Cat Behaviour

Cats are so everyday that we scarcely realize what they do and why they do it, but cat behaviour is quite an interesting subject really, especially for cat owners and animal lovers.

Cat behaviour is normally taken to mean that of domestic cats, although they do share some characteristics with their larger wild relatives.

A cat's behaviour largely depends on whether it is a solitary cat or one of a number in a household. Cats are normally solitary animals just coming together to mate, although they will normally co-exist with other cats in a house, particularly if they met when they were young or those that were introduced were young.

You might become problems of territorialism if you endeavour to introduce an older cat into a house, where a different cat has been living for a time. This is equivalent to large cats, which have their hunting ground that they patrol and delineate with urine and faeces every day. Tom cats sometimes do this at home, much to the annoyance of their owners.

Rubbing has a comparable meaning. A cat rubs with scent glands on its face to mark something as its own, especially territory, which is all cats actually worry about except food.

Kneading or knitting is another prevalent trait in household cats, although it is not really well understood.

One theory goes that domestic cats remain juveniles, never actually growing up, so kneading is reminiscent of kneading its mother's teats to stimulate the flow milk. Others say that it is reminiscent of flattening grass to make a bed, but this does not seem to explain the rapture that cats appear to obtain from kneading.

We like to hear our cats purr because we see it as a sign of happiness, but is it? Well, it almost certainly is, but it almost certainly comes from the fact that cats are born blind and, like most infants, fairly stupid, so the sound of mum purring probably attracts the kittens to her for a feed. The 'memory' of this glad event probably triggers purring in adult cats.

If a cat arches its back, it is almost certainly telling its aggressor that it is bigger than they think it is. It is also an attack posture. With its back arched, a cat can rear up in order to claw a taller adversary, but it can also jump or run, whichever action is appropriate. The hissing goes with arching to deter the aggressor.

Cats do not have a broad vocal range and, being nocturnal hunters, they have developed a sort of 'eye language'. For example, if a cat is pleased, it's eyes dilate - a bit like when humans look at their loved ones.

However, it also happens in cats whilst they are hunting, which means either that they enjoy that activity or that they have to get as much light as possible to see by.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several subjects, but is now concerned with feline distemper vaccination. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Distemper Vaccines