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An Sci 120 > Cat Behaviour > Flashcards

Cat Behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

What 7 countries are domestic cats more popular than dogs?

A

Austria, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland

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2
Q

What is the gestation period of a domestic cat

A

63 days

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3
Q

How many days do a cats eyes remain closed after parturition

A

7 days

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4
Q

When do kittens reach orientation complete capabilities similar to mature cats

A

4 weeks old

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5
Q

when do kittens gain complex motor abilities?

A

10-11 weeks old

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6
Q

when do kittens start “body righting in mid air” (ability to land on its feet)

A

6 weeks of age

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7
Q

what age do kittens start to voluntarily eliminate their waste

A

5-6 weeks. Allows cat to become more independent

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8
Q

when do kittens start weaning

A

start at week 4 and finished by week 7

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9
Q

What is weaning

A

a time period from kittens transition from complete dependance to independent of mother support

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10
Q

When do major changes in a cats behaviour start

A

2 months old

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11
Q

When do cats develop a “defense personality”

A

week 4-8

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12
Q

When do cats develop mature responses to threatening social stimuli

A

8 weeks of age

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13
Q

what age does “social play” begin and end in a cat

A

begins at 4 weeks, at weeks 5-6 they begin crouching & interacting
ends at 12-14 weeks. From 8-12 weeks the play can escalate fight causing injuries

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14
Q

In natural conditions, what leads to the progression of hunting within a kitten?

A

Mothers training their kittens to hunt, first bringing dead prey, then live prey to the kitten

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15
Q

In natural conditions, what influences a kittens diet?

A

the type of prey brought to the kitten. This also influences the kittens future hunting preference

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16
Q

what effects prey preference & hunting

A

social environment

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17
Q

Is social prey a requirement for predatory behaviour in cats?

A

No, kittens can display predatory behaviour at 11 weeks old without any socialization

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18
Q

What is Equifinality

A

the end development of cats is reached by different starting conditions and developmental routes

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19
Q

Why don’t all cats act the same?

A

behaviour is affected by different socialization, levels of cat dominance, different food sources, different environments
-these factors can also affect aggression in cats

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20
Q

What are the two combinations of communication within a domestic cat

A

Solidary predation

Domestic socialization

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21
Q

What are the 4 main forms of communication for a cat

A

Olfactory, auditory, visualization, tactile

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22
Q

What are 5 forms of olfactory communication within a cat

A
  1. Urine
  2. Feces
  3. Scratching
  4. Skin glands
  5. Facial Secretion
23
Q

How do cats communicate with urine

A
  1. Soil and Litterbox
    - the urine scent is rich in felinine and isovalthene
  2. Spraying
    - rate of spray is affected by cat density, territory and male dominance
24
Q

how do cats communicate with feces

A
  1. scent detection
    - used to determine social information
  2. buried vs unbarried
    - unburied feces is used to provide social information
    - buried feces is used to “hide” from dominant cat threats
25
Q

how do cats communicate from scractching

A

claw conditioning & deposit scent from glands in paws

-marks territory and travel range and is used for avoidance behaviour (avoiding confrontation)

26
Q

how do cats communicate with skin glands

A

sebaceous secretion

  1. Bunting
    - marking scent with head on object
  2. Allorubbing
    - rubbing body against another cat/object to establish social information which determines friendly & hostile cats
27
Q

how do cats communicate with facial secretion

A

F1-F5

F3: ranging territory, important for dominance
F4: allorubbing - reduces aggression

F3&F4 are used for behavioural therapy

28
Q

what are two forms of auditory communication in cats

A
  1. Purring
  2. Meowing
    - rare between cat-cat communications
    - may be a learned behaviour
29
Q

How does purring work

A
  • occurs during inhalation & exhalation and is generated by the build and release of pressure as the glottis opens and closes vocal chords
  • this is controlled by laryngeal muscles under regulation of the neural oscillator which produces contiguous vocalization
30
Q

what are the 3 forms of visual communication in a cat

A
  1. Posture changes & Piloerection (standing hair)
    - appears to increase size of cat so it looks bigger for aggression
    - cats avoiding confrontation will appear smaller (crouched)
  2. Rolling females: indicates sexual receptivity
  3. Tail: used to signal
    - between legs means submissive
    - upright tail is used for colony affiliation (a form of dominance)
31
Q

What does a cats ears laying back and flat mean

A

Defense

32
Q

What do a cats ears sitting back and erect mean

A

aggression

33
Q

what does a body arch in a cat mean

A

conflicting emotions

-cat is neither defensive or aggressive

34
Q

how does a cat communicate through being tactile (touch)

A
  • allorubbing

- allogrooming (cats licking each other)

35
Q

what does allogrooming do

A

redirects aggression and assert dominance

more aggressive and dominant cats lick submissive animals which is a form of asserting dominance

36
Q

what does it mean if a cats tail is up

A
  • an important form of communication in domestic cats; sign of domestication
  • ex) cat-human communication
37
Q

How does a usually independent animal (solitary) develop a (interspecies) relationship (dyad) with people

A
  1. chemical mediators in the brain such as oxytocin enable animals to be capable of social interaction
  2. strength of bonding- do they both feel safe
  3. interactions- routine & ritual behaviour
38
Q

what is the mesolimbic reward system

A

involved in desire rewarding and social behaviour/emotions

39
Q

what factors lead to human cat bonding

A
  1. Cat genetics
  2. age of socialization
  3. husbandry practices (housing conditions)
40
Q

what are 3 cat personalities and which cats have a hard time adapting to changing environments

A
  1. Bold, confident, easy going
  2. shy nervous
  3. active/aggressive

the active/aggressive cat will have a harder time adapting

41
Q

what are two cat behaviour problems

A
  1. Inappropriate house spoiling
    - horizontal surfaces with large amounts of urine
  2. Urine marking
    - vertical surfaces with small amounts of urine
42
Q

what are solutions to inappropriate house spoiling

A

Urban:
clean litterbox
use a litter that is the preference for the cat
one box for each number of cats

outdoor:

  • enclosed protection from weather & aggressive animals
  • use a covered roof
  • sandbox
43
Q

what are solutions to urine marking

A

castration of intact males

  • reduces testosterone/androgens
  • clean litterbox
  • aluminum foil
  • cover windows
  • pheromone sprays (reduce aggression)
  • behaviour modifying medication
44
Q

what are preliminary signs of inappropriate urination

A

signs of aversion to litter such as straddling box, shaking paws, not covering feces

45
Q

what are preliminary signs of urine marking

A

preceded by identifiable stimuli such as agnostic interactions with feline housemates or outside cats

46
Q

what are the 6 forms of aggression in cats

A
  1. Territorial aggression
  2. Fear-related aggression
    3, Inter-male or inter-cat aggression
  3. Play related aggression
  4. Redirected aggression
  5. Pet-evoked aggression
47
Q

what is a solution to territorial aggression

A

keep cats separated and introduce cats slowly, reducing communal litter box use

48
Q

what is a solution to fear-related aggression

A

avoid fear generating events

  • slow desensitization
  • allow for an escape
49
Q

what is a solution to inter-male or inter-cat aggression

A

castration

50
Q

what is a solution to play-related aggression

A

redirect behaviours, aversion treatment

51
Q

what is a solution to re-directed aggression

A

avoid aggressive inducing events- don’t allow male cats to look outside the window

52
Q

what is a solution to pet-evoked aggression

A

reduce amount of time holding the cat

-can be a challenge to treat because the cat may lash out at the owner unexpectedly

53
Q

what is a solution to cats scratching furniture

A
  • redirect behaviours
  • add scent to scratching post
  • rub cats feet on post (will transfer scent for secretory glands)
54
Q

what are possible reasons for cats eating grass

A
  • rebalance intestinal bacteria communities

- innate behaviour to eat grass

An Sci 120 (15 decks)

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