UNDERSTANDING YOUR FELINE COMPANION
Lucia Fernandes, Feline Behavior and Environmental Enrichment Specialist (CoE, Oplex Certified)
Meet Lucia Fernandes
Feline Behavior and Environmental Enrichment Specialist (CoE, Oplex Certified)
Hi, I'm Lucia Fernandes.
I help cat guardians understand their cats beyond labels like difficult, independent, or misbehaving, and instead learn how behavior reflects emotional and environmental context.
My work is grounded in the belief that every behavior is communication, and that lasting change happens when cats feel safe, understood, and supported within their environment.
How I Came to This Work
My path into feline behavior did not begin with a single certification. It began with living alongside cats whose needs were often misunderstood.
Over the years, I have shared my life with rescue cats, former strays, and cats who struggled silently with stress, fear, and sensory overload. Some sought constant closeness. Others kept their distance. Many appeared fine on the surface while quietly coping with environments that did not feel predictable or emotionally safe.
Those experiences taught me something fundamental: calm behavior does not always mean comfort, and quiet cats are not always relaxed cats. That understanding shapes the way I observe, study, and support feline behavior today.
My Professional Approach
I am a certified Feline Behavior and Environmental Enrichment Specialist (CoE, Oplex Certified), with additional training in feline nutrition, stress management, and sensory-based regulation.
My work combines evidence-based feline behavioral science, environmental and routine-based enrichment, emotional regulation strategies rather than suppression, and a deep respect for each cat's individual thresholds and coping style.
I do not believe in quick fixes or one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, I help guardians learn how to read subtle signals, adjust context, and create environments that allow cats to feel secure enough to relax, explore, and engage.
What I Help With
I commonly support guardians navigating chronic or subtle anxiety and stress patterns, litter box avoidance and elimination issues, fear-based or overstimulation-driven aggression, scratching, withdrawal, or hypervigilance, and behavioral changes often mistaken for shyness or independence.
Rather than isolating symptoms, I look at the whole picture: emotion, environment, routine, sensory input, and communication.
My Publications
I am the author of The Litter Box Solution, a behavior-based framework for resolving persistent litter box problems that combines behavioral science, environmental modification, and stress management into a structured protocol for guardians.
My second book, Scratching Solved, is an enrichment-based guide to understanding why cats scratch and how to redirect the behavior without punishment or suppression.
My third book, The Advanced Play Handbook, is a specialist guide to play as a behavioral and therapeutic tool for indoor cats, drawing on enrichment science and predatory behavior research.In parallel, and as a Cat Music Researcher, I am developing original compositions designed specifically to reduce feline stress and support emotional regulation in indoor cats, an area that connects my background in music production with applied behavioral science.
The Litter Box Solution, Scratching Solved, and The Advanced Play Handbook are currently in pre-launch. Early subscribers receive priority access before public release, a 30% discount on the regular price, and a bonus case study delivered to their inbox within minutes of joining. If any of these titles would help you and your cat, you can join the waiting list here.
Early subscribers receive priority access before public launch, 30% off the regular price, and a complete bonus case study delivered to their inbox within minutes of joining, showing exactly how one cat stopped bed-peeing in 12 days. No obligation. Unsubscribe anytime.
Life with My Cats
I currently share my life with seven rescue cats, each with their own personality, history, and challenges. Some are affectionate and expressive. Others remain cautious and reserved.
One arrived completely feral and now sleeps soundly beside me.
They have taught me far more about trust, resilience, and healing than any textbook ever could. I also support feral cat colonies, offering care and stability to cats who may never fully trust humans yet still deserve safety, dignity, and kindness.
Living with cats in different emotional states continues to shape my work every day. It keeps my approach grounded, realistic, and compassionate.
Why I Do This
Why I Do This
Many cats live for years in quiet distress. They eat. They sleep. They do not cause problems. And yet they are constantly adapting to environments that feel overwhelming, inconsistent, or emotionally unsafe.
Better Cat Behavior exists to give language to those silent experiences and to help guardians recognize early signs of stress before they escalate into visible behavior issues. Because when you understand what your cat is communicating, everything changes, not just the behavior, but the relationship.
Where to Go Next
If you would like to explore this approach further, you may find these pages helpful: Cat Behavior 101 for understanding behavior as communication, Behavior Stories for real cases and context-based transformations, and My Credentials for professional training and certifications.
If you are unsure what your cat's behavior is trying to communicate, you are not imagining it, and you do not have to navigate it alone.