Feline Communication

Olfaction in cats

smell is a very important sense in cats, they have 200 million scent receptors

Vomeronasal organ in cats

important in detecting pheromones; the tracts bring them to the hypothalamus

Flehman response

“gape response”; open mouth to bring in pheromones

What do sebaceous glands do and where are they located?

These are glands that produce long lasting odors

• cheeks, under chin

• head

• between pads of feet

• base of tail

• area around anus/perianal

Marking behaviors

used to keep animals away from each other (territory) or attract each other (breeding)

• rubbing/bunting

• urine marking

• scratching

• scent rubbing

Rubbing/bunting

allows cats to deposit scents

Allorubbing vs. bunting

Allorubbing is a cat rubbing another cat, while bunting is a cat rubbing against another species

Scratching

allows cats to leave a visual signal and an olfactory one thanks to the glands between their feet pads

Scent rubbing

the transfer of scents from the environment onto the animal (not as common in cats as it is in dogs)

Feline vocal communication

• calls

• grunts (usually in young kittens)

• purrs (begins in young kittens around 2 days of age, also used by queens at a young age - tactile)

• vowel patterns - begin with mouth open then gradually closed - anger wail, bewilderment, complaint, demand

• strained intensity patterns - intense emotional state - mouth held open - growl, hiss/spit, mating cry, scream, snarl

Vision in cats

• cats have more rods than cones in their retinas - less color perception

• very good at detecting movement

• better night vision; pupils dilate very widely at night

• good visual acuity

• wide field of vision

On the cat ethogram, what is happening from A0 to A3?

increasing aggressiveness

On the cat ethogram, what is happening from B0 to B3?

increasing fearfulness

For a cat, what does an upright or flagged tail mean?

the cat is happy

What are signs that a cat is more fearful?

ears back, fluffed tail, arched back

Tail flick means what in a cat?

irritation

What are some distance reducing behaviors in cats?

tail flipped (or flagged) toward their head, rolling, rubbing, vertical tail

What are some offensive behaviors of cats?

• direct eye contact

• puffed tails

• face to face with other animal

What are some defensive behaviors in cats?

• arched back

• fluffed tail

• ears back