Feline Behavior Basics: Why a “Cats Gotta Cat”
What Makes a Cat a Cat?
Social Structure
—Contrary to what many people think, cats can be social. Unlike other species such as dogs and horses, cats don't rely on a herd or pack to hunt or survive. Feral cats can adapt to social and asocial living very well, and "how sociable" depends on the food sources. You'll often see cat colonies with many cats living together in areas with an ample food supply. If food isn't so abundant, cats may exist singly. Cats also seem to have an individual preference for how social they wish to be.
—Cat colonies consist of a linear matriarchal society meaning most colonies consist of related females and their young offspring. Occasionally, these girls will let unrelated males join the group, but not often, and even then, the acceptance is gradual. The upshot of this is that cats tend to be very territorial and defensive towards other unfamiliar cats. It isn't normal feline behavior to readily accept a strange cat into their home. We often ask our cats to live in mixed groups (male and female, different ages, unrelated), which is unnatural for them.
What this means for us: Never immediately introduce a new kitten or cat to existing cats in the home. A new kitty needs to have his room with his resources. The introduction process needs to be gradual.
Cats most likely to get along are related cats or cats introduced to each other at a young and similar age. In feral situations, any cat under aggression can and will leave the colony, as it's in most cats' nature to avoid conflict. We thwart his instinct when we bring them into a closed home environment.
What this means for us: We need to be sure to provide ample escape routes, vertical spaces, and hiding areas, allowing cats who have a conflict to get away from one another. It also increases square footage, so cats have more "real estate" for individual territories.
Cats Are Solitary Hunters
The primary food source for a feral cat is a small rodent. A mouse makes for a small meal, not one big enough to be shared. For cats, hunting and eating are solitary activities. When hunting, a cat will use claw marking, rubbing, and urine marking to announce a claim to her territory and keep other cats away.
What this means for us: Cats don't share resources particularly well. For example, unlike horses and people, eating is a solitary activity for cats and not socially facilitated. Each cat in a household needs a separate core resource area with her own food, water, resting areas, scratching areas, and litter box. Each cat needs ample opportunities for social marking, as well.
Social Spacing
One sign of social bonding in kitties is that bonded individuals spend time in close contact or spacing. However, even bonded pairs don't tend to spend as much of their day cuddling or directly touching other species, like dogs and humans. Even cats who are very connected to others need a good deal of personal space. Studies show that, although indoor living is much safer for cats, cats kept indoors in multi-cat households are much more likely to exhibit behavior or medical issues related to stress. These issues could include inappropriate elimination or marking behavior, aggression, urinary medical problems like blockage, cystitis, or gastrointestinal issues.
What this means for us: Creating areas in our homes for social spacing is critical (vertical spaces, hiding areas, etc.). I've listed resources on creating cat-friendly spaces below.
—Pinterest has great ideas and design
—Feline Enrichment Facebook page
Allogrooming
Bonded cats spend time grooming and licking each other. These sessions tend to be relatively short and concentrated over the body's head and neck, not over the flanks, bellies, or extremities. This action strengthens their bond and co-mingles their scents, creating an "us" smell that identifies each cat as part of the family.
What this means for us: We must keep in mind that our cat may not be as comfortable with as much body contact or cuddling as we might be, and she may find the way we are physically interacting with her to be threatening or rude. It's essential to watch for signs like tail twitching, airplane ears, or simply leaning or moving away, meaning the kitty has had enough petting. Be sure to honor this by stopping. Otherwise, petting-induced aggression may occur. It's also important to note that many cats find it annoying, threatening, or rude to be touched and petted in areas other than their head or neck, especially by unfamiliar people. They might also find direct or intense staring to be a threat.
A word about "belly rubs": Although some cats tolerate or even enjoy belly rubs, most cats don't. A cat who trusts a beloved human will often offer an exposed belly when relaxed to indicate trust. However, it's usually NOT the invitation for a belly rub as we may interpret it, and we might get a bite or bunny kick instead. A threatened or playfully over-stimulated cat may also roll over to free up all four sets of claws to defend himself. In addition to scent, cats use other chemical signals, called "pheromones," to communicate with one another. These chemicals are species-specific, meaning we humans have no way to detect or interpret their presence. Pheromones are deposited when, for instance, your kitty rubs his chin on you or when he scratches the couch. Pheromones are present in urine and feces as well. Cats use a specialized organ located on the roof of their mouths to detect and process this information, which is why you may see your cat "gaping" or opening her mouth to bring a whiff of these chemicals into contact with this area.
What this means for us: Smell is essential to your kitty. His friends will smell like "home" to him, and cats he doesn't affiliate with will smell foreign. This is also why cats who typically get along may hiss at each other when one has returned home after time away (such as a vet visit) because the returning cat no longer smells like "family." We can use smells and pheromones to our advantage by using scent exchange in our cat introductions (see below).
Feliway is a synthetic analog of marking pheromones isolated from feline chin glands. Feliway Multicat is a synthetic analog of a calming pheromone isolated from nursing queens. Both come in a plug-in diffuser form to help stressful situations like inter-cat aggression or inappropriate marking. Scent exchange and Feliway spray can help reestablish the bond when one cat has left and returned home.
Marking
Clawing and marking are essential behaviors for your kitty. Cats rely heavily on their marking behavior to communicate. Using the scent glands in their paw pads, anal glands, and chin area, cats deposit their scent, communicate their presence, claim territory, and leave "calling cards." These cards contain information about their sex and age to other cats and establish a colony scent. Marking also explains why cats rub against us, one another, and the objects around them. It's also why they have an innate need to scratch and claw objects as it serves to groom their nails and leave their mark.
What this means for us: Cats leave scent marks to feel safe and secure. We can provide appropriate outlets for this by installing rubbing combs and providing plenty of scratching surfaces of various heights, textures, and materials in multiple locations. Cats like to scratch after eating and resting, so it's wise to provide opportunities in those areas. Cats should also have scratching surfaces placed at a vertical height to stretch upwards to scratch. Studies show that cats tend to leave urine or feces marks in response to stress. Therefore, if your cat is urinating on vertical surfaces, she's not acting spitefully. It means something in your cat's environment needs to change.
Cats Are Not Dependent On Group Living For Survival
As mentioned above, cats can be social, but they aren't dependent on others to survive like many species. They haven't developed as elaborate a repertoire of communication to maintain social bonds as more social species possess. When there's conflict, it's in a cat's nature to avoid the source instead of staying and appeasing. Cats are not as equipped to "work out" conflict as species such as dogs. The body language of conflict in cats is also much more subtle, and it's often difficult for humans to read or even see.
What this means for us: When we keep cats in a multi-cat, indoor environment, the ability for individuals in conflict to avoid each other is limited or thwarted. When a cat avoids another or reacts defensively, the lack of social space can drive the kitty to more offensive behavior.
Often, the only sign of conflict between cats in a household is "time-sharing," where they make sure never to be in the same place at once, or that one or more cats spend a lot of time hiding. As oblivious humans, we may not see that there's inter-cat conflict until it erupts into aggression. We may also not see the subtle signs that one cat blocks another from a needed resource until one of our cats begins to lose weight, starts eliminating outside his litter box, or stops grooming himself. We may not attribute the above to inter-cat aggression, so the underlying issue isn't addressed.
Studies show that even one bad introduction makes it more likely cats won't bond, as they cannot "make up" or diffuse conflict like some other species, and is why fallout from punishment is common with cats. Cats perceive discipline (which, by definition, involves something scary, aversive, or painful) as a threat from us. Their instinct is to avoid that at all costs. Like their other kitty relationships, threatening behavior from us is very likely to harm or break their bond with us.
Cats are Obligate Hunters
Cats have an innate need to express all hunting behaviors (stalking, smelling, tracking, pouncing, climbing, dissecting, etc.).
Play behavior in cats is nothing more than "practice hunting." It is a cat's number one job, and they LOVE it. Never forget you're sharing your home with a top-tier predator, even if she's not allowed to express predator behaviors. Dogs, for instance, have had much more time to evolve toward domestication away from their wild ancestors' wolfy behaviors. Cats are only partially domesticated. Their behavior closely aligns with their wild cat ancestors. So—you have a tiny panther in your home!
Cats in the wild eat 10-20 small rodents daily, and at least half of their hunting attempts are unsuccessful. Much of their time budget for the day naturally involves hunting-related behaviors. It's also why your kitty's body and mind can't adapt to gorging on large meals of dry kibble and sleeping all day. Cats are crepuscular, which means they're most active during the dusk and dawn times of the day. Young cats spend more time hunting than older cats.
What this means for us: Lack of an outlet for hunting-related behaviors can lead to inappropriate play/aggression, redirected aggression, chronic stress behaviors, and pica (eating inappropriate objects), and is why dry cat food in a bowl leads to obesity. Kibble contains many inappropriate calories and leads to a lack of exercise and other health issues. We must provide our kitties with simulated hunting opportunities with food, puzzle, and lure toys. Cats need an environment where they can run, pounce, and climb.
Food-Dispensing Toys:
—Doc and Phoebe's Indoor Hunting Cat Feeding System
—Catit Senses Digger Interactive
—Trixie 5 in 1 Cat Activity Center
—Trixie T x 2 Automatic Food Dispenser
Providing plenty of play before bed is vital with kitties. Their crepuscular nature is why some cats, especially young ones, are so active at dusk and dawn and why many wake their owners up for food. You can also pack a food toy and use a bowl-type, timed dispenser to give the kitty a hunting opportunity while you sleep.
Provide toys that express different behaviors related to hunting (lure toys, food puzzles, squeaky toys, etc.), and rotate them frequently. Remember, cats love to hunt. It feels good. Therefore, interacting with them with toys that provide the opportunity to "hunt" establishes and straightens a strong bond and good emotional associations between you and your kitty. These activities can also be used as part of a behavior modification protocol to change bad associations your kitty may have to good ones (see below).
Cats Are Also Prey
Although cats are predators, they are also small animals that fall prey to other predators. Cats are solitary hunters and often face threats alone. Cats may be more suspicious of novel things and situations, are hyper-vigilant, and easily startled. Compared to us, cats have more "real estate" in their brains devoted to sensory processing and emotional associations and less decision-making and deep thinking. The part of your cat's brain that senses and makes associations with threats is called the limbic system; if your cat is frightened or highly aroused, this area will activate, causing a significant release of adrenaline and a "flight or fight" response. Simultaneously, the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain associated with conscious learning and reasoning, will be much less active. Once in this state of "over threshold" arousal, cats tend to be very difficult, or impossible, to redirect or calm, and they tend to take much more time to return to a normal mental state than animals like dogs.
What this means for us: Our home environments limit a kitty's escape opportunities. Again, we need to be sure our kitties have escape outlets and no areas where they can become trapped. Adequate space is especially true for litter boxes and resting places. Cats of higher status often defend both resources and can be places where subordinate cats feel vulnerable. We need to ensure each cat has plenty of safe and comfy areas to rest and hide.
Cats tend to feel safer in high places, where they can survey their realm. The more elevated areas we can provide with cat shelving, trees, etc., the safer our cats feel. If our cat gets super scared, it's very tempting to restrain and cuddle her, but this isn't comforting. Her instinct is to get away, and securing her will escalate the situation and lead to lashing out in defense. We can learn to watch our cats for more subtle signs that they're upset so we can redirect or decelerate a situation before the cat gets over the threshold. We can also teach behaviors that help our cats focus and calm down to learn new, positive associations with things that upset them.
Cats are Very Attached to Their Home Environment:
Their home environment is where they feel safe and where their resources reside. Being in their safe territory is even more critical to survival for a cat than bonded individuals. It's why most cats are so uncomfortable with being taken away from home. It's also why, no matter how connected they are to us, our presence alone may not provide enough comfort to override their fear and vulnerability when moved from their familiar environment.
Habituating your kitty to her carrier ahead of time is very important. What this means for us: When we take the kitty away from home, it's beneficial to provide calming pheromones and a familiar scent. This way, it becomes an extension of the home and is not associated just with a trip away.
Cats Are Not Community Latrine Animals.
Litter box usage and behavior are innate (most cats do it naturally and don't have to learn it). Feral cats tend to eliminate alone in open areas not currently claimed by other cats, and they tend to bury their urine and feces to avoid attracting predators. It's not natural for cats to pee and poop in group areas, nor is it natural to enter covered or enclosed spaces. Higher status cats may "covet" the litter box area and defend it as a resource, not wanting other cats to use it. Cats are also physically incapacitated and may be vulnerable to attack when they urinate and defecate, so they may be reluctant to use a covered box or one that isn't easily escapable. Marking behavior is different from elimination behavior in that it involves small amounts of concentrated urine sprayed onto vertical surfaces.
What this means for us: Litterboxes should be larger than most commercially available boxes and uncovered. They should be in multiple locations and open areas with at least two escape routes. Watch for subtle signs of one cat "Bogarting" the box, like stare-downs or physically lying/blocking routes to access the area. Scoop the boxes a minimum of 2-3 times a day and more if you have greater than two cats. Studies show a population of more than three cats correlates with a much higher chance of elimination issues. So, if you choose to have a multi-cat household, these precautions are even more critical.
—Large Litterbox:
—Sterilite 60qt Clear View Underbed Storage Bin with Latch Purple
Genetic Tendencies and Early Learning:
Genetics determine much of your cat's personality. For instance, the cat's level of fear or the enjoyment of human interaction correlates with the parent's fearfulness and friendliness. Cats also have a "socialization window," a sensitive period of their kittenhood. This window begins as soon as the kitten is born, and it closes sooner than the corresponding period in their puppy counterparts. They are very open to learning associations with new things and interacting with other cats. Although cats can learn new associations later in life, it is through different learning processes, and it can be challenging for your kitty to "unlearn" any negative associations made as young kittens, particularly those things associated with fear or pain.
Jump to the next section on "Feline Behavior Basics: Learning Their Language."