What affects us affects cats
The same question, but on the flip side of the coin, would be “Are feral cats solitary?”. People often think of domestic and feral cats as being essentially solitary because of their inherited behaviour from the wild cat but the truth is that feral cats should be considered as having the character to be …
The basic conclusion, fair or otherwise, of a recent study is that unlike dogs cats will not side with their owners against the “enemy”. Dogs shun people who behave negatively towards their owner whereas cats don’t. Perhaps the more scientific conclusion, to use the language of the study, is that domestic cats don’t ‘evualate’ …
There is quite a lot of discussion on the Internet about whether domestic cats are or are not sociable. The debate is valid because the wildcat ancestor of the domestic, the Near Eastern wildcat, is not sociable. We are told that they are solitary creatures. However, you will find that the experts agree that …
Although the news media are having fun with this video in describing a female domestic cat’s behaviour as stealing another female’s kittens, this is normal behaviour for group-living females. It might look odd to some observers but when you think about it, it is very friendly, harmonious and cooperative. In this instance a TikTok …
It is wrong to say that only lions live in groups because feral and stray cats live in colonies. And domestic cats in households often live in small groups too. Both the lion and the domestic cat are different species of cat (Panthera leo and Felis silvestris catus respectively). You might find that the …
What do domestic cats do when humans aren’t around? Humans are companions of domestic cats by definition. And domestic cats depend on humans for almost everything they have. These factors underpine the answer which depends on a lot of variables such as: How long are humans not around? Is there more than one cat …
Can cats be left alone during the day? This is a question that people are asking Google. You have to answer it in a common sense way because I don’t think you’ll find studies on it. I can also rely on personal experience. The first points to make are (1) domestic cats have become …
This article is about understanding feral cat behaviour in colonies. Perhaps the first important point to note about feral cat colony behaviour is that historically the popular press still tends to describe the domestic and feral cat as an asocial, solitary species with no need for companionship and a preference for living alone. This …
