Our long association with the domestic cat has resulted in a lot of sayings and superstitions based on the cat. This may, in part, be due to people's perception of the cat as slightly mysterious and aloof. One saying is "cat's paws". Sailors used this phrase to mean flaws or ripples on the surface of water. When the surface of the water was disturbed for a long time it was referred to a "cat's skin".
I am not sure where the "cat's paws" term came from except for the obvious: a cat will paw at water and disturb it causing it to ripple.
Apparently there is an old Hungarian proverb, "as a cat does not die in water, its paws disturb the surface" which is mean to be the origin of "cat's paws". Also this Hungarian phrase is meant to have led to sailors throwing cats in to a dead calm sea as a charm to change the weather.
On the subject of weather, an old phrase from some parts of England is a "cat's nose", which was a reference to a north-westerly wind. There are other associations between cat and weather for some strange reason.
For example, in Germany if it rained when women were putting the washing out to dry it was a sure sign that a cat had been ill-treated.
There are many other sayings that incorporate the cat. You can read about some at cat history.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Most Common Cat Behavior Problems
A discussion about the most common cat behavior problems. First we must recognise the fact that cat behavior problems are problems from the point of view of people. Often a behavior problem is normal behavior for a domestic cat that a person does not like; not strictly speaking a cat behavior problem. In fact, that is the default scenario. I know that obvious fact is hard for some people to digest, but it's true.
My research indicates that it is difficult to rank cat behavior problems as there is not enough widespread available research. In any case if the true problem is about our perceptions, likes and dislikes, all we are doing is ranking what we don't like about domestic cat behavior.
In no particular order the most common cat behavior problems referred to Pet Behavior Counsellors (APBC), a UK organisation were:
The studies produced different results to the APBC referrals. This is partly put down to differences in cat caretaker knowledge of cat behavior. Also people will seek help for problems such as house soiling as it causes a lot of disruption in a person's home.
My research indicates that it is difficult to rank cat behavior problems as there is not enough widespread available research. In any case if the true problem is about our perceptions, likes and dislikes, all we are doing is ranking what we don't like about domestic cat behavior.
In no particular order the most common cat behavior problems referred to Pet Behavior Counsellors (APBC), a UK organisation were:
- Indoor marking behavior - this will be spraying urine and depositing feces. Feces are used by wild cat species to mark territories. Domestic cats can do it too from time to time for various reasons.
- Aggression towards people. This is particularly unhelpful as often aggression towards a person will be defensive in nature. Accordingly it might be argued that the aggression as caused by the person.
- Aggression towards other cats. This was complained about half as much as aggression towards people. Once again the root cause of this form of cat behavior problem might be traceable back to the person who looks after the cats. If he or she introduces a cat into a multi-cat household that upsets the hierarchy leading to inter cat aggression it could be said that the problem is a human one.
- Difficulties with house training.
- Attention seeking.
- Self-mutilation (one cause: separation anxiety). This is often caused by stress and stress can be caused by an inappropriate environment created by a person. The point I keep making is that cat behavior problems are not free-standing but often a reaction to something we did.
- Of the purebred cats the Siamese and Burmese (related cat breeds by the way) were the most represented in respect of cat behavior problems. This does not automatically mean that these breeds are the worst behaved. It might mean there are more Burmese and Siamese cats in circulation. They are popular cat breeds especially the Siamese.
- data collected from questionnaires given to English people living in the south of England with:
- a diagnostic review from the USA.
- House soiling which includes inappropriate elimination and marking. Inappropriate elimination is a litter box/stress problem while marking is deliberate territory marking and
- Aggression towards people and other cats.
The studies produced different results to the APBC referrals. This is partly put down to differences in cat caretaker knowledge of cat behavior. Also people will seek help for problems such as house soiling as it causes a lot of disruption in a person's home.
Domestic Cat Predatory Behavior
Expectations, knowledge and education are important if you keep a cat. If you have a reasonable knowledge of cat behavior and sensible expectations based on that knowledge, it is highly likely that you will have a successful relationship with your cat and that you will respect your cat and cats generally.
Take predatory behavior. It is said that the cat is the world's most skilled predator. It does not matter if we are referring to wild or domestic cats. In the wild, cats have varying degrees of success when capturing prey. Sometimes the success rate is unexpectedly low reflecting the difficulty of catching prey. Apparently feral and domestic cats have a success rate as low as 17% when hunting rabbits (Corbett 1979). See hunting success of wild cats.
You can see the predator in the cat when she pokes a pen around a desk and it falls onto the floor - it is fun to see that or a bit irritating. However, when your indoor/outdoor cat comes in with a mouse and shows it to you after playing with it all over your hardwood floor, you might become a bit squeamish or annoyed. A reason that some people find this irritating is because they have probably fed their cat the best available commercially manufactured food. Their cat is not hungry. They think their cat gets a kick out of cruelly playing with and then killing a cute mouse. It can be distressing. I understand that.
It helps to accept our cat's predatory behavior if we understand that the motivation to hunt and the feeling of being hungry are separated in a cat.
Cats are finely tuned animals that respond to stimuli that tells them that prey is in the vicinity. The cat will automatically respond to these stimuli such as the high pitched sounds of a mouse and rustling in undergrowth. This automatic response to the presence of prey means that the cat is hunting when at maximum strength as opposed to being hungry and perhaps underfed, thereby in a possibly weakened condition. Killing prey surplus to requirements is a proactive measure in the interests of survival. We should respect cats for that.
Desmond Morris says that the domestic cat plays with his prey as a cautionary measure and/or because the domestic cat has less opportunity to hunt and so extends the process. Some wild cats also play with prey; servals come to mind (they kill 4,000 rodents per annum). Batting the mouse all over the floor is safer for the cat than biting it in the nape of the neck to kill it.
Female domestic cats will bring prey back to your home as an instinctive desire to teach offspring how to hunt and kill prey. We should be proud of her rather than annoyed.
In the modern, sterilized human world we need to get a bit rough and raw when we keep a domestic cat that goes outside. Despite 9,500 years of domestication and adaptation the domestic cat is wild cat heart.
There is much debate about the effect of the domestic cat on wildlife. The effect is often exaggerated especially by bird conservationists but there must be some effect and it would be nice to reduce the predation of wildlife by the domestic cat. This can be done by keeping the cat in at all times or at least at dawn and dusk, the preferred times, it is thought, for a domestic cat to hunt. However, is that fair on the cat; to prevent the expression of entirely natural behavior? In addition, restricting natural innate activity can lead to stress and unwanted behavior such as aggression. Clearly a good substitute to predation needs to be found and that is play that we manage. However, with the best will in the world, I don't think people want to play with their cat for long periods or at all. That is why manufacturers invent devices that do the work for you. Domestic cat predatory behavior can certainly present problems.
Associated: Domestic Cat and Mouse Picture.
Take predatory behavior. It is said that the cat is the world's most skilled predator. It does not matter if we are referring to wild or domestic cats. In the wild, cats have varying degrees of success when capturing prey. Sometimes the success rate is unexpectedly low reflecting the difficulty of catching prey. Apparently feral and domestic cats have a success rate as low as 17% when hunting rabbits (Corbett 1979). See hunting success of wild cats.
You can see the predator in the cat when she pokes a pen around a desk and it falls onto the floor - it is fun to see that or a bit irritating. However, when your indoor/outdoor cat comes in with a mouse and shows it to you after playing with it all over your hardwood floor, you might become a bit squeamish or annoyed. A reason that some people find this irritating is because they have probably fed their cat the best available commercially manufactured food. Their cat is not hungry. They think their cat gets a kick out of cruelly playing with and then killing a cute mouse. It can be distressing. I understand that.
It helps to accept our cat's predatory behavior if we understand that the motivation to hunt and the feeling of being hungry are separated in a cat.
Cats are finely tuned animals that respond to stimuli that tells them that prey is in the vicinity. The cat will automatically respond to these stimuli such as the high pitched sounds of a mouse and rustling in undergrowth. This automatic response to the presence of prey means that the cat is hunting when at maximum strength as opposed to being hungry and perhaps underfed, thereby in a possibly weakened condition. Killing prey surplus to requirements is a proactive measure in the interests of survival. We should respect cats for that.
Desmond Morris says that the domestic cat plays with his prey as a cautionary measure and/or because the domestic cat has less opportunity to hunt and so extends the process. Some wild cats also play with prey; servals come to mind (they kill 4,000 rodents per annum). Batting the mouse all over the floor is safer for the cat than biting it in the nape of the neck to kill it.
Female domestic cats will bring prey back to your home as an instinctive desire to teach offspring how to hunt and kill prey. We should be proud of her rather than annoyed.
In the modern, sterilized human world we need to get a bit rough and raw when we keep a domestic cat that goes outside. Despite 9,500 years of domestication and adaptation the domestic cat is wild cat heart.
There is much debate about the effect of the domestic cat on wildlife. The effect is often exaggerated especially by bird conservationists but there must be some effect and it would be nice to reduce the predation of wildlife by the domestic cat. This can be done by keeping the cat in at all times or at least at dawn and dusk, the preferred times, it is thought, for a domestic cat to hunt. However, is that fair on the cat; to prevent the expression of entirely natural behavior? In addition, restricting natural innate activity can lead to stress and unwanted behavior such as aggression. Clearly a good substitute to predation needs to be found and that is play that we manage. However, with the best will in the world, I don't think people want to play with their cat for long periods or at all. That is why manufacturers invent devices that do the work for you. Domestic cat predatory behavior can certainly present problems.
Associated: Domestic Cat and Mouse Picture.
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Notes on Cat Scratching
Cat scratching is necessary and normal feline behaviour, which can be a problem for cat caretakers. It is probably one of the top "behavioural problems" reported by cat owners. The sad thing is it is normal and is therefore not strictly speaking problem behaviour. The problem is more about human expectations, behaviour and attitude.
Cats scratch objects for the following reasons:
If in a multi-cat household a cat or cats mark territory through scratching and/or spraying or depositing feces it is probably due to stressful social interactions. Multi-cat households might require some management if the cats where selected to join the group by the person and not by the cats as is usually the case (in feral cat colonies). That might sound odd but cats have preferences. They like and dislike other cats and people.
A scratching post is an important piece of cat furniture. However most commercially available models are too small. The post should be of a sufficient height to allow the cat to fully stretch upwards. Scratching on armchairs occurs towards the arm rest or higher at the back of the chair; that sort of distance off the ground. We are looking at about three feet tall or more. Cats will also scratch horizontally (e.g. on carpets) so perhaps two devices should be installed, both of solid construction.
Never "solve" this so called cat behavioural problem by declawing the cat. That is cruel and unnecessary. It also tends to create other problems that cannot be resolved. There are much better, gentler and more moral alternatives.
Associated: Will my cat use the scratching post?
Cats scratch objects for the following reasons:
- to remove the outer sheath of the claw from the front feet. This reveals the sharper fresh claw underneath.
- to exercise the mechanism made up of tendons, bone and muscles, that protracts the claw when required e.g. attacking and grabbing prey. The claw is normally retracted.
- to stretch the back muscles (this is probably incidental to the primary functions).
- as a means to communicate in two ways: (1) depositing scent from glands in paws - olfactory communication and (2) leaving scratch marks - visual communication.
If in a multi-cat household a cat or cats mark territory through scratching and/or spraying or depositing feces it is probably due to stressful social interactions. Multi-cat households might require some management if the cats where selected to join the group by the person and not by the cats as is usually the case (in feral cat colonies). That might sound odd but cats have preferences. They like and dislike other cats and people.
A scratching post is an important piece of cat furniture. However most commercially available models are too small. The post should be of a sufficient height to allow the cat to fully stretch upwards. Scratching on armchairs occurs towards the arm rest or higher at the back of the chair; that sort of distance off the ground. We are looking at about three feet tall or more. Cats will also scratch horizontally (e.g. on carpets) so perhaps two devices should be installed, both of solid construction.
Never "solve" this so called cat behavioural problem by declawing the cat. That is cruel and unnecessary. It also tends to create other problems that cannot be resolved. There are much better, gentler and more moral alternatives.
Associated: Will my cat use the scratching post?
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Cat in Heraldry
In heraldry the cat is an emblem of liberty; and rightly so! What better emblem than the independent and free spirited cat to signify freedom? Cats hate to be shut up. As an aside we should think about all the cats, wild and domestic in cages throughout the world. They should not be there. The cat is almost certainly the animal most often adopted by sports teams in one way or another; a sign of respect for the cat that is sadly and ironically abused not that uncommonly.
Many long established families or interrelated families have adopted the cat as their emblem. In Scotland we have the Clan Chattan or Clan of the Cats. This is an ancient clan that was founded, I am informed, at the close of the 13th century - an amalgam of several clans.
The crest is the Scottish wildcat. The Scottish wildcat is a wonderfully fierce cat that is barely hanging on in the UK today (2012). Even 100 years ago it was extinct in all but north Scotland. There are said to be 400 left but some are hybrids as they mate with domestic cats. The last time it was seen in England (and no doubt shot) was in the south west over 110 years ago.
The motto: Touch not the cat bot a glove is slightly amusing and wise at the same time. As mentioned, the Scottish wildcat is famous for its fiercely defensive aggression. In modern English the motto means; don't touch the cat without gloves. You wouldn't get near it! The chief of the clan was called, "Mohr au Chat" - the great wild cat.
The coat of arms of the family Keat of Devonshire is "Argent three cats in pale sable". In heraldry "argent" is the tincture of silver. The cats are meant to represent "mountain cats". They are almost certainly the wild cat of Great Britain now called the Scottish wildcat.
It is said that a cat in a coat of arms should be square on showing full face and both ears and eyes. That would seem not to be the case above.
Keats as a family name is also ancient. It dates back to the Anglo Saxon race, well before 1066 A.D. In the United States there are some well known people whose surname is Keats: Ezra Jack Keats and author and John Keats a writer and biographer to name two. The best known Keats is the English poet John Keats (1795-1821).
The English surname Catte or Cat (there are other variations) was created sometime not long after 1066 A.D. It appears to have been developed from nicknames given to people who had the appearance and/or character of a cat. That would seem to be the way many names were started in ancient times.
Sources: Various! Including: Our Cats and all about them ISBN 978-1-84664-096-4, Wikipedia, Celtic Studio.com and Clan of the Cat.
Many long established families or interrelated families have adopted the cat as their emblem. In Scotland we have the Clan Chattan or Clan of the Cats. This is an ancient clan that was founded, I am informed, at the close of the 13th century - an amalgam of several clans.
The crest is the Scottish wildcat. The Scottish wildcat is a wonderfully fierce cat that is barely hanging on in the UK today (2012). Even 100 years ago it was extinct in all but north Scotland. There are said to be 400 left but some are hybrids as they mate with domestic cats. The last time it was seen in England (and no doubt shot) was in the south west over 110 years ago.
 |
| Crest of Clan Chattan |
The motto: Touch not the cat bot a glove is slightly amusing and wise at the same time. As mentioned, the Scottish wildcat is famous for its fiercely defensive aggression. In modern English the motto means; don't touch the cat without gloves. You wouldn't get near it! The chief of the clan was called, "Mohr au Chat" - the great wild cat.
The coat of arms of the family Keat of Devonshire is "Argent three cats in pale sable". In heraldry "argent" is the tincture of silver. The cats are meant to represent "mountain cats". They are almost certainly the wild cat of Great Britain now called the Scottish wildcat.
 |
| Keat of Devonshire Coat of Arms |
It is said that a cat in a coat of arms should be square on showing full face and both ears and eyes. That would seem not to be the case above.
Keats as a family name is also ancient. It dates back to the Anglo Saxon race, well before 1066 A.D. In the United States there are some well known people whose surname is Keats: Ezra Jack Keats and author and John Keats a writer and biographer to name two. The best known Keats is the English poet John Keats (1795-1821).
The English surname Catte or Cat (there are other variations) was created sometime not long after 1066 A.D. It appears to have been developed from nicknames given to people who had the appearance and/or character of a cat. That would seem to be the way many names were started in ancient times.
Sources: Various! Including: Our Cats and all about them ISBN 978-1-84664-096-4, Wikipedia, Celtic Studio.com and Clan of the Cat.
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