Sandra Toney
Laura Cassiday has always been infatuated with cats. When she was four years old, her parents gave her the object of her obsession—her first cat—and she has never lived without one since.
Today she owns Pawsitive Vibes Cat Behavior & Training LLC, a business inspired by the one-eyed orange kitten she adopted after moving out on her own when she was 23. Dexter would try to run out the door every time it was open.
“This was the first time I really started asking myself, ‘What’s the function?’ says Cassiday, “which is pretty much the first question you should consider when dealing with a behavior concern. For the first time, it hit me just how understimulating and small my apartment was for a young, energetic cat. We started harness training and going outside regularly, and his door dashing gradually went away.”
Her job as a technical writer was unfulfilling, and she decided she wanted to do something else for her career. She applied to the Maryland SPCA and worked there for the next four years with both cats and dogs who needed extra attention for their behavioral needs.
“There is no better way to get experience and gain knowledge in animal behavior than to work hands-on in a shelter environment full time,” she says. “It really helped me that the shelter had a very knowledgeable behavior department that was very skilled in R+ training and behavior modification. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that experience.”
Realizing that education would enhance her career, she also attended as many cat-focused conferences and webinars as she could find, becoming a certified cat behavior consultant (CCBC), cat trainer certification from the Animal Behavior College (ABCCT), and a Fear Free certified professional (FFCP—training). Last November, she decided to leave the shelter to pursue full-time cat behavior consulting with private owners and opened Pawsitive Vibes to help clients better understand and communicate with their cats.
King, a senior Bengal cat, was one of her most memorable clients. To help him, she drew on her Fear Free training.
“For King’s whole life, he has needed to be fully sedated at the vet for nail trims. Understandably, his owner was exhausted from needing to do so, and after a while, stopped taking him for nail trims entirely.”
But King was getting his claws stuck in carpet and furniture, so his owner hired a mobile groomer to come to her home. Long story short, the groomer ended up leaving to go to urgent care without trimming a single nail. He clawed her up enough that she needed medical attention, Cassiday says.
As a last resort, King’s owner reached out to Cassiday after hearing how she had taught her own semi-feral cat cooperative nail trims.
“I went over and gave King a big plate of his favorite wet food. With just a food distraction, I was able to trim all the nails on one paw slowly and carefully over about a 15-minute period with no injuries,” she recalls. “After the first paw, he chose to leave, but it was a huge accomplishment compared to previous experiences. Now, his owner will do one or two nails at a time over the course of a couple of days while he’s eating. No more sedated vet visits or mauled groomers!”
Cassiday has a favorite Fear Free success story with her own cat, Lennox. She fostered Lennox, an older kitten, after he was found stuck behind an air conditioning unit. He was undersocialized and well past the feline socialization period, which occurs when kittens are just 3 to 7 weeks old. Unfortunately, he needed antibiotics, and she was worried that giving him medication would destroy any trust he was building with her. Lennox wasn’t very food-motivated, but she discovered he was play-motivated.
“I started to pair the syringe with play, gradually working up to asking him to touch it with his nose, then pushing it to his lips, and he was more than willing to participate in exchange for playtime,” says Cassiday. “After only a day or two, I was able to give him his medication without any restraint. I did the same thing with nail trims. I actually tied a string to the nail clippers and turned them into a toy. This encouraged him to touch his paw to them willingly and of course paired nail trims with awesome playtime.”
Now when Lennox sees Cassiday pick up the clippers, he comes running! She also taught him a start button. When he touches his nose to her finger, which she calls “boop the snoot,” it is permission to pet him or interact with him. She still can’t pick him up or reach toward him but Fear Free changed his life and helped them bond. It’s a big reason that she foster-failed with him, she says, and ended up keeping him. All of their interactions are on Lennox’s terms but now he will sit in her lap and beg for attention and petting.
Fear Free has been a positive tool for Cassiday’s behavioral approach. “Fear Free gives me something to talk about with veterinarians, and having a great relationship with local vets helps me help cats. When I talk to other Fear Free professionals, having that designation lets us both know that we are on the same page,” Cassiday says. “I’ve found that it’s a great icebreaker and shows vets that I am reputable. They may not know what my other certifications mean, but they do recognize Fear Free. It’s a great networking tool. It’s also given me the tools and the confidence to add services like cooperative care training to my practice.”
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.
