Evolutionary History and Taxonomy of Cats: Understand the classification of cats and their evolutionary development.
Comparison of Domestic and Wild Cats: Recognize the differences and similarities in behaviour and appearance between domesticated cats and the African wildcat.
Behaviour Characteristics: Learn the common behaviours exhibited by domestic cats and feral cats.
Understanding Cat Senses: Describe the vision and other senses of cats.
Social Organization: Summarize social structures, body postures, communication methods, as well as sexual and maternal-offspring behaviours.
Hierarchy in Domestic Cats: Explain how hierarchy impacts domestic cat group structures.
Developmental Milestones: Identify important developmental milestones at various life stages of cats.
Cats as Companion Animals
There are over 77 million cats living as pets in homes, surpassing the number of pet dogs.
Approximately 50% of pet-owning homes feature multiple cats.
Evolutionary History and Taxonomy of Cats
Taxonomical Classification
Cats are part of the order Carnivora, which branched out 40-60 million years ago.
Miacidae family: The first carnivores, small, trees-dwelling, resembling weasels.
The viveravines branched off about 30 million years ago becoming the oldest ancestor of domestic cats.
Cats are classified as obligate carnivores, which influences their feeding and predatory behaviours.
Opportunistic Wildcats
The African wildcat (Felis silvestris libyca) shares an early domestication history with dogs, occurring about 4,500 years ago in ancient Egypt.
Grain storage attracted African wildcats due to the abundance of rodents, their preferred prey, and provided safe nesting sites for raising kittens.
Selective pressure favoured more tolerant wildcats who were less fearful of humans.
Behavior Characteristics of African Wildcats
African wildcats are fundamentally solitary and shy towards humans.
Males and females do not form lasting pair bonds and maintain independent territories. Males do not participate in kitten-rearing.
Free-living and Feral Cats
Communal access to a stable food supply can lead to the formation of stable social groups (cat colonies).
Free-living cats may revert to solitary living when prey is plentiful.
In rural areas, cats predominantly hunt and live alone, coming together mainly for mating.
Social groups typically consist of related queens and their offspring, while adult males remain on the outskirts and travel between groups to mate.
There is no strict hierarchy among breeding males; they rarely act as group members. Positive interactions like allogrooming are common within the group.
History of Cat Breeds
Unlike dogs, cat breeds have not been largely developed for specific working functions, resulting in less behavioural diversity.
Breeds emerged primarily through the selection of physical traits like coat color and structure, as well as anatomical mutations (e.g., folded ears).
Cat Behaviour Basics
Vision
Cats are near-sighted and dichromatic, meaning they see some colours but their color vision is limited.
Night Vision: Cats' eyes possess a tapetum lucidum, reflecting light for improved night vision. Their pupils can adjust dramatically in size (1 cm to a narrow slit).
Binocular vision ranges from 100-130°, with a panoramic vision field of 250-280°.
Adult vision develops fully in the later stages after birth, with the light blink reflex becoming evident around day 21.
Hearing
Cats achieve full hearing development by approximately four weeks of age, able to hear sounds between 10-60 kHz, including ultrasound, useful for hunting.
Their ear pinnae can rotate 180° to help accurately locate sounds.
Smell
Kittens are born with a highly developed sense of smell, aiding them in nursing and locating their mother.
An extensive olfactory system allows cats to identify each other and their territories through scent marking.
Cats utilize their sense of smell more than sight for identification and communication in adult social interactions.
Social Organization and Dominance Hierarchies
Felines generally avoid interactions unless mating, living near young, or within a single household.
Males typically possess a larger home range than females, linked to pathways for hunting and territory.
Dominance hierarchies exist but can be situational, with lower-ranked cats yielding to higher-ranked ones in tight spaces.
In ambiguous encounters, cats will often avert eye contact to prevent escalating conflicts.
Agonistic Behaviour
In areas of potential conflict, cats first avoid direct eye contact, displaying a gradual escalation in their threat displays.
Colony Housing in Shelters
Colony pens should include shelves for cats to establish personal territory. Cats naturally create a system where some occupy the floor while others utilize shelves.
Social behaviours like rubbing assist in reinforcing social ranks, with more subordinate cats demonstrating more frequent head rubs.
Socialization Period
Key life stage for establishing social bonds, crucial for adapting later to social environments.
Primary interactions occur between mother and kittens with the mother exhibiting epimeletic (caregiving) behaviours.
Scent Marking Behaviors
Scratching
Scratching serves multiple functions, from leaving visual marks with foot gland secretions to stretching, often observed post-nap.
Spraying
Spraying involves a specific posture and is primarily associated with male cats, marking territorial boundaries. Significantly used in mating behaviours.
Head Rubbing
Cats rub their heads against various surfaces to mark territory through scent. This tactile behaviour relates back to social communication.
Rubbing Among Cats
Rubbing may be indicative of dominance behaviour, and its frequency can change in reaction to stress or the presence of new cats in their environment.
Grooming Behavior
Cats dedicate about 30% of their waking time to grooming, which is essential for social interaction and maintaining skin health by removing parasites.
Grooming also appears to alleviate frustration and anxiety.
Communication
Acoustic forms of communication are vital, especially when visibility is compromised (e.g., blind kittens calling for their mother).
Vocalizations include purring (pleasurable states), meowing (greetings, generally to humans), hissing (defensive), and growling/yowling (aggression).
Sexual Behaviors
Female cats exhibit poly-estrus behaviours, marked by vocal calls and restlessness during heat periods.
Mating is complex with induced ovulation, where copulation promotes ovulation, and interactions can become aggressive post-mating.
Maternal-Offspring Behaviour
No pair bonds form post-mating; mothers manage kitten care independently. Immediate nursing begins after birth, with maternal behaviours fine-tuned to infant needs.
By 5 weeks, kittens begin to experience social play and predatory behaviour, with nurturing increasingly including play elements.
Development of Behavior
Stages
Prenatal: From conception to birth (approx. 63 days).
Neonatal: First two weeks where sensation develops through tactile and olfactory stimuli, with sight lagging behind.
Transitional: 2-3 weeks, mobility improves, weaning starts around week 4.
Socialization: 3-10 weeks, with rapid development in skills and social interaction.
Juvenile: Transition towards maturity as adult teeth emerge around 3.5 months.
The Catnip Response
Catnip, part of the mint family, elicits a response from 50-70% of cats, characterized by behaviours like rubbing, head shaking, and dig attempts. The response results from the active compound nepetalactone acting through the olfactory pathways and is inherited as an autosomal trait.
References
Hart, B.L., Hart, L.A., and Bain, M.J. (2006). Canine and Feline Behavior Therapy. Blackwell Publishing.
Campbell, K.L. and Campbell, J.R. (2009). Companion Animals: Their biology, care, health and management. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Turner, D.C. and Bateson, P. (2000). The Domestic Cat: The biology of its behaviour. Cambridge.
Jensen, P. (2017). The ethology of domestic animals: An introductory text. CAB International.
Blackshaw, J. (1986). Notes on Some Topics in Applied Animal Behavior. ISBN 0 9592581 0 8.