Feline behavior in practice: A 4-pillar approach and common misconceptions

Feline behavior concerns are often addressed late, after patterns are already established and harder to manage. In this Q&A, following her 2026 Fetch dvm360 Conference lecture in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tiffany Tupler, DVM, CBCC-KA, HAB, discusses her 4 pillars of feline behavior therapy, the role of proactive client education, and why many commonly labeled “problem behaviors” reflect missed communication rather than intent.

Editor’s note: This dvm360 Q&A has been edited and consolidated from a verbal interview to better fit a written format while retaining the substance of the original conversation.

dvm360: You've developed what you call the 4 pillars of feline behavior therapy. Can you walk us through them?

They aren’t based on a formal research framework; it’s more of a clinical communication tool, a way of helping veterinary teams talk to owners about managing behavioral conditions, because behavior, like mental health in humans, isn’t something you cure. You teach coping, you build flexibility, you work on communication.

The first pillar is behavior modification—physical and mental enrichment. Every cat needs enrichment, regardless of breed. Think about COVID-19. Imagine being confined to a house with nothing to do. Cats face that daily. Without enrichment, you get obesity, diabetes, arthritis, anxiety. So when we're looking at what some people call "bad behaviors"—socially unacceptable behaviors—the modification piece is asking what we're teaching clients to do differently and how we're working with trainers and behaviorists to support that.

The second pillar is medical evaluation, which we can't skip. The majority of sudden behavioral changes are medical in nature. We know cats between 5 and 8 years of age now commonly have arthritis, so how is pain contributing to behavioral abnormalities? My strong advice to veterinarians is medicate with intent. You wouldn't tell a cat who's urinating outside the box that it must be diabetic and reach for insulin. Do the same thing with behavioral medications. What condition are you actually treating? What are you looking for at the 2-week check-in? And make sure you haven't missed something like a pain diagnosis first.

The third pillar is pheromone therapy. Pheromones don't solve problems on their own. You can't just plug in a diffuser and call it done. They work in conjunction with modification and medical management.

And the fourth is supplements. There are veterinary-backed, well-researched options out there, but again, you can't just hand someone a feline anxiety supplement and expect results. All 4 pillars work together. That's the point—giving pet parents a real plan with multiple components, so instead of saying, "I tried that and it didn't work," they're seeing progress across the board and can identify which elements are actually helping.

dvm360: What does proactive behavior education look like in a clinical setting, and why does it matter before problems start?

I think the biggest shift we need to make is starting these conversations before an animal is in crisis. By the time a cat is showing severe behavioral problems—significant anxiety, fear, aggression, chronic stress—we're already behind. The window where we can make the most impact is earlier.

Proactively, that means asking clients at routine visits: Are you setting up appropriate resources? Is your home cat friendly? If you have multiple cats, it’s not just about having an extra litter box; it’s about where the litter boxes are located, where the food is, where the cat trees and beds are, and how space is distributed. These are things we don't always get to in a sick visit, but they matter enormously.

The other benefit is that it teaches pet parents what abnormal actually looks like. If a client knows what healthy, normal behavior is, they're more likely to notice a change early—before we're dealing with blood in the urine or signs of a blockage. Getting cats into the clinic faster is always better, and proactive education is one of the most direct ways to make that happen.

dvm360: What's the single biggest misconception about feline behavior, among both owners and veterinary professionals?

That cats are spiteful. I truly understand why people believe it—cats have long memories, and their behavior can look very deliberate. But cats aren't acting out of jealousy or rage. They're not urinating outside the box because you were gone all day. They're not attacking a visitor out of spite. What's actually happening is that we've missed a long chain of communicative cues, and by the time we're seeing the dramatic behavior, the cat has been trying to tell us something for a while.

We actually see this in shelters: About 68% of clients who surrender cats cite inappropriate urination, destructive behavior, scratching, or aggression and believe it's coming from spite. And honestly, I've heard the same from veterinary professionals. The "evil cat" that attacks the staff every visit, in most cases, that cat has great, intact memory, and something about their previous experiences has taught them that this environment is threatening. That's not spite. That's communication we haven't learned to read yet.

dvm360: What's the most important thing you hope veterinary teams took away from your lecture?

Behavior is medicine. That's the core of it. We've treated behavior as a tertiary concern for too long, something to get to when there's time, something outside the scope of a clinical visit. But pet owners' No. 1 complaints, before they even get to a veterinarian, are behavioral. That's true across species.

When we open the door to behavioral conversations, we create buy-in for everything else. Clients who feel heard about why their cat digs in the litter wrong or won't stop knocking things off shelves. Those clients trust you when you recommend surgery or a complex treatment plan.

And this doesn't all fall on the veterinarian. Credentialed vet techs, veterinary assistants—these team members are often eager to do something meaningful in the room, and behavioral education is a real opportunity for them. When you build a team culture around proactive behavior education, you may find that more clients come through your door even before their pet is sick, seeking advice, looking for guidance on how to give their cat a better life. That's what this is really about.