CAT BEHAVIOR EXPLAINED

Photo by Ferran under a creative commons license

Big words, "cat behavior explained", but it can be done fairly simply and succinctly, I believe. And I think it needs to be done too. Even for the benefit of a number of cat breeders who should know better. Mind you, although the vast majority of cat breeders are sensitive to a cat's behavior and needs, not all of them are, and some are downright poor.

So, how do you explain what dictates and motivates cat behavior? And I am talking here of domestic cat behavior. The cat, despite being domesticated for some 10,000 years ago is still essentially a wild cat in mentality and physiology. And she is able to switch from domestication when in the home of her human "parents" to a wild cat when she goes out on her own.



Cat behavior explained - Photo by Sailing "Footprints: Real to Reel" (Ronn ashore) under creative commons license.

The two lives of a domestic cat - cat behavior explained:

Domestication

As I have said in other posts we have a form of social contract with the cat, which originally arose out of the need for a cat that could keep the rodent population down and was quickly extended to include companionship for humans. In return we care for our cat. That was and largely still is the agreement.

There is also a human to human social contract, which is, at a basic level, that we act reasonably towards each other and respect each other. Both these contracts are frequently broken. In respect of the cat/human contract, if there is a breach of contract it is always due to the actions of the human.

The domestic cat's tameness (a suppression of her wild nature) originates in her upbringing. If we consider cat breeders, we know that the a kitten's first moments of life are with cats, her cat parents and siblings. In addition the kitten will be socialized to the human through the presence and activities of the cat breeder and her family. A good cat breeder will of course ensure that cats in her charge are fully socialized so that they become fine pets.

As a result the well socialize domestic cat learns to see both cats and humans as part of her family and humans as large cats (in return we sometimes see our cats as small humans). The kitten is part of a human family and a cat family so is both a cat and a human (in terms of mentality).

Also a domestic cat has over the intervening 10,000 years of domestication become physically different to her wild cat ancestors. She is more delicate often (although some wild cats are smaller than domestic cats). And cat breeders have made cat breeds less like the small wild cats or they have tried to recreate the wild cat appearance in a domestic cat (Bengal cat being the classic example). These actions reflect the ever present wild cat connection.

As the cat breeder (in this instance) took over the parenting duties at an early stage the kitten/cat sees the human as a parent. And she behaves in that relationship as a kitten/cat child. In her relationship with humans thereafter, as an adult cat, she sees them a parent substitute. Other than in that respect, the domestic cat's behavior is strictly feline and based on the wild cat instincts and reactions to stimuli and input.



Cat Behavior explained - Photo by kazukichi under a creative commons license


The Wild

The domestication imbued in her is cast away when she goes out alone into the garden. In America this is very often denied the cat as a large percentage are permanently kept indoors, preventing the cat from expressing their natural urge to behave as a wild cat for a while. I personally find this morally wrong although undeniably a practical necessity on occasions (but we must remind ourselves that it is us who have created a world which is unsafe for the domestic cat). I also think that it is another example of the breach of the contract mentioned above. We did not agree to imprison our cats and force them to lead unnatural lives. A good compromise has to be a cat enclosure.

When the cat goes through the cat flap into the garden alone she is transformed from domestic to wild cat - she lives a double life. Of course there is a large overlap between these two forms of existence. But this underlying condition is ever present - it is cat behavior explained.

As I rescued my cat from the street (as an abandoned cat), she had a difficult start in life. She is nervous as a result. This translates into her preferring to maintain the human/cat relationship nearly all the time even to when she goes into the garden. She will ask me to go with her and accompany her to provide protection. She is maintaining the kitten/human parenting relationship as it makes her feel more secure. Her wild cat instincts come out in play for example.

Once we are aware that a domestic cat is at heart a mild mannered wild cat we can treat her in a manner that suits her and not us. I think this is important. We need to try and do what is comfortable for our cat, which fits it with her mentality and not what is necessarily comfortable and which suits us. I say this because a cat is less able to understand the workings of the world, her actions are instinctive and reactionary. It is therefore beholden to us to manage the relationship. We can modify our behavior and consciously adapt it to suit whereas a cat cannot.

For example, and this is only one example, when playing with our cats (one of the joys of keeping a cat) we should remind ourselves that play for a cat is a form of learning to hunt so it includes scratching and biting. This is not aggressive behavior directed at us. If it is (and you'll notice) it is because the cat is poorly socialized or has learned to behave in that manner due to her own life experiences. Or, and this is more usual, we are playing too hard and too long, which arouses the cat's natural and instinctive wild cat behavior to defend.

Cat behavior explained to Home page

A cat behavior issue

Cat behavior issue? A cat's paw under a bathroom door. The cat is trying to get in. Cats like to accompany us when we are on the toilet. This I believe is due to the smell which is personal to us and picked up by your cat who is very smell sensitive and whose life revolves around smells. Photo by corypina. There is no connection between the picture and this post except to illustrate it a form of cat behavior.

This post deals with a cat behavior issue that explains nearly all you need to know about how to live with a cat.

A person who made post in a forum (I won't say where) was asking for help (almost pleading for it) with the behavior of his one year old male DSH (domestic short hair cat - moggie or mixed breed cat).

The cat was doing two things that disturbed and upset the person (actually it annoyed the person a lot). The cat was running at full speed throughout his apartment for about 20 mins. In response he locked the cat in a room. At night the person closed his door to keep his cat out of the bedroom. His cat would reach under the door and poke around trying to get in and in doing so would damage the carpet.

Now, who do you think has the behavior issue? The cat or the human? First up, this cat is in an apartment - an indoor cat it seems. The cat is young. What would you expect a young cat to do cooped up in an apartment all day with little I would expect to amuse him and satisfy his natural instincts? Yep, he'd run around. In part due to frustration and in part to burn up energy. The first "cat behavior issue" is then in fact a human behavior issue in not accepting that he lives with a cat (and not a human) and not understanding cat behavior or being sensitive to it.

It surprises me that this person sought help about his cat trying to get into his bedroom at night (the 2nd cat behavior issue mentioned above). It would seem obvious that his cat wanted to be near his mother/father cat (the human). The answer can only be a common sense one - let him in and leave the door open. If this person is unable to adapt to the needs of his cat he should not keep a cat.

No criticism is meant however of this person. It is simply a lack of awareness and understanding and this is rooted, in my opinion, in human arrogance.

In conclusion nearly all cat behavior issues are human behavior issues if we look at the root and underlying causes.

Photo, bottom - by raster under creative commons license - this cat has not connection to this post it is just here to provide an illustration.

A cat behavior issue to cat cat behavior kneading

Cat Behavior Kneading

Cat Behavior Kneading is natural for a cat, even in this instance. This is a photograph of a semi-feral cat in Athens, Greece. The cat remembered her/his domestic cat roots as she jumped up onto the lap of the photographer's friend/partner and started to knead. Photo by sarako under creative commons license.

Cat behavior - kneading, is perfectly natural to a cat but can be irritating to a human. Although there is a great deal of compatibility in the cat/human relationship there are areas of incompatibility for some people who don't understand cat behavior (no criticism is meant) or who wish to keep a cat but who do not wish to accept all that entails.

If we keep cats we absolutely should accept cats for what they are. People who live with a partner (meaning a human partner) realize that trying to change your partner's behavior will not work and in any event we have decided to live with that person so we know we should, indeed must, accept that person entirely, which means accepting the things we like and the things we dislike. It is both that make up the person's character.

Exactly the same approach can be applied to living with any animal species including cats.



Cat Behavior Kneading - photo by Cherry and Eric under creative commons license.

To a domestic cat we are a mother/father cat. A kitten when still feeding at her/his mother's nipple will stimulate milk flow by kneading the area of her mother's belly around the nipple. The kitten will purr in contented expectation at the milk to come and may dribble as saliva is produced in expectation of food to come. A mother cat will lie down in preparation for feeding he kittens.

When we sit down this is the equivalent (or as near as we get) to a mother cat lying down to feed her kittens. Your cat reverts to being a kitten. In keeping a cat we keep them in a permanent state of kitten hood except when they go out alone at night, for example, and revert to being something of a wild cat.

You cat (acting as a kitten) then jumps up onto your lap and looks for a feed. To stimulate the milk flow she kneads you legs. The action is rhythmical and slow. The movement becomes more purposeful and your cat's claws can be felt. This is an intimate and tender moment in the cat to human relationship, which should be treasured and enjoyed (except the claws can hurt a little!).

At this intimate point some people push their cat away or even worse. This will be surprising and upsetting for your cat. A true mother cat would not do this. Pushing your cat away at this time is the opposite to what should be done as it is a moment that is ideal to cement a tender relationship with your cat and build trust and friendship which brings the true rewards for the human in a cat/human relationship.

Sometimes your cat will knead your clothes or bedclothes. Your clothes and bedclothes smell strongly of us and are soft. The same thought process/behavior is going on.

In conclusion Cat Behavior - Kneading is natural and should be seen as a beautiful expression of your cat's attitude towards you as a parent cat.

Cat Behavior Kneading to Home page

Child cat costume

Child cat costume - photo by steena under a creative commons license.

Here is a list of websites (and some have a high street presence too) where you can get cat costumes for children. These are popular and children's' parties are too.

As this website's visitors are mainly from the USA (firstly) and the UK (secondly), I'll focus on these two countries.

My research indicates that you can get a child cat costume through these outlets - these are the top 5 online businesses in this area of operation, in each country, based on a Google search. Google has an intricate mathematical formula (algorithm or algo for short) comprising 200 and more factors for selecting the top website so it is a good criteria for selection:-


USA

Costume Craze
An internet based company located near Salt Lake City (Pleasant Grove). This is a really good website with plenty of choice. You can buy a full cat costume (child or adult) or a mask and all at typical USA prices (great value for us Brits). This site gets a lot of traffic and is listed favorably by Google all good signs of a good business.

The Nightmare Factory
This link (above) opens to the child cat costumes and accessories page. Nice selection and keen prices (for a Brit!). This costume shop is part of a central Texas haunted house (presumably an entertainment center). The center was closed by the fire department unless they complied with new stringent and financially demanding laws.

brandsonsale
The warehouse is located in Cerritos, California (Long Beach, Los Angeles). They sell a wide range of products including child cat costumes. Nice wide range of costumes including wild cat costumes. Active and professional website.

Costume Universe
This link takes you to the cat costumes for children. This site is good but not as good as say brandsonsale or Costumecraze. It is not as active as them either.

Annies Costumes.com
This link is the results of a search for child cat costumes on this site. The business name is Extreme Halloween Network, which is made up of 14 website, of which Annies Costumes is the first. In business online since 1996 so well established. They used to run a conventional store but concentrated on the online business since 2003.


UK

Allfancydress
This is an internet based company with a wide range of animal costumes including child cat costumes.

Party Pants
I'm going to be a bit tough here and say that this is not a great website and it is not a unique domain name (it is hosted by what was Freeserve and now owned by Orange) but that doesn't mean the products aren't good though. This business is based in the north of England (in the vicinity of Middlesborough). This is a mail order, internet business. Order by phone as opposed to online through the website. This is probably quite a small business.

Fancy Dress
Their website is the internet presence of a high street costume hire business based in the center of Manchester. Their shop is called All Star Costume Hire, so they hire out costumes. They sell a child cat costume for £7.99, which is cheap but price is always dependent on quality. They would appear to hire out from their shop and sell from their website (wrong? - comment please).

Escapade
Nice pro website. An active website. Hire or buy. Based in London (150 Camden High Street - this is a convenient position for Londoners. Camden High Street is not far from Regents Park and the zoo). Nice to see them both on the high street in a central location and on the internet. In business since 1982 they say.

They do a child cat costume jumpsuit for £7.01. You can hire a fancy cat costume for £40 for three days plus returnable deposit (this is a good looking costume hence price disparity with purchase of jumpsuit I presume).

Ollipops
The link points to the cat costumes.


Child cat costume to home page

Human grade cat food

Cat food is probably OK as human food. Probably nearly all cat food is human grade cat food. The ingredients are acceptable. Although "by products" in cat food is material that is not fit for human consumption; that said as I understand it, it is cooked at a sufficiently high temperature to kill bacteria (hence the ash in cat food).

I am sure there are many cases of humans living off cat or dog food mostly I suspect for short periods of time (I hope!). In some ways dry cat food is more suited to humans with its high carbohydrate content. There is a gradual realization that dry cat food is not wholly suitable for cats, which seems a strange thing to say. But it should be realized that cat food is a commercial product and in order to please company shareholders the first duty of a company is to make a profit, the second duty is to feed cats well.

There is a company executive whose job in part is to manage the pet food quality at Marks and Spencers. He eats it to check it. There again M&S cat food is very high quality and probably resembles a paté or paste that could be spread onto toast. In short it is definitely human grade cat food.

So that's decided humans can eat cat food but cats can't eat dog food and dogs can but shouldn't eat cat food even if they prefer it as the dietary requirements are different. The cat is an obligate carnivore (must eat flesh) although this does not seem to be respected by the cat food manufacturers. Dogs are also carnivores as far as I aware but are more flexible in their dietary requirements.

On a more serious note, a 2 year old child living in California was found to have lived off dry cat food for 6 days because his mother had sadly died. This shows great resourcefulness for a young child.

Note: The taste of dry cat food is bland, much like a dry biscuit but not distasteful. It is not too hard and there is a lingering taste in the mouth (I've just tried some that's how I know!).

Human grade cat food to cat food recipe