Why Cats Do What They Do Cats are so everyday that we scarcely realize what they do and why they do it, but cat behaviour is quite an interesting topic really, especially for cat owners and animal lovers. Cat behaviour is normally taken to refer to that of household cats, although they do share some characteristics with their larger wild relatives. A cat's behaviour largely depends on whether it is a solitary cat or one of a number in a household. Cats are normally solitary animals only coming together to mate, although they will usually co-exist with other cats in a house, particularly if they met when they were young or those that were introduced were young. You might become problems of territorialism if you attempt to introduce an older cat into a house, where another cat has been living for a time. This is equivalent to large cats, which have their hunting ground that they patrol and delineate with urine and faeces every day. Tom cats sometimes do this at home, much to the annoyance of their owners. Rubbing has a comparable meaning. A cat rubs with scent glands on its face to mark something as its own, especially territory, which is all cats actually worry about except food. Kneading or knitting is another prevalent trait in household cats, although it is not actually well understood. One theory goes that domestic cats stay juveniles, never actually growing up, so kneading is evocative of kneading its mother's teats to encourage the flow milk. Others say that it is reminiscent of flattening grass to create a bed, but this does not seem to explain the rapture that cats seem to obtain from kneading. We like to hear our cats purr because we perceive it as a sign of happiness, but is it? Well, it probably is, but it almost certainly comes from the fact that cats are born sightless and, like most babies, fairly stupid, so the sound of mum purring probably attracts the kittens to her for a feed. The 'memory' of this glad event almost certainly triggers purring in adult cats. When a cat arches its back, it is probably telling its aggressor that it is bigger than they think it is. It is also an attack posture. With its back arched, a cat can rear up in order to claw a taller adversary, but it can also jump or run, whichever action is apposite. The hissing goes with arching to deter the aggressor. Cats do not have a broad vocal range and, being nocturnal hunters, they have developed a great deal of 'eye language'. For example, if a cat is happy, it's eyes dilate - rather like when humans look at their loved ones. However, it also happens in cats while they are hunting, which might mean either that they enjoy that activity or that they need as much light as possible to see by.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with feline distemper vaccination. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Distemper Vaccines