Cat Behavior

Topics:

• The human-cat relationship
• Cat Aggression
• Cat behavior – the various cat breeds and individual cats
• Communication
• Social behavior
• Courtship, mating, development
• Hunting and Play
• Have your say – share stories about cat behavior
• Click here to see visitors’ submissions
• E-Book on ways to avoid behavior problems (new page)
• Cat Behavior as seen by long term cat guardians (new page)

If you want to surf the cat behavior pages on this site as well as scroll down, you could do worse than click on the link below which takes you to hundreds of pages on the topic, all written after this page was created:

PAGES ON CAT BEHAVIOR

• The human-cat relationship

• For obvious reasons, domestic cat behavior depends to a large extent on our behavior. It is said that our relationship with our cat is based on the model of “commensalism” – meaning one based on a benefit to both parties. In the purebred cat world we play God and create the cat to suit the human.
• Our relationship, though, is a paradox. On the one hand we love our cats. On the other we hate them, poison them, hoard them, shoot them [link], use them for financial profit, abandon them and abuse them. It depends on the person. And that depends mainly on education. Attitudes vary substantially. Fear of cats plays a part [link]. People have polarised views about feral cats and on whether to keep cats permanently indoors.
• Main page: Ownership of cats in the UK
• Our expectations in respect of cat behavior affect how we perceive cat behavior. For example, with our emphasis on speech as a form of communication, we tend to fail to understand the cat’s non-vocal forms of communication such as scratching and scent marking. Our behavior affects cat behavior. If we have high and unrealistic expectations, cat behavior will be unacceptable. If we create a stressful environment our cat will be stressed and it will behave accordingly, sometimes 1. Poorly socialised cats will find it hard to fit in with the human way of life but even feral cats can be tamed and wild cats socialised. The best wildcat hybrid breeders socialise their cats beautifully leading to very acceptable cat behavior for us.
• Socialisation of kittens is a form of cat training.
• What do we like about cats? Answer: companionship; they are clean, they are easy to care for and they have their own personalities².
• In respect of people’s own cats, cat keepers said that what they liked most about their cat was the interactive behavior (97% said this³).
• Our bonding with our cats is naturally based on the same reasons why we bond with other humans, namely, spending time with our cat, being physically close to them, playing with them and petting them⁴. Cats and pets also provide their own support to the human, distinct from the support of other humans.
• Kittens raised without human contact will always be fearful of strange humans but may warm to a single person. This is expected cat behavior.
• Selective breeding of the cat breeds also increases our cat’s sociability. Breeders should select cats that have the correct appearance and temperament to maximise best cat behavior.
• A1 Savannahs, arguably the world’s best breeders, made important decisions early on to breed from cats with known good temperaments over appearance. That decision has paid off. Studies show that well socialised and confident mothers increase the confidence of the kittens resulting in better relationships with people⁵through cat behavior that fits best with ours.
• I have personal evidence of the power of early socialisation. A F2 Savannah cat that was bottle fed by Martin Stucki is now an incredibly warm and friendly kitten towards people –  see Florence here – (date: 23rd May 2010)⁶. All their cats are very similar.
• Cats unlike dogs follow their own mind⁷ despite being integrated into our way of life and they choose the type and intensity of the relationship with us as it is the cat who is in control of the level of relationship⁸.
• Cats generally initiate contact with people for petting, food and other requests such as to go outside.
• Some cat behavioral traits prevent the cat from fully integrating and one such trait is their sleep cycle. Cats are crepuscular, meaning most active at dawn and dusk and at night, when hunting is most effective. The cat is, therefore, most active when we want to sleep.
• Sometimes the human environment is utterly strange and adaptation for the cat difficult. Small apartments come to mind. Games are paramount in these environments.

Cats are very adaptable. Here is an example as to how a three-legged cat gets noticed when he wants my food:

Three legged cats adapt. You can see Charlie can adopt a meerkat position and get noticed. He is so comfortable with the meerkat position that he can wash at the same time.

• We need to try and get into the mind of our cat and not ensure that we don’t equate feline social behavior with that of a dog as they are very different.
• Our living arrangements affect a cat’s behavior but its underlying hard-wired wild cat instincts subsist but are gradually being eroded.
• We keep the adult domestic cat in a permanent state of kitten hood⁹. This is shown in many examples including greeting us in the same way as a kitten greets its mother. Another is cat kneading and cat purring when stroked by us.
• Cat behavior, including vocalisations and scent exchanges, is dependent on our reaction to the cat. If we respond to a cat’s call the cat will call less – sounds obvious but the relationship is mutual.
• A human’s liking of cats often comes from positive experiences with cats when a child¹⁰.
• A fear of cats can come from a negative experience concerning cats during childhood [link 1] [link 2]
• We often have false expectations regarding cat behavior and fail to treat them as cats, wishing instead to own a creature that is like a cat but not exactly.
• At 2006 there were 10,332,955 domestic cats in the UK¹¹. There were 75 million in the USA at 2002¹².
• The number of feral cats in the USA is unknown but similar to the number of domesticated cats¹³.
• At 2006 26% of UK households kept a cat¹⁴ (see more info). In the USA the percentage was 34% at 2002¹⁵. These figures exclude strays and ferals.
• There are many people in the USA who care for feral cats in a variety of capacities from simple feeding and caring to mobile TNR units. These are charities. See many articles by these people.
• In a survey of cat ownership in Massachusetts, USA, of 1996, it was discovered that most domestic cats were obtained from a friend or were stray cats that were found. A large number of these “found cats” were outdoor cats and people cared for the cat while not considering themselves owners. Cats received half the veterinary care of dogs and 30% had no vet to go to. 82% of the cats were neutered¹⁶. But 22% had litters before being neutered.
• Generally speaking, intelligent people keep cats¹⁷.
• In households where there are both sexes of human, women most often care for and interact with (including talk to) the cat¹⁸.
• The typical cat owner in the USA is a single career woman, living alone or with a partner, in a small home in an urban environment¹⁹.
• There are more dogs than cats in the UK at 2006²⁰.
• Feral cats are the result of our behavior. It is our responsibility to deal with them humanely. Action to prevent the creation of feral cats should focus on the cause – us²¹.
• Trap, neuter and release (return) – TNR – is considered the best way to humanely deal with feral cats. The process is weakened by restricting it to local areas rather than a widespread approach.
• Some people feel TNR does not work. The saving of the Scottish wildcat is dependent on a successful scheme of TNR in the highlands of Scotland.
• Los Angeles city has Rusty-spotted cat to the largest Siberian tiger is due to us (see wild cat size). We must learn to live with them not force them off the planet. This is largely to do with education, human population growth, corruption, and financial profit in the short term at any long term cost²². Clever schemes are needed. Main page on wildcats: Wild Cat Species.
• Declawing of cats is widespread in the United States – 20 million cats declawed. There are virtually none in Europe and indeed the rest of the world except for Canada where a similar mentality is encountered.
• 8 cities in California have banned the declawing of cats at April 2010.
• California has a bill passing through the legislature at April 2010 that bans landlords stipulating declawed cats when renting.
• Existing animal cruelty laws in the USA could be used to prosecute those who declaw for non-therapeutic reasons.
• Unwanted cats are sometimes euthanised inhumanely.
• Euthanasia of healthy cats is not euthanasia [link]
• Humans can train cats but the concept is reward based while for dogs it is discipline²³. Clicker training a reward based training. See also cat training.
• We like to think that cats can be psychic. There is some substance behind this. Can cats predict death etc.? My cat sensed Illinois earthquake.
• There are people who are able to communicate with cats beyond the normal.
• We have associated cats with satanic cults.
• Is there a cat overpopulation problem?
• We should choose a cat and a cat breed carefully, making sure that we are in a position to take care of the cat adequately for the life of the cat.
• The benefits of living with a domestic cat are well documented and include medical and psychological health.