The Social Lives of Domestic Cats

Posted on December 8, 2024 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Scientists have marveled at the “behavioral plasticity” of the domestic cat – that is, its ability to adapt to new environments (Reference 1). The domestic cat can live a solitary life or in structured social groups, with other cats or humans.

The ancestor and closest relative of the domestic cat is the African Wildcat, a solitary hunter, coming together to mate and raise kittens (Reference 2). About 10,000 years ago, some of these wild cats began to cluster around human settlements. Humans were leaving their hunter-gatherer existence behind, and beginning to grow crops. Stored grain attracted rodents, providing a reliable food source for wildcats who were bold enough to approach the settlements. Wildcats who could tolerate other wildcats shared the feast. Cats began to form social groups centered around these food sources.

Aided by humans, cats spread throughout the world and today, can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They have adapted to many different environments, ranging from the Subantarctic islands southeast of New Zealand to rural and urban areas worldwide (Reference 1).

the social lives of domestic cats

the solitary hunter

Unowned cats in areas like the Subantarctic Islands live much as their ancestors did. They do not depend on humans for food. The social lives of domestic cats in these areas is basically mating. The male cat may occasionally have to defend his territory (and access to female cats) from competing males. Otherwise, these cats are spread out and don’t have much to do with each other. They have individual territories – male cats have larger ranges that often encompass the smaller territories of several female cats (Reference 1).

rural living – a compromise

Rural unowned cats also live like their wild ancestors although they supplement their diet with food from humans. Typically a male has a large territory which includes the home ranges of two or three females. The social lives of domestic cats in rural areas can be solitary but sometimes closely related cats form small groups, around human dwellings, where they are fed. The core of these groups is typically a mother cat, her sisters, and/or her daughters. These females share the care of the kittens – they nurse each others’ kittens and even help each other give birth. These “barn” cats will still hunt rodents and other prey, a behavior helpful to the human landowners (Reference 1).

the urban colony

In urban environments, unowned cats form structured, stable groups of male and female cats called colonies. These cats may or may not be related. These colonies are typically organized around sites where human caretakers regularly put out food. The territory a colony occupies is defended by all members of the group. Over time, dominance hierarchies (“pecking orders”) develop among the male cats and the female cats in the colony (Reference 1).

The “pecking order” is maintained through social cues rather than aggressive interactions. When encountering a more “dominant” cat, a lower ranking cat may look away, turn its head away, or change its path to let the other cat pass. The “dominant” cat may stare at the other cat, assume a stiffer posture, and raise the base of the tail, while leaving the rest of tail low (like a “comma”) (Reference 2).

The cats in the colony live in harmony if each cat respects its place in the group. Within the colony, you will see affiliative (friendly) interactions:

greeting (nose-nose contact with tail up)
reciprocal rubbing
allogrooming (cats grooming each other)

Most colony members show aggression towards unfamiliar cats. Non-members of the group are not allowed to approach and enter the group. Both males and females will band together to protect the group, particularly the kittens, against threats from other cats or animals (Reference 1).

the pet cat

The pet cat lives in a human household which provides them food and shelter. Many pet cats live exclusively indoors. Others may be allowed to come and go through a cat flap. Still others may go on leash walks or access the outdoors in protected enclosures.

Pet cats may live with humans (children and adults), cats, dogs and other species. Within the household, cats will form smaller social groups with animals or humans they prefer to associate with. They can exhibit affiliative and dominance behaviors similar to those of cats in urban colonies.

About 40% of people acquire their cat from a friend or family member. About one third of cat-owning households have adopted stray cats at least once. Less than 1/5 of cat owners get their cats from animal shelters, and only 3% of cat owners get their cats from breeders (Reference 3).

As a species, domestic cats are remarkably adaptable and can change their behavior to meet the challenges of new environments. The social lives of domestic cats can be limited to mating and defending territory in the case of solitary hunter. In areas near human homes, cats may live with other cats or in human households.

references

Natoli, E.; Litchfield, C.; Pontier, D. Coexistence between Humans and ‘Misunderstood’ Domestic Cats in the A nthropocene: Exploring Behavioural Plasticity as a Gatekeeper of Evolution. Animals 2022, 12, 1717. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12131717
African Wildcat. International Society of Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada. Updated 2018 (https://wildcatconservation.org/wild-cats/africa/african-wildcat/) Viewed 12/2024.
Sources of Cats in U.S. Households. © 2024 Alley Cat Allies. All rights reserved. Alley Cat Allies is a 501(c)3 organization. https://www.alleycat.org/resources/sources-of-cats-in-u-s-households/ Viewed 12/2024.

Want to learn more about the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

If You Don’t Talk to Your Cat, Who Will?

Posted on August 25, 2024 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

The idea of being able to talk to animals appeals to many people. The famous Dr. Doolittle, the central character in a series of children’s books, preferred animals to people and was able to talk to animals in their own languages. Nowadays, there are people who bill themselves as animal communicators and will “talk” to your animal for a fee.

It is not uncommon in western cultures for people to talk to their pets (in human language) and some scientific studies indicate that your cat or dog is listening to you. But do they understand what you are saying? Should you talk to your cat?

If you don’t talk to your cat, who will?

Cats Recognize Their Owners’ Voices

A 2013 study observed cats’ behavior to voice recordings of strangers followed by those of the their owners. The cats showed a stronger response (ear movement and head movement) when they heard their owners’ voices. (Reference 1).

Cats Learn the Names of Their Companion Cats

Still another study measured the response of house cats to the spoken names and pictures (on a computer) of familiar cats in their environment. In a second experiment, the house cats were presented with spoken names and pictures of human members of their household. The house cats were able to match their companion cats’ names and faces and to a lesser extent, matched their human family members’ names with faces (Reference 2).

Cats Know When Their Owners are Talking to Them

A 2023 study found that cats reacted more quickly to a human experimenter (stranger) using a visual cue or a combination of visual and vocal cues than vocal cues alone (Reference 3). A later study found that cats discriminated between speech directed to adult humans (Adult Directed Speech or ADS) versus speech directed to themselves (Cat Directed Speech or CDS) when spoken by their owners – they did not distinguish between ADS and CDS spoken by strangers. These findings indicates that cats may put more emphasis on vocal cues with familiar humans but favor visual cues with strange humans.

How do We Talk to Our Cats?

When talking to pets and young children, people tend to speak more distinctly, use shorter phrases and sentences, and repeat things more often. Charlotte De Mouzon found that both men and women speak in a “higher” voice (higher pitch) in CDS compared to ADS (Reference 3).

Should you Talk to yOur Cat?

Cats respond to people, particularly their caregivers, talking to them. Cats appear to know their own names and possibly those of the humans they live with. Talking to your cat helps establish a relationship that is unique to you and your cat.

The jury is still out as to how much of what we say can be understood by our cats but cats can be trained to perform a given behavior in response to a verbal cue. When working with cats, I tend to default to a combination of verbal cues and hand gestures, although recently I have been verbally labeling more and more of what I do with my cats as I am doing it. For example, I have been naming their head and shoulders as I put on their harnesses to prepare for going out for the morning walk.

This seemed to pay off the other day when I was shaving my Maine Coon, Zelda. I touched her right side and told her if she would lay on her side, then I would give her some Churu treat. She laid down on her right side and then, looked up meaningfully at the Churu I had in my hand. Time to pay up!

Scientific studies indicate that cats recognize their owners’ voices and possibly the names of other humans in the household. Vocal communication may be part of the closer cat-owner relationship while cats favor visual cues when interacting with strange humans. So, talk to your cat in whatever language you speak – your cat is listening!

references

Saito A, Shinozuka K. Vocal recognition of owners by domestic cats (Felis catus). Anim Cogn. 2013 Jul;16(4):685-90. doi: 10.1007/s10071-013-0620-4
Takagi, S., Saito, A., Arahori, M. et al. Cats learn the names of their friend cats in their daily lives. Sci Rep 12, 6155 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10261-5
de Mouzon, C.; Leboucher, G. Multimodal Communication in the Human–Cat Relationship: A Pilot Study. Animals 2023, 13, 1528. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13091528

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

Social Groups of Cats in The Multi-Cat Home

Posted on December 1, 2023August 19, 2024 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Social Groups of cats in the multi-cat home

This post was originally published 8/29/20. This newer version has been edited to incorporate new material and references.

If there is plenty of food around, free-roaming cats tend to form groups called colonies. The core of the cat colony are the females, typically a mother, her sisters, and her daughters. These females share the care of the kittens – they nurse each others’ kittens and even help each other give birth.

Male kittens are driven off by their mothers at maturity to avoid inbreeding. They can become solitary hunters like their wildcat ancestors or become attached to an unrelated colony if accepted by the females.

Smaller social groups of cats often form within the larger social group of the cat colony. These groups of 2 or more cats typically

sleep snuggled together
groom each other
rub against each other
“play fight”.

These cats are comfortable sharing resources: food, water, litter boxes, sleeping and resting places. Often these are cats that grew up together but that is not always the case.

social groups of cats indoors -managing the multi-cat home

In the multi-cat home, some cats also prefer to stay together. Identifying the social groups of cats in the home can aid in allocating resources and reduce conflict among the resident cats [Reference 1].

Identifying the social groups of cats

Members of the same social group may

sleep snuggled together
groom each
rub against each other
engage in mutual social play.

There are no hard and fast rules to affiliation: some cats will not snuggle together, but will groom each other and play together.

A Multi-Cat Household and its Social Groups

There are 3 social groups in this 4 cat household.

Social Group 1

Athena forms her own social group. She is a 15 year old spayed female. She recognizes her housemates but prefers to spend time by herself or with her owners.

Social Group 2

Marley (14 yr neutered male) will hang out with 4 year old Zelda. They will rest together and “share” snacks. They will occasionally “play fight”.

Social Group 3

Zelda and Gus (3 yr old neutered male) groom each other’s heads and play together occasionally.

Gus and Zelda also go on walks together with their owners.

Allocating resources in the multi-cat home to reduce conflict

One of the keys to harmony in the multi-cat home is to provide multiple resources and spread them throughout the house. The goal is to ensure that all cats have access to litter boxes, food and water without having to compete with another cat. Here is a simple diagram showing the location of litter boxes on the second floor of a multi-story home [Reference 1].

When locating resources, watch for “bottlenecks” such hallway doors where cats may have to pass each other. Try and place litter boxes, water stations… away from these areas.

House map cat resources — A simple sketch of your house can help with locating litter boxes.

tips for managing resources in the multi-cat home

# litter boxes = # social groups + 1
Feed cats individually and out of sight of each other.
Have daily play time for each cat
Have multiple sleeping, resting places – have secluded and elevated choices

monitoring interactions between cats to manage conflict

Once the social groups in the house are identified, it important for the cat owner to monitor how the cats are getting along and intervene, if necessary, to prevent conflict [Reference 1].

A cat fight can result in injuries to the fighting cats and the humans who try and manage the fight.
Aggression does not need to cause physical injury – psychological stress resulting from one cat guarding resources from another can result in illness and undesirable behaviors such as house-soiling.

signs of conflict – signs of play

It is important to be aware of potential conflict in the multi-cat home. Signs of conflict not only include chasing, running away, howling and hissing, but also more subtle, seemingly harmless behaviors such as staring and blocking doorways. To make things more confusing, chasing and running away can be play behaviors! For more information, visit “How Do Your Cats Get Along – Conflict Behaviors”.

Cats are socially flexible and can form social groups with unrelated cats, although the strength and intensity of these social bonds can vary. A few aggressive interactions between cats who sleep snuggled together, groom each other and share resources may not point to a deterioration in their relationship [Reference 2]. However, cats whose affiliation is weaker and whose inter-cat interactions are frequently punctuated with hissing and growling may warrant a call to your veterinarian or a cat behaviorist.

The next post, “Managing Aggression in the Multi-Cat Home“, will look at identifying aggressive behaviors in more detail and what interventions are available to the cat owner.

references

Ramos D. Common feline problem behaviors: Aggression in multi-cat households. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2019;21(3):221-233. doi:10.1177/1098612X19831204
Gajdoš-Kmecová, N., Peťková, B., Kottferová, J. et al. An ethological analysis of close-contact inter-cat interactions determining if cats are playing, fighting, or something in between. Sci Rep 13, 92 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26121-1

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

Introducing a New Cat into the Multi-cat Home

Posted on October 22, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Introducing a new cat to an established group of resident cats can be challenging. Most experts recommend a slow, gradual introduction, similar to how wild cat colonies accept new members.

introducing a new cat

Wild cats recognize members of their own colony. Unfamiliar cats will be greeted with aggression if they try to approach and enter the group. This is not to say that non-members don’t join the colony from time to time. If these “outsiders” are persistent in their attempts to join the group, they may be accepted after a gradual process that involves many interactions (Reference 1).

I am in the process of introducing a new cat to my household. The introduction process is still ongoing but here is my progress so far.

Miso is 2 year old male domestic shorthair who had been frequenting the porch where my veterinarian employer leaves food out for the community cats. Miso behaved more like a stray cat and tried to get into the house. So, he was coaxed into a carrier, neutered and had dental treatment at the veterinary clinic where I work.

Miso is friendly toward humans and other cats. Although he is quite a bit younger than my cats, I thought it was worth a try to bring him into my group.

At the time of the introduction, there were 4 cats in my household and two social groups:

Athena, aged 18 years, forms her own social group. She tolerates the other cats but does not snuggle, groom or otherwise interact with them.
Marley, a 17 year old neutered male, 7 year old Gus, and 7 year old Zelda form the second social group. Zelda and Marley will snuggle together particularly when it is cold. Gus and Zelda allogroom; Gus and Zelda also groom Marley.

Getting Ready

Introducing a new cat starts with scent exchange. A few weeks before I brought Miso home, I brought home a blanket he slept on and left it in the kitchen area. All four cats carefully smelled it and there was some hissing but that waned over a week.

I made a barricade of closet shelving to close off the downstairs from my resident cats and set up a room downstairs for Miso to stay in with a litter box, scratching posts and food station.

Week 1

Miso is calm and confident and asks to go out of his room. He goes out into the catio downstairs. We set up a system of time-sharing the catio, allowing Zelda and Athena to occupy it in the morning while Miso is closed in his room. Miso has the catio in the afternoon. At night, Miso is closed in his room.

Miso chooses to eat at the top of the stairs next to the barricade. The other cats are fed out of sight in the kitchen.

At the end of the week, I apply a mousse shampoo to Miso and wash his bedding, thinking that he might smell like the vet clinic. I also put a multi-cat pheromone diffuser downstairs and 4 more on the upstairs floor.

Week 2 – Zelda gets sick

Zelda has diarrhea which I think may be due to the stress of having a new roommate. The diarrhea resolves with a few days of probiotics.

The resident cats frequently hiss while passing Miso at the barricade but they now ignore him and continue on their way. We start to allow Miso upstairs while the other cats are in the catio.

At the end of the week, we allow Miso to have free run of the downstairs and not be closed in his room at night. The barricade is still up.

Week 3 – A Behavior Change for Gus

Miso was trained to harness and leash when at the vet clinic. I officially bring Miso upstairs on a leash and we have our first friendly interaction with the residents – Miso and Gus touch noses and there is no hissing.

Miso is assigned a feeding station (a cat carrier) to eat in and is fed with the other cats. I get a little push back from Gus, who refuses to eat at his feeding station. I offer him his food on his cat tree which he accepts.

Miso starts doing the evening food puzzle and treat toss with Zelda and Marley. Again, Gus prefers not to participate and does his food puzzles on his cat tree. The barricade is opened during the day near the end of the week.

Week 4 – Aggression from Athena

Athena swats Miso and we separate them temporarily, closing Athena in the bedroom. I put a broom near the door way with the water fountain so that I can herd Miso away in case he blocks Athena on her way to water.

There is still plenty of hissing going on but everyone’s body language is neutral. There are still 4 multi-cat pheromone diffusers on the upper floor. Miso is allowed out in the catio with the other cats. Everyone keeps their distance.

At the end of the week, Miso is allowed upstairs at night and chooses an empty carrier to sleep in.

Although the cats are sharing common areas now, the process of introducing a new cat is far from over. It will take many more months before all the cats are accustomed to the new resident and the changes in the daily routines.

Introducing a new cat into an established household is stressful for the incoming cat as well as the residents. Even with a gradual introduction, stress-induced illness, changes in routine, and displays of aggression are not uncommon. It is important to monitor the body language of all the cats, accommodate changes in behavior and be ready to separate cats if there is a scuffle.

references

Crowell-Davis SL, Curtis TM, Knowles RJ. Social organization in the cat: a modern understanding. J Feline Med Surg. 2004 Feb;6(1):19-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jfms.2003.09.013. PMID: 15123163.

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

Social Lives of Cats: Family Toms

Posted on July 23, 2023July 23, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

10,000 years ago, the ancestors of our domestic cats decided to take advantage of the abundance of prey near and in human settlements. During this time, the social lives of cats changed from solitary hunters to members of structured, stable groups called colonies. Today’s free-ranging cats, particularly those that live in urban environments, depend on food provided by people, in addition to hunting rodents and raiding human garbage cans.

Social lives of cats: family toms

In urban settings, food is more plentiful and colonies of cats organize themselves near feeding sites. Members of these colonies are friendly with other members but will defend their territory against intruders from other colonies. (References 1, 2)

Male domestic cats have two mating strategies:(Reference 3)

Solitary toms with large home ranges will mate with females from colonies in their home range. These are typically larger cats and they do not form social bonds with the females in the colonies. This is more typical of rural areas where resources are more spread out.
In urban settings, males, unrelated to the females, often affiliate themselves with a colony. These “family toms” enjoy the greatest mating success within their particular colony, even if they are small. (References 2,3)

The “family toms” have been known to participate in the care and rearing of the kittens, sharing food with kittens and sometimes disrupting play of juveniles that is getting out of hand with an experienced adult paw. They also band together with the female cats to drive off marauding tomcats that threaten the kittens. (References 1, 2, 3) Killing of kittens by tomcats is rare in the urban cat colonies (Reference 2).

In contrast, infanticide accounts for 25% of the deaths of lion cubs. When the resident males in the lion pride are displaced by a new “coalition” (group of males associated with a pride), incoming coalition kills the young cubs in the pride, so that the females go into estrus. Thus, the cubs are sired by the new incoming males. ( Reference 4).

Social lives of cats: my Family toms

I have had two cats in my life that I believe were “family toms”.

Marty

My childhood cat was a male Siamese named Marty. He was an indoor-outdoor cat that somehow did not get neutered until he was 8 years old. He participated in his share of fights with cats and other animals. We always patched him up and let him out again.

I took him with me to college and he lived with me in dorms and apartments. One apartment we lived in had a back door that opened onto an alley. I used to let Marty out during the day. There was a population of cats that frequented the alley. One day, I was walking back from classes and noticed Marty sitting peaceably with these cats.

This social experience might explain the ease with which Marty got along with the kitten one of my roommates brought home and the young cats that I acquired when Marty was about 11 years old. I did not do much of an introduction with these kitties – they seemed to get along immediately. At one point, we lived in a old farm house; the two younger cats would accompany Marty on his expeditions to the neighbor’s house.

Gus

Gus was a free-roaming cat caught in a trap by my veterinarian employer. He is still with me and his story can be read at “Bringing a Wild Cat Indoors“. He lived briefly at the vet clinic where he was always interested in kittens, jumping onto the treatment table when you were giving the kittens vaccines.

Today, Gus watches over the three other cats in my house, looking out for wildlife when we go outdoors (supervised nowadays). One incident that I won’t soon forget involved Gus and Zelda, a female cat in the household. We were walking around our townhome when a terrier dog chased Zelda. Gus took notice and ran the dog off, chasing her away. He then escorted Zelda back to our front door. This level of protectiveness makes me think that perhaps he was a “family tom” in his previous life on the streets.

In the 10,000 years cats have lived with humans, the social lives of cats has changed. Some cats still are solitary hunters but many choose to live in structured, stable social groups. They have been able to change their behavior to take advantage of their environment. The tolerance of kittens and other cats may be one reason the domestic cat has successfully spread across much of the world (with the exception of Antartica).

An additional note…
Attitudes and care of cats has changed in the past 2-3 decades. Many cats live exclusively indoors, enjoying safer and healthier lives. Older and wiser now, I keep my current group of cats primarily indoors with daily supervised outdoor time.

references

Natoli, E.; Litchfield, C.; Pontier, D. Coexistence between Humans and ‘Misunderstood’ Domestic Cats in the Anthropocene:
Exploring Behavioural Plasticity as a Gatekeeper of Evolution. Animals 2022, 12, 1717. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/ani12131717
Vitale, K.R. The Social Lives of Free-Ranging Cats. Animals 2022, 12, 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12010126
Crowell-Davis, S.L. (2007). Cat Behaviour: Social Organization, Communication And Development. In: Rochlitz, I. (eds) The Welfare Of Cats. Animal Welfare, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3227-1_1
University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences, Lion Research Center, (https://cbs.umn.edu/lion-research-center/all-about-lions/social-behavior)

Want to keep up with world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

The Social Cats – The Lion Pride and The Cat Colony

Posted on July 16, 2023July 16, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

These two cats have spotted something in the plants by the road. Cats rarely hunt together. Only one cat will get the prize!

The lion pride and the cat colony

I received an interesting comment on a post I wrote recommending feeding house cats separately. The author felt that having cats share a large bowl of food is like sharing a “large kill” and increases “pride unity”. Lions and cats are the only members of the Felidae (cat family) that live in social groups. The pride is the social unit of the African lion; the domestic cat will form colonies if there are sufficient resources. How does the pride compare with the domestic cat colony?

The lion pride

A typical lion pride consists of about 6 related females, their dependent offspring, and a “coalition” of 2-3 unrelated resident males.
Most females spend their lives in their mothers’ pride or with their sisters in a new pride.
Males may be a bit more mobile, spending a few years in a given pride. They will stay with their coalition throughout their lives. (Reference 1)

the cat colony

The core of the cat colony is the queen, her female relatives, and their offspring.
There may be a group of “family” males, who spend most of their time with this group of females and develop social bonds with the females.
Other males are solitary, with large home ranges that
overlap the home ranges of several different female groups. These “philandering” males will mate with females from different groups and do not form social bonds with members of the colony. (Reference 2)

the lion pride and the cat colony

Both the lion pride and the cat colony aim to take advantage of resources. Lions and cats need reliable access to food, water and shelter.

Lions

Lions locate in areas where prey is likely to come by. The areas where two rivers intersect are desired locations. Water, provided by the rivers, and vegetation, growing near the rivers, attract the lion’s herbivorous prey.

The confluences of the rivers act like a funnel – prey animals get “trapped” in these funnels. They are attracted by the vegetation but are leery of crossing the rivers, where predators can ambush them.

The lions that band together can protect these valuable territories from other lions and predators. The pride that controls the territory has reliable access to food and water. (Reference 1)

Cats

Cats form colonies where there are sufficient resources, that is food, water, and shelter. The more food there is, the more cats can live in that area. Large colonies exist where there is lots of food; smaller colonies are located in areas where food is not as readily available. Where food sources are few and far between, cats adopt a solitary existence. (Reference 2)

The socialization of the domestic cat occurred as humans transitioned from being hunter-gatherers to farmers. The abundance of mice at the grain stores attracted wild cats and provided them with the resources to form colonies.

The lion pride and the cat colony – Other advantanges

Cubs and kittens have higher survival rates in the pride/colony. The mothers as a group are more successful defending the cubs/kittens. A group of lionesses can successfuly drive off invading male lions, whereas a single lioness does not have a chance. (Reference 1). Likewise, the female cats of the cat colony can band together to challenge invading toms, dogs or coyotes. (Reference 2)

Cooperative Hunting

Lions hunt together when it is needed – for example, when taking down difficult prey such as a Cape Buffalo or zebra. Most of the time, lions hunt singly; their targets are wildebeest or warthogs. Living in a large pride does not mean that you will be well-fed. (Reference 1)

Although groups of 2-4 cats have been observed hunting squirrels and rabbits together, this is not the norm. (Reference 2). The prey of domestic cats tend to be small and not very calorie dense. An average mouse is thought to have an energy value of about 35 kcal (Reference 3). It is not practical to share game this small and cats typically hunt alone and dine alone.

More about food…

Male lions typically feed first at a kill, followed by the lionesses and subadult lions. The male lions will aggressively reinforce this feeding hierarchy (Reference 1).

A study of a cat colony in Rome where humans provided bowls of food found a different feeding-order: kittens were the first to feed, followed by the females and then the males. Typically the male cats are at the top of the social ladder and the kittens at the bottom. (Reference 4)

Sharing a large kill appears to reinforce the social hierarchy in lions. In free-ranging cats, we see a social tolerance of kittens by both males and females when feeding in a managed colony. Although aggressive behavior is rare (<5% of the time) in cat colonies, it is most prevalent around feeding time, but aggression is seldom directed toward kittens.

The Multi-cat Household

Feeding all the cats in the human household at one large dish is unlikely to promote unity. Instead, competition and conflict over the food will increase as cats try to sort out who eats when and establish a feeding hierarchy. It is best for our pet cats to dine solo.

The lion pride and the cat colony are matrilineal social groups. Both groups locate where there is food and water. Both groups result in higher survival rates of cubs and kittens. The lion pride is an adaptation to life on the savanna whereas the cat colony was an early step in the process of domestication, a social group formed to take advantage of food near human settlements.

Gus is the more experienced hunter and caught the lizard.

references

University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences, Lion Research Center, (https://cbs.umn.edu/lion-research-center/all-about-lions/social-behavior)
Crowell-Davis, S.L. (2007). Cat Behaviour: Social Organization, Communication And Development. In: Rochlitz, I. (eds) The Welfare Of Cats. Animal Welfare, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3227-1_1
DVM360, Client Handout: “How Many Calories is a Mouse?” September 17, 2014. https://www.dvm360.com/view/client-handout-how-many-calories-mouse
Vitale, K.R. The Social Lives of Free-Ranging Cats. Animals 2022, 12, 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12010126

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

How Cats Get Along with Other Species

Posted on December 18, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

In this post, we look at how cats get along with other species – are their behaviors affiliative or is there conflict?

How cats get along with other species

How Cats Get Along with People: Signs of Affiliation

In an interview with Terry Gross of the NPR show, “Fresh Air”, the well-known anthrozoologist, John Bradshaw, noted that cats view their owners as cats, specifically cats they are affiliated or friendly with. Cats greet us as they would an affiliated cat, rubbing up against us, touching their noses to our hands, licking our hands and faces, snuggling next to us in bed at night.

Cats use the same friendly behaviors when interacting with people as they do with other cats.

nearness
rubbing up a person’s legs (allorubbing)
bunting against our hands (nose touching)
licking hands (allogrooming)
approaching with tail up

How Cats Get along with people: Signs of Conflict

Cats show similar conflict behaviors when interacting with humans that they would use with other cats.

staring
stalking and pouncing
running away
biting, swatting and swiping
arched back and hair standing on end

Young cats in particular can be guilty of stalking and pouncing on owners as they round a corner in the house. Some of these behaviors can be the result of playing with the cat inappropriately or redirected aggression, where the cat associates the owner with a fearful experience.

A petting session sometimes comes to an end when the cat bites or swats the person petting him, then jumps down and runs away. It is important to add to the list above some “pre-conflict” behaviors that we must watch for:

flattened ears
fur on the cat’s back ripples
the cat turns to face you with a stare

How Cats Get along with Children

Cats showed no preference to gender or age when meeting volunteers in a shelter for the first time. The volunteers did not interact with the cats but instead read an age-appropriate book. [Turner, The Mechanics of Social Interactions Between Cats and Their Owners]

After 5 minutes, the volunteers were allowed to interact as they pleased with the cats. The cats reacted strongly to the differences in behavior between men, women and children. Women and girls tended to move onto the floor with the cat and speak quietly; men remained seated, and boys approached the cats immediately, causing them to run away. [See below Turner].

Children, being more active, and less attentive to the body language of cats, tend to elicit more conflict behaviors from cats then adults. Children playing with cats must be supervised by adults as young children, in an excess of enthusiasm, may hit the cat with a toy or chase them.

A cat’s impulse is to flee when chased by a child but if cornered, he may bite or scratch. It is important to allow cats avenues to escape the attention of boisterous youngsters – high cat trees or closets with latches that allow the cat access but not the child.

How Cats Get Along: Cats and Dogs

Although cartoons and films may show cats and dogs as mortal enemies, many co-exist peacefully in human homes.

A recent survey based study by Thomsen et al. (cited below), indicated that the success of the relationship depends on the age of the cat (preferably around 6 months) when introduced to the dog. Ideally, good experiences with friendly, well-behaved dogs during the cat’s “sensitive” period will predispose the cat to forming relationships with dogs. Slow, gradual introductions between cat and dog (similar to Introducing Cats) have the best chance at success

Just like with humans, cats tend to show the same behaviors to dogs they are friendly with that they would show to other cats.

sleep in the same room as the dog, sometimes touching
rub against the dog when greeting
approach with tail up

Although a dog may be affiliated with the cat in his house, this does not mean he will not chase or bark at a strange cat. A cat who has been raised with dogs may still turn and flee from dogs he does not know. Affiliation exists between individual animals, not a whole species.

Dogs also have a set of affiliative behaviors. The hallmarks of a well-socialized dog include:

relaxed body
rapid tail wag
no staring
indirect approach, looking and sniffing at the ground

Canine conflict behaviors include:

backing away or trying to escape
submissive behaviors: flattened ears, tail tucked, looking away
staring, growling, snapping, erect posture
tail held vertically or arched over the back

Another survey-based study (Menchetti et al. cited below) compared owners’ perceptions of how dogs and cats living in their homes get along. Owners felt that:

Dogs are more social than cats towards strange animals and humans
Dogs are more playful than cats with their owners
More dogs lick the cat than vice versa
More cats ignore the dog than vice versa
Most dogs and cats in the same household will sleep together and play together at least occasionally
Although cats and dogs have different body languages, they still manage to understand each other

A Tale of Tails

Both cats and dogs use their tails to communicate.

	Cats	Dogs
Friendly Gesture	Tail up	Tail wagging
Conflict	Tail twitching	Tail up

Somehow, cat-dog pairs translate each other’s language. The cat approaches the dog for a nose-to-nose greeting with tail up and lies down beside him. The dog recognizes the cat’s behaviors as positive signals and he wags his tail.

When the dog approaches the cat with the tail up, the cat recognizes the conflict/aggressive signal, arches his back, twitches his tail and backs slowly away.

Cats will use the same visual signals that they use with other cats when interacting with other species, such as humans and dogs. It is important that we, as pet guardians, know and understand the affiliative and conflict behaviors of each species residing in our homes to prevent altercations and promote peaceful coexistence.

CITATIONS:

Menchetti L, Calipari S, Mariti C, Gazzano A, Diverio S. Cats and dogs: Best friends or deadly enemies? What the owners of cats and dogs living in the same household think about their relationship with people and other pets. PLoS One. 2020 Aug 26;15(8):e0237822. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237822. PMID: 32845923; PMCID: PMC7449504

Jessica E. Thomson, Sophie S. Hall, Daniel S. Mills, Evaluation of the relationship between cats and dogs living in the same home, Journal of Veterinary Behavior, vol 27 2018, Volume 35-40 ISSN 1558-7878, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2018.06.043.

Turner DC (2021) The Mechanics of Social Interactions Between Cats and Their Owners Front. Vet. Sci. 8:650143 doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.65014

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

Purrsonality and How Cats Get Along

Posted on December 4, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Do cats have personalities? If you define personality as “the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time” – yes, cats and other animals have personalities. How do describe your cat’s personality? How does personality affect how cats get along?

Studies (see Litchfield et al., cited below) of captive wild cats such as Scottish wild cats and cheetahs have suggested using personality assessments

to house socially compatible animals together
to tailor the environment to an individual animal’s needs – for example, provide more hiding places for a fearful cheetah

Can personality assessment improve the welfare of our domestic cats?

In 2017, Carla Litchfield and her research team published a study on personalities in pet cats. Litchfield’s team conducted a survey of 2,082 cats in New Zealand and Australia. The survey consisted of 52 personality items. Statistical analysis of the data found five reliable personality traits – “The Feline Five”: (citation below)

Neuroticism
Extraversion
Dominance
Impulsiveness
Agreeableness

“The Feline Five” is similar to the Five Factor Method (FFM) used in human personality research. The FFM describes a person’s personality using five factors. An individual’s personality will have varying amounts of each factor. These five factors are: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience.

THE FELINE FIVE AND HOW CATS GET ALONG

Anxious or calm? (neuroticism)

Cats that score high on this factor are typically shy, fearful of people, insecure and anxious. On the other hand, calm cats don’t get as stressed when faced with changes in environment and exposure to other animals and people.

It is worth observing how the anxious cat gets along with other cats in the household. Timid, anxious cats can become the targets of more dominant cats who may stalk and chase them and prevent them from accessing resources such as food and litter boxes.

Providing more resources and hiding areas will improve the welfare of anxious cats.
It may be necessary to provide dedicated areas that only these cats can access.

The anxious cat will also benefit from consistent and regular interaction with humans following the CAT guidelines (See Touch not the cat: interacting with cats).

extroverted or introverted?

Extroverted cats are out-going and inclined to interact with people and other pets. They are sociable and curious. Introverted cats spend more time alone and are more quiet and reserved.

Extroverted cats can be energetic and prone to boredom. This can result in interact conflict – for example, a younger active cat may pick on a senior cat for entertainment. Extroverted cats can benefit from more play (hunting), foraging (food puzzles), and supervised outdoor access via leash walks or a catio.

dominant or Meek?

The dominant cat will stalk and chase other cats and sometimes humans. They displace other pets from favored positions and will steal their food. “Meek” cats are more tolerant of other cats and are willing to time-share places; they don’t exhibit the bullying behavior of a dominant cat.

Dominance behaviors are thought to occur more frequently in captive populations of cats. In the colonies of wild cats, the females raise the kittens co-operatively. There is competition between some male cats but there are also the “family toms”, unrelated male cats that affiliate themselves with the colony and have been known to protect and participate in rearing the kittens. [I. Rochlitz(ed.), The Welfare of Cats, 1-22 © 2007 Springer]

The popular “pack hierarchy” theory of wolves has been abandoned. Observation of non-captive populations of wolves show that they group together in family units, where the parents guide the activities of the group.

In the instance of a dominant cat “bullying” a more timid cat, the welfare of both the bully and the victim must be considered.

Enrich the “bully” – give him or her more opportunities to play (hunt) and forage (food puzzles). If possible, offer supervised outdoor access via leash walks or a catio
Provide the victim with ready access to resources and safe places. This may require separation when the two cats are not supervised.

impulsive or cautious?

Impulsive cats tend to be unpredictable and may react differently to the same thing at different times. Cautious cats are not so easily stimulated by their environment and keep to a smaller set of activities that they are comfortable with. Impulsive behavior is thought to be a response to environmental stress. [Litchfield et. al]

Agreeable or unfriendly?

Agreeable cats are well-adjusted cats that are friendly toward people and other pets. Low scores of agreeableness (irritable, aggressive toward people) may be due to poor socialization, frustration, pain or illness. [Litchfield et al.]

The agreeable cat is thought to be a source of enrichment for other cats in the household.

Personality and How Cats Get Along

Recognizing different personalities in our cats can help us manage how cats get along in our multi-cat homes. Whereas two timid/shy cats may get along, two dominant cats can clash. A dominant cat and timid cat may suffer from a bully-victim relationship.

What are the personalities of your cats? Take the online test based on the “Feline Five” at https://www.idrlabs.com. (Search for “feline five”).

Citation: Litchfield CA, Quinton G, Tindle H, Chiera B, Kikillus KH, Roetman P (2017) The ‘Feline Five’: An exploration of personality in pet cats (Felis catus). PLoS ONE 12(8): e0183455. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183455

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

How Do Your Cats Get Along – Conflict Behaviors

Posted on November 27, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

If your cats get along well, they will share sleeping areas, engage in some allogrooming, and greet each other on occasion by touching noses. Well, you say, my cats aren’t very good friends but they aren’t trying to kill each other, either. What are the signs of conflict? What should we look for to avoid getting to the point “they want to kill each other”?

The 2020 survey referred to in last week’s post not only assessed affiliative behaviors, they also polled respondents on conflict behaviors. They chose seven behaviors associated with conflict. These are listed below with the frequency reported by the participants of the survey. (Elzerman AL, DePorter TL, Beck A, Collin JF. Conflict and affiliative behavior frequency between cats in multi-cat households: a survey-based study. J Feline Med Surg. 2020 Aug;22(8):705-717. doi: 10.1177/1098612X19877988)

Behavior	Frequency	Rank
Stare	daily	7 – Most frequent
Stalking	daily	6
Chasing	daily	5
Running away	weekly	4
Twitching Tail	weekly	3
Hissing	monthly to never	2
Wail/Scream	monthly to never	1 – Least frequent

How do your Cats Get Along?

Let’s take a closer look at these conflict behaviors.

THE STARE

A cat will stare without blinking:

at prey while hunting – he is aware of where that animal is and what it is doing, otherwise he may miss out on dinner!
during a cat fight. Fighting cats must be able to rapidly respond if the other launches an attack.
to discourage another cat from accessing a resource.

Cat blocking other cat — Zelda looks innocent but she is keeping another cat from going through the door.

If you see one of your cats fixing an unblinking stare on another, take note of the circumstances and see what happens if you intervene. For example, if one cat is staring at another cat and is sitting in a doorway, she may be blocking the other from resources through that doorway.

Interrupt the stare by opening the door wider, throwing a treat away from the doorway, or redirecting the “door-blocker” with a toy. Does this give the other cat a chance to get through the doorway? If this is successful, you may want to look more closely at how these two cats get along.

Avoid handling the cats in this situation in case they are more aroused than they appear.

Stalking, Chasing and Running Away

These behaviors may be associated with:

hunting
fighting
cats playing together

When hunting, the cat is targeting a toy or prey. It is object play. But how do we know whether two cats are fighting or playing? After all, many of the same moves in a cat fight are seen when cats play together.

Just like a football game, play between cats has distinct rules. And, like football, tempers may flare when a player challenges the rules. What starts as play can escalate into a cat fight.

invitation to play

play sequence

end of play

Are these cats playing?

Social play consists of an invitation to play, the play sequence, and the end of play. The rules are:

Claws are not extended
Biting is gentle without intent to injure
The invitation to play is often repeated by one or the other of the cats throughout the interaction.
If one cat declines play (there may be some hissing and growling here), the game ends.

If you see that the “rules” are not being followed, it is time to shake a bag of treats or can of coins and redirect or separate the participants. [see Managing the Indoor Cat Fight].

Check all your cats regularly for wounds from bites and scratches. If you notice your cats having a lot of wounds from scratches or bites and they “play” together, this may not be play. It may be conflict and it is time to observe the cats, assess their environment and social status.

Twitching Tail

A twitching tail indicates that a cat is focusing on something. The tail is for balance and changing direction – the tail often twitches before the cat pounces.

The twitching tail + stare > pounce: Is this play? conflict?
Are the rules of play being followed?
A map of the social groups in the house can help with deciding whether this is play or conflict.

Vocalizations – Hissing

The hiss is that snake-like sound. Cats may hiss when they are:

afraid
startled
frustrated
displeased
You will hear it in a cat fight, often from the cat on the defensive.

Vocalizations – Wailing/Screaming

Cats will wail or scream:

if they are fearful
if they are hurt and in pain
if they are fighting

You must decide from the circumstances and the body language of the cat or cats if these vocalizations are meaningful. If it is a cat fight, the combatants must be separated [managing the indoor cat fight]; if a cat is hurt, you must get the cat in a box or carrier for a trip to the vet.

Don’t wait for a fight to break out. Take a few moments to determine if your cats get along and if there is anything you can do to improve things.

Map social groups [Social Groups of Cats]
Draw a house map of resources (litter boxes, food stations, water, scratchers). Draw paths showing how cats reach these resources.
Move furniture if necessary to make accessing resources easier for all cats.
Make sure there sufficient resources for the number of cats.

Next week, we’ll take a look at describing individual cats’ personalities. How does this affect how cats get along?

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!

How Do Your Cats Get Along? Affiliative Behaviors

Posted on November 20, 2022June 16, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Affiliated cats — Gus and Zelda are not a bonded pair but do groom each other.

Have more than one cat? How do your cats get along? Are they “bonded” or affiliated?

If there is a reliable source of food, free-roaming cats will often form groups called colonies. Within the colony, there are smaller groups of 2 or more cats that prefer to spend time together. These cats are comfortable sharing resources such as food, water, latrine areas, sleeping and resting places. Some refer to these cats as “preferred associates”; others call them bonded or affiliated.

This post is the first in a 3 part series of “How do your cats get along?”: 1) signs of affiliation 2) signs of conflict 3) personalities in the multi-cat home.

“Preferred associates” show affiliative behaviors. You may find them:

snuggled up taking a nap
rubbing against each other when greeting
grooming each other
“play” fighting
twining their tails together

Not all cats have preferred associates. Within the cat colony may be “groups” of just one cat, who keeps to herself but shares the colony territory and resources. So, not only is there the strong bond of the preferred associates, there is also the looser affiliation of the members of the cat colony.

Multi-cat homes host ad hoc cat colonies. When I am taking a history for a veterinary exam, I usually ask guardians with more than one pet how their cats get along. The big three questions for multi-cat homes are:

Do your cats sleep touching each other?
Do they play together, with claws sheathed and taking turns?
Do they groom each other?

These 3 questions barely scrape the surface of how cats get along and whether or not there is potential for conflict or ongoing conflict in the home. Like human social relationships, relationships among cats can be complex.

A survey of 2492 multi-cat households published in 2020* set out to see if there was a relationship between household factors (type of house, number of litter boxes, feeding stations, scratching posts), and how often affiliative and conflict behaviors were seen.

*Elzerman AL, DePorter TL, Beck A, Collin JF. Conflict and affiliative behavior frequency between cats in multi-cat households: a survey-based study. J Feline Med Surg. 2020 Aug;22(8):705-717. doi: 10.1177/1098612X19877988.

Affiliative behaviors in cats – from most frequent to least frequent

sleeping in the same room

Cats don’t have to be “preferred associates” to choose a spot in the sun in the same room as a housemate cat. As long as there is plenty of space, peaceful coexistence should be possible.

Most frequently seen affiliative behavior – multiple times a day

allogrooming

Allogrooming refers to a cat grooming another cat by licking around the head or ears. It occurs most frequently among cats that are related…BUT … it is not restricted to family groups. It can be a way for cats to redirect potential aggression. A few quick licks to the head can soothe a would-be combatant, avoiding a fight. Sometimes, you will see cats who are not particularly chummy grooming each other’s head or neck.

Frequency – several times a day

Sleeping Touching each other

I view sleeping snuggled together something bonded cats do whereas the casual touch of cats napping next to each other indicates a weaker affiliation.

Frequency- several times a day

Touching noses

Kittens at Kndergarten — Kittens at “kitten kindergarten” session

Colony cats touch noses when returning from foraging or hunting. Each colony has its signature scent that helps the members of the colony identify each other. House cats being inside all the time may not need to engage in this identifying behavior as much as their outdoor counterparts. However, a cat who has been to the veterinary hospital may not smell quite right to his housemates and peaceful coexistence can be disrupted.

Frequency – once a day

Why isn’t play in the list of affiliative behaviors?
Play between cats incorporates more than one basic behavior. Because social play between cats is “play fighting” and can easily escalate into a fight, behaviors like chasing and stalking are often categorized as conflict behaviors. (See cats at play: a guide to mutual social play)

There are many other things that cats do that may be “affiliative” – tail-twining and rubbing up against each other – that were not included in the study above. However, this basic list can give you an idea of whether harmony reigns in your cat kingdom. Pay attention to how your cats get along and to their body language when interacting.

Next week, we will take a look at “conflict” behaviors and how frequent the survey found them to be.

Want to keep up with the world of cats? Subscribe to The Feline Purrspective!