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How Cats Are Made: Nature, Nurture, and the Now
Paula Garber examines the many factors involved in a cat’s development and the influence they have on a cat’s behavior and personality, so that newlyadopted-cat owners can help their pets adapt to their new home life and prevent possible behavior problems arising © Can Stock Photo / dirkr
In contrast to dogs and other domesticated animals, the cats on our couches remain quite similar to their African wildcat ancestor, Felis sylvestris lybica
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question on my behavior consulting intake form asks, “What do you know about your cat’s early history?” More often than not, the client’s response is, “Nothing.” Sometimes, this is because the cat was taken in as a stray or was relinquished to a shelter or rescue group by an owner who didn’t know or didn’t share the information. Other times, the client didn’t ask about the cat’s history when the cat was acquired. I see this not only with clients who adopted their cats from a shelter or rescue, but also with clients who buy kittens from breeders. When adopting or purchasing a new puppy, breed and breed char acteristics are important factors that many potential dog owners con sider to help align their expectations for the size, appearance, and behavior of the puppy when it grows to be an adult (Karsh & Turner, 1988). While different breeds of dogs were developed primarily to serve specific purposes for humans and also exhibit certain behaviors, cat breeds were developed primarily to achieve certain physical characteris tics (Moffatt, 2020). In fact, “cats virtually never were selected to per form in a working role for humans” (Hart et al., 2014).
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BARKS from the Guild/November 2021
Appearance Since cats have been primarily bred for their visual appeal to humans, it makes sense that the length, color, and pattern of the coat are some of the most important factors to adopters of kittens (Karsh & Turner, 1988). Actually, when choosing a cat of any age, it is not uncommon for adopters to base their decision primarily on the cat’s outward appear ance and be less interested, or not interested at all, in the cat’s socializa tion history, life experiences, and behavior. In Karsh’s study on placing adult cats, she found that “appearance of the cat, particularly the cat’s color, was usually the most important factor” to the person acquiring a cat (Karsh & Turner, 1988). The lack of interest in the behavioral history of cats could also be the result of the assumption (and the expectation) that all cats behave similarly. In other words, “a cat is a cat.” In particu lar, negative behaviors related to stress in cats (e.g., hissing, swatting, hiding) are often “normalized” (Delgado, 2020). Just look at all the memes on social media that portray cats as “mean,” “fractious,” or “spiteful” while also implying (or flatout stating) that this is typical cat behavior.
