Elena Rossi

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Feline cognitive dysfunction: home care for the senior cat

Elena Rossi·Jul 23, 2026·9 min read

Half of cats over fifteen show at least one sign of feline cognitive dysfunction. The signs are quiet, easy to mistake for normal aging, and almost always overlap with treatable medical problems. This is the home-care guide I leave with families when an older cat starts staring at walls, missing the litter box, or yowling at three in the morning — including the part most owners skip, which is the vet visit that has to come first.

behavior cognitive dysfunction

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Leaving a cat home alone: how many days is realistic

Elena Rossi·Jul 22, 2026·8 min read

A healthy adult cat can be left alone for a day, with preparation, for two. A kitten cannot be left for an afternoon. A senior with kidney disease should not be left for a working day. The numbers, and the multi-cat detail that quietly changes them, are below — and so is the part most owners get wrong, which happens in the hour after they get home.

alone behavior

Indoor cat exercise: meeting the daily activity quota

Elena Rossi·Jul 21, 2026·9 min read

Indoor cats do not need a treadmill. They need a daily activity quota, paid out in three currencies — hunt, climb, and social play — and the right timing, in the right room, with the right toy. The plan below has worked across dozens of multi-cat homes I have visited, and the science behind it is older and more specific than most owners realise.

behavior enrichment

Why cats are hard to train: the non-reward reality

Elena Rossi·Jul 18, 2026·9 min read

Cats are not untrained dogs. They are a different species with a different learning economy, built around a single hunter, not a pack. The work is to translate the home into a language they actually read: small, immediate, self-rewarded, and never social.

behavior capturing

Cat-to-cat aggression: from hissing to full fight — when to step in

Elena Rossi·Jul 15, 2026·9 min read

Most cat-to-cat aggression is not a fight in the moment — it is a slow build of small signals the humans in the room have stopped noticing. The work is to read those signals, decide which fights are communication and which are danger, and know when to step in without making things worse.

aggression behavior

Indoor cat enrichment: designing vertical space your cat will actually use

Elena Rossi·Jul 14, 2026·9 min read

Height is the single most overlooked resource in the indoor cat home. The fix is not a bigger cat tree in the corner — it is a slow reading of where each cat already wants to go, and a design that links floor, mid-level, and ceiling into one connected territory.

cat tree enrichment

Scratching the furniture: how to redirect a cat to a proper scratch post

Elena Rossi·Jul 13, 2026·8 min read

Cats scratch for clear, hard-wired reasons. Punishment never works. The fix is to read the scratch marks, place the right post in the right spot, and make the old target unrewarding — in that order.

behavior claw care

Night-time yowling in cats: 6 root causes and matching fixes

Elena Rossi·Jul 11, 2026·10 min read

A cat that yells at 3 a.m. is not being naughty. There are six common reasons, each with a specific fix — and a senior cat with new night-time yowling needs the vet before the behaviour work.

behavior cat yowling

Multi-cat resource math: the N+1 rule in practice

Elena Rossi·Jul 10, 2026·9 min read

Two cats curled on the same sofa are not the same thing as two cats with enough to share. The N+1 rule is the simplest, oldest formula in multi-cat behavior work — and the one I see broken most often in homes where, by every visible measure, the cats 'get along.'

cat behavior litter box

Bringing a new cat home: the base-room isolation method, step by step

Elena Rossi·Jul 9, 2026·10 min read

The first 7 to 14 days in a new home set the tone for the next ten years. The base-room isolation method is the single most reliable way to land a new cat — adult, kitten, or rescue — without triggering a multi-cat war or a litter box crisis.

base room introduction

The litter box golden triangle: count, location, cleanliness

Elena Rossi·Jul 8, 2026·9 min read

If a cat stops using the litter box, three things are almost always involved: how many boxes there are, where they sit, and how clean they are. Most problems resolve when these three are fixed — without ever touching the cat.

cat behavior house soiling

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Why cats are hard to train: the non-reward reality

Elena Rossi·Jun 26, 2026·11 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the practical reality of training cats — why the standard dog-training approach fails, what cats actually respond to, the role of clicker training, the role of food rewards, the role of play, the role of environment, the realistic expectations, the behaviors that can be trained, the behaviors that cannot, and the four mistakes that lead to frustration and a worse-behaved cat.

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Litter box golden triangle: count, location, cleanliness

Elena Rossi·Jun 24, 2026·11 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the three variables that determine whether a cat uses the litter box reliably — the number of boxes, the location of each box, and the cleanliness of each box — the "n+1" rule, the strategic placement, the cleaning frequency, the substrate choices, the troubleshooting of common problems, and the four mistakes that turn a cat's litter box into a place the cat refuses to use.

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Pregnancy and cats: the truth about toxoplasmosis

Elena Rossi·Jun 22, 2026·12 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the real relationship between pregnancy, cats, and toxoplasmosis — the actual risk level, the actual transmission routes, the precautions that matter, the precautions that do not matter, the common misconceptions, the role of testing, the role of the partner, and the four mistakes that lead to unnecessary rehoming of cats during pregnancy.

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Bringing a new cat home: the base room isolation method

Elena Rossi·Jun 17, 2026·11 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the practical base-room isolation method for introducing a new cat to a multi-cat household — why the standard "just put them together" approach fails, the room setup, the scent swapping, the visual introduction, the supervised meetings, the role of feeding, the role of play, the common timeline, the common pitfalls, and the four mistakes that turn a smooth introduction into a permanent household war.

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Leaving a cat home alone: how many days is realistic

Elena Rossi·May 2, 2026·15 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the realistic limits of leaving a cat home alone — the food, water, and litter box considerations, the medical and behavioral risks, the options beyond the food bowl and the extra litter box, and the four mistakes that turn a weekend trip into a welfare crisis.

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Indoor cat enrichment: vertical space design

Elena Rossi·Mar 23, 2026·15 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the practical design of vertical space for indoor cats — why vertical space is not optional, the three levels every multi-cat household needs, the materials and the safety considerations, and the four mistakes that turn a vertical space plan into a structural failure.

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Petting maps: where cats like to be touched

Elena Rossi·Mar 11, 2026·14 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the "petting map" framework — the areas where most cats enjoy being touched, the areas that often trigger overstimulation or aggression, the signals that tell you when the cat is enjoying the petting and when the cat has had enough, and the four mistakes that turn a friendly pet into a bite.

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Scratching the furniture: redirecting to a proper scratch post

Elena Rossi·Mar 10, 2026·16 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the practical protocol for redirecting a cat's scratching from the furniture to an appropriate scratch post — the four scratch-post options, the placement strategy, the training mechanics, and the four mistakes that turn a fixable problem into a permanent one.

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Indoor cat exercise: meeting the daily activity quota

Elena Rossi·Jan 30, 2026·13 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the practical exercise needs of indoor cats — why the indoor cat is the under-exercised cat, the metabolic cost of activity, the species-specific play preferences, the toys that work, the toys that don't, the role of vertical space, the role of food puzzles, the role of the human, the realistic daily quota, and the four mistakes that turn a well-meaning owner into the owner of an obese, frustrated cat.

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Feline cognitive dysfunction: home care for the senior cat

Elena Rossi·Jan 10, 2026·19 min read

A feline behavior consultant walks through the home-care protocol for a cat with cognitive dysfunction — what the disease actually is, the environmental modifications that matter most, the medications that work, and the honest limits of what you can do at home.

Cat-to-cat aggression: from hissing to full fight, when to step in and when to wait

Elena Rossi·Oct 1, 2025·9 min read

The hissing at the door is normal. The swat is a warning. The full fight is a crisis. Here is the escalation ladder, the intervention at each level, and the slow reintroduction protocol that brings peace back.

behavior modification cat aggression

Kitten socialization: the 2-7 week sensitive window that shapes every cat for life

Elena Rossi·Sep 10, 2025·8 min read

The 2-7 week window is when the kitten's brain is forming the associations that will determine its adult behavior. Miss the window, and the cat will spend its life being afraid. Hit the window, and the cat will be confident for life.

2-7 weeks behavior

Stranger fear in cats: a desensitization plan for shy cats that hides when guests arrive

Elena Rossi·Sep 9, 2025·9 min read

The cat that disappears under the bed when guests arrive is not a cat that dislikes strangers — it is a cat that has not learned that strangers are safe. Here is the desensitization plan that builds the association.

stranger fear

Moving house: the 3-3-3 rule for cats and how to make the transition less stressful

Elena Rossi·Aug 21, 2025·8 min read

A cat's adjustment to a new home follows a predictable timeline: 3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to learn the new layout, 3 months to feel at home. Here is how to support each phase.

3-3-3 rule cat behavior

Moving house with cats: the 3-3-3 rule and how to keep your cat from disappearing into the closet

Elena Rossi·Aug 21, 2025·9 min read

Moving is one of the most stressful events for a cat. The 3-3-3 rule — 3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to settle in, 3 months to feel at home — gives the owner a timeline and a protocol.

3-3-3 rule cat

Carrier training: making the carrier a good place, not a vet-visit panic chamber

Elena Rossi·Jul 31, 2025·9 min read

The cat that bolts at the sight of the carrier, the cat that screams in the car, the cat that needs to be wrestled into the carrier at the vet — all of this is preventable. Carrier training is the protocol.

carrier cat

Multi-cat resource math: the N+1 rule in practice for households with two or more cats

Elena Rossi·Jul 13, 2025·8 min read

The single most common reason for inter-cat aggression and inappropriate urination in multi-cat homes is too few resources, not too many cats. The N+1 rule is the math that fixes it.

cat behavior litter box

Multi-cat resource math: the N+1 rule and why most cat households are under-resourced

Elena Rossi·Jul 13, 2025·9 min read

Two cats do not share well. The N+1 rule — one resource per cat, plus one extra — is the simplest framework for preventing inter-cat conflict. Most multi-cat households violate it, and the cats pay the price.

The prey cycle play pattern: how to simulate hunting indoors for an indoor cat

Elena Rossi·Jul 3, 2025·9 min read

Indoor cats hunt nothing but their food bowl, and that is why they are bored, fat, and stressed. The prey cycle is the play pattern that simulates the hunt and ends the boredom.

cat play enrichment

The prey-cycle play pattern: how to simulate hunting indoors for a happier cat

Elena Rossi·Jul 3, 2025·10 min read

Cats need to hunt. Indoor cats that never express the prey cycle develop boredom, obesity, and behaviour problems. The fix is structured play that mimics the four stages of a real hunt.

cat enrichment

Multi-floor apartments: cat superhighways and pathways that actually work

Elena Rossi·Apr 23, 2025·7 min read

In a multi-cat household, the territory is not the floor. It is the vertical and the temporal - the heights, the paths, and the times of day each cat owns. Designing the apartment for that territory is the difference between a peaceful home and a chronic war.

apartment behavior

Multi-floor apartments: cat superhighways and pathways that actually get used

Elena Rossi·Apr 23, 2025·9 min read

Cats in multi-storey apartments don't need more floor space — they need vertical space. Here is the superhighway system I design for clients, with the elements that cats actually use and the ones they ignore.

apartment cat cat superhighway

Inappropriate urination in cats: 12 behaviour vs medical causes (and how to tell)

Elena Rossi·Apr 11, 2025·9 min read

When a cat stops using the litter box, half the time it's a behaviour problem and half the time it's medical. The trick is telling which is which — and ruling out the medical before assuming behaviour.

cystitis FLUTD

Inappropriate urination: 12 behavior vs medical causes and how to tell them apart

Elena Rossi·Apr 11, 2025·8 min read

A cat that urinates outside the litter box is the most common behavioral complaint in feline practice. The challenge is that the same symptom can be medical, behavioral, or both - and the treatment depends on which it is.

behavior cat

Night-time yowling in cats: 6 root causes and what to actually do

Elena Rossi·Mar 21, 2025·8 min read

A cat that yells at 3 a.m. is not being naughty. There are six common reasons, and each has a specific fix. Here is how to tell them apart.

cat yowling