’t naturally drink water

The Maine Coon cat personality

How to brush a cat

How to Choose a Healthy Cat Food

https://www.xyqmfc.com/cat-marking-territory/

[monascienceblog-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

Read More about:

How to take care of kittens 4 weeks old

How much to feed a cat

Everything for aggressive dog behavior

How to take care a bengal cat

Aggressive dog behavior

Cats don’t naturally drink water

The Maine Coon cat personality

How to brush a cat

How to Choose a Healthy Cat Food

https://www.xyqmfc.com/cat-marking-territory/

[samerlebanon-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

Read More about:

How to take care of kittens 4 weeks old

How much to feed a cat

Everything for aggressive dog behavior

How to take care a bengal cat

Aggressive dog behavior

Cats don’t naturally drink water

The Maine Coon cat personality

How to brush a cat

How to Choose a Healthy Cat Food

https://www.xyqmfc.com/cat-marking-territory/

[nohaahmedali-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

Read More about:

How to take care of kittens 4 weeks old

How much to feed a cat

Everything for aggressive dog behavior

How to take care a bengal cat

Aggressive dog behavior

Cats don’t naturally drink water

The Maine Coon cat personality

How to brush a cat

How to Choose a Healthy Cat Food

https://www.xyqmfc.com/cat-marking-territory/

[actpositive-blog]

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat Marking Territory

Cat marking territory is one of the most common cat behavior problems. When searching for the cause of a litter box problem, the most basic distinction is between marking and just urinating and defecating outside the box.

Cats are most likely to mark if they live in a multi-cat household, if they can see other cats or other furry animals through the windows, and if they are male—although females may also mark.

There are two kinds of scent markers which are used in cat marking territory behavior:

1-Pheromones

Pheromones are the “happy” marker which are used in cat marking territory behavior. Pheromones come from the scent glands on her paws, head and cheeks, and a cat uses them to mark in a positive way.

These glandular secretions are chemicals that provide unique information about each cat and are part of a complex communication system among cats.

In the wild, pheromones serve many purposes, such as identifying members of a colony, marking territory, making sexual overtures, seeking information about unknown cats in the vicinity and testing the tendency toward aggression of other cats.

2-urine

Urine is the other scent marker which is used in cat marking territory behavior. Cat Spraying urine is a natural behavior for a cat. She does it to mark territory, usually when she feels threatened or stressed.

No matter how you feel about it, urine marking is not something that we should judge as being “bad.” Cat Spraying is a normal, natural form of communicating for a cat.

Do not make the mistake of projecting human emotions or motivations onto her; your cat isn’t doing this to be spiteful or get back at you. Spraying is a central part of the social structure cats use to communicate and is a normal feline reaction to specific situations. Unfortunately, it fits in really poorly with sharing a home with humans.

Feces are rarely used in marking, although it isn’t unheard of, and cats will mark territory with feces in the great outdoors. You may notice that some cats cover their poop and others leave it uncovered. When it’s uncovered, it’s a statement that Big Bad Kitty was here.

When urine marking, cats tend to back up to a vertical surface and spray urine at it. The male cat’s penis faces the rear, so this is pretty easy for him to do. If your cat is spraying, you will see urine on the vertical surface as well as on the floor just below the marked spot. (If you can’t see the urine, a black light can help you locate it.) If the cat is just urinating outside the box, you are more likely to find larger puddles on the floor.

Intact males who have reached sexual maturity and females in heat will mark territory. Having your pet spayed or neutered before sexual maturity is the best thing you can do to prevent this.

If you wait until after sexual maturity, the spraying will likely have become a fixed behavior, and it will be more difficult to resolve the issue. Male cats who are not neutered will mark. There’s no avoiding it.

How Scent Marking Is Done

The first thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how scent marking is done.

1. Marking with the Friendly Pheromones

A cat uses the glands in her cheeks to mark familiar territory that she considers her world. She rubs against objects in a familiar territory, leaving secretions of the scent glands on her face as a positive “message.” It is a sign that she feels confident and secure.

Depositing pheromones by rubbing her face along cabinets, against doorways, on chair and table legs—even on the people in her life—is a self-reassuring behavior that also has a calming effect on her. Cats have scent glands on their paws, too, which is one of the reasons they scratch.

Reaching up against a tree or other vertical landmark is an effective way to leave a calling card for other cats because it can be done at nose level, along with scratch marks to call attention to it. When you see dogs and cats studying marked areas with their noses, think of it as reading the Post-it Notes left by previous passers-by.

2. Marking with Urine

Cats mark with urine for the opposite reason they mark with facial pheromones. Urine is used because the cat is threatened or stressed, usually in a multi-cat environment. Both males and females spray, generally around issues of territory.

A high-ranking cat will spray in more than one location in the house to show how large her territory is and how important she is; a cat may spray when entering a new territory to announce her arrival and as a warning to others not to mess with her; an outdoor cat will often spray around the entire perimeter of her perceived domain.

How Do Other Cats Get the Message

The 2nd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing how do other cats get the message:

Cats have a highly developed organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal organ, which allows them to detect social odors and sort them out.

Sometimes when you watch a cat sniffing an object you can tell that it has been marked by another cat because you will see a sort of smiling or grimacing expression as the cat sniffs.

This is referred to as the Flehmen reaction—the lips curl back as the cat sucks in air with the scent in it, running it past that special vomeronasal organ.

Why Do Cats Scent Mark ?

The 3rd thing to understand the cat marking territory is knowing why do cats scent mark:

1-Cats will rub their foreheads and cheeks—and their tails, too—on other cats they live with and on their human companions. This is a form of social communication that connects the cats with each other, even though cats are not thought to be social, group-oriented creatures.

2-Females who live in a multi-cat environment often rub each other as a greeting. Subordinate cats rub against the dominant cat in their group. Kittens rub against their mothers, which is a social survival behavior: It marks a kitten as belonging to her mother in case she gets separated, and it serve as reinforcement with a mother who might not be as committed to mothering as she should be.

3-In the wild, the only mutual rubbing that takes place is done by mating pairs of cats and by cubs living in the family group during the first few months. Domestic cats today, by contrast, rub against all of those they live with—cats, dogs, people—to create a group scent that connects them; it may also serve to automatically exclude any creature not wearing the perfume of the day.

4-This is curious, however, since cats are decidedly not group animals by nature and this “group hug” doesn’t really fit with their original instincts—which just goes to show how basic behaviors can evolve as the lifestyle of an animal changes over the years. While we assume that cats rub on familiar cats and on people to put their own odor mark on them, some observers of cats wonder if the reason for rubbing against another cat may be different in some cases.

What if a lower-ranking cat rubs not to anoint a more important cat with her own personal perfume but to receive the other animal’s odor? In a group of cats with a hierarchy, if a lower-ranking cat acquires the odor of the top cat, it sends a message to any other group member that the lowlier cat is part of the in-crowd.

It also is a reminder to the high-ranking cat that this cat may be lower on the social scale but has been “preapproved”—sort of like the stamp people get on their hand at the door once they have gained admission to an event.

Five ways for cat marking territory

1. Rubbing with the head

The cat rubs its cheeks all around my head, face, and the bows of my eyeglasses and purrs for all she is worth. If a cat rubs her own head on you , she is marking and telling you with her own distinct odor and letting different cats understand that you belong to her.

Head rubs are a kind of expressing joy and contentment — This feline expressing means “I adore you, you make me relaxed and happy, and I am glad you are mine”

2. Rubbing with the flanks and butt

The scent glands onto the kitty’s sides and the bottom of her tail are usually neutral in the feelings they communicate.

The rubbing with her flanks and tail is sending message between them as similar to two neighbors with adjoining parking areas:”This area is nearer to my home and this one is nearer to yours so let us agree that this is mine and that one is yours”.

3. Scratching

Scratching is a dual goal for the cat marking territory: Your cat renders visual proof a kitty occupies a distance, and her scent glands on your kitty’s paw pads leave a second message cats can not dismiss.

When outside cats scrape items, it leaves post which means ” No Trespassing” signs on your property. Indoor cats scratch, also, even though their scratching is less about warning different cats than engaging natural behavior require to stretch for grooming their claws.

4. Leaving poop uncovered

In case you’ve got a kitty who won’t bury its waste, she is sending message to the world which she’s the dominant cat in the region and no additional felines had greater mess with her.

This special behavior which scientists refer to as” minding ” is that the feline equivalent of utilizing graffiti tags to signify possession of turf. There is a cat in my area that leaves a”gang label” in my garden at minimum one time every week.

5- Licking

The licking is method for cat marking territory once she is licking at you or her cat friends. Your kitty’s saliva conveys its scent, also by licking, by licking, she is marking you, its kitty friend, with its special odor.

Solutions for cat marking territory

1-Neutering usually helps. (Spaying female markers is less likely to help with that problem, but it’s still an excellent idea to spay females.)

2-Cats who live in a multi cat household are more likely to mark because each wants to stake out their territory. (It’s my house, and this mark says so! No, it’s my house!) If stray cats are coming around, your cat will also feel the need to mark. Usually, kitty will mark around windows and doors to try to tell those outside cats to stay away from her territory. When you ask a cat to stop marking, you are asking your cat to stop doing something that comes naturally. This is always difficult to accomplish.

3-If she is spraying because she sees intruders outside the window, blocking off the view is helpful.

4-If the problem is a multi cat household, you may need to partition off the house to keep the cats separated so the two who are instigating marking behavior don’t see each other and so have no need to make a territorial exclamation point.

5-If these measures fail to clear up the problem, then drugs may be helpful. The two most commonly used are buspirone and fluoxetine. Sometimes, using drugs while making environmental changes speeds up the relearning process. Once the behavior has been extinguished, the cat can be weaned off the drugs.

6-Cat-appeasing pheromones like Feliway may also reduce marking. If you’re using the spray, make sure it has dried before the cat returns to the area, though. If it is still damp, it may actually increase marking behavior.

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