Sign in to join Owen Jones's fan club.
Cat Behaviour
http://the-real-way.com
Cats are so everyday that we scarcely realize what they do and why they do it, but cat behaviour is quite an interesting topic actually, particularly for cat owners and animal lovers.
Cat behaviour is normally taken to refer to that of domestic cats, although they do share some characteristics with their larger wild relatives.
A cat's behaviour for the most part depends on whether it is a solitary cat or one of several in a household. Cats are normally solitary animals just coming together to mate, although they will usually 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 be problems of territorialism if you endeavour to introduce an older cat into a house, where another cat has been living for a while. This is similar to wild cats, which have their hunting ground that they patrol and delineate with urine and faeces each day. Tom cats sometimes do this at home, much to the annoyance of their owners.
Rubbing has a similar meaning. A cat rubs with scent glands on its face to mark something as its own, particularly territory, which is all cats actually care about except food.
Kneading or knitting is another prevalent mannerism in household cats, although it is not really well understood.
One theory goes that domestic cats remain juveniles, never really growing up, so kneading is evocative 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 perceive it as a sign of joy, but is it? Well, it almost certainly is, but it probably comes from the fact that cats are born sightless 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 happy event almost certainly triggers purring in adult cats.
When a cat arches its back, it is almost certainly signalling to its assailant 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 scratch a taller adversary, but it can also jump or run, whichever action is appropriate. The hissing goes with arching to discourage the aggressor.
Cats do not have a wide vocal range and, being nocturnal hunters, they have developed a great deal of 'eye language'. For example, if a cat is pleased, it's eyes dilate - a little like when humans look at their loved ones.
However, it also happens in cats whilst they are hunting, which might mean either that they enjoy that activity or that they have to get as much light as they can to see by.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now involved with feline distemper vaccination. If you would like to know more, please visit our site at Distemper Vaccines
Article submitted Wednesday, June 08, 2011 & read 65 times.
Owen Jones writes on many subjects and is currently running several websites. He was born in Wales but now lives in northern, rural Thailand.
Leave your comments through Blogz:
1-0-0-0-2-ADSO
Copyright © 2012 IcoLogic, Inc.