Housing Conditions Affect Domestic Cat Interaction

Housing conditions affect the way the domestic cat interacts with his or her human caretaker(s):

• When there is one or two people in the home cats are more interactive and affectionate with their human companions compared to households with more than two people.
• When there is only one cat in the home the cat will spend more time interacting with the human caretaker than cats do in multi-cat households.
• Full-time indoor cats are more interactive with the caretaker/guardian but exchange scent (head butting and body rubbing) less than do indoor/outdoor cats. The extra scent exchange of outdoor cats is a sign of a need to greet having left the home and to re-mark indoor territory to ensure that it is friendly.

A person initiating contact with a domestic cat will in general receive a reaction from the cat that is dependent on the age and sex of the person.

• A sitting adult women is more likely to elicit an interaction with a cat than a male child approaching directly. This is probably due to the softer less threatening approach.

A cat's interaction with their human caretaker can depend on whether the cat is a purebred cat or a random bred cat.

• Apparently pedigree, purebred cats are in general more friendly and affectionate than nonpedigree cats. I am not sure that this is correct but it is reported in The Cat, Its Behavior, Nutrition & Health by Linda P Case page 103, ISBN 978-0-8138-0331-9