Feline behaviour Flashcards
Domestication in cats
Domestication occurred later than dogs
Associated with farming and storage of food
Cats were attracted by rodents that were after the stored food
Cats co-evolved with us
Useful for rodent control
Small so not a threat to people
Self sufficient
Unlike other domestic animals, do not work for or with us.
Social behaviour in cats
Cats can be solitary animals.
Cats may also live in colonies.
Usually consist of a group of related breeding queens and their offspring
May include one or more males.
Or toms may live individually with large ranges than can overlap several colonies.
Queens and toms may collaborate in raising kittens.
Even in a colony, have own space.
Always hunt alone: ambush hunters
There are genetically friendly and unfriendly cats.
The friendly cats are like dogs – very social; the unfriendly cats are “fiercely” independent.
Cats are somewhat nocturnal creatures – more active during the evening and early morning
Neonatal phase in cats
Birth-2 weeks
Born blind and deaf.
Eyes open between 2- 16 days
Hearing development is complete by 4 weeks of age.
Minimal social interaction
Require stimulation from queen to urinate and defecate.
Suck milk from queen
Cannot regulate body temperature or self-groom.
DO: handle gently, but only for brief moments
Their sense of smell is well developed and is used for gathering social information.
Open their mouth and curl their upper lip.
Kittens are born with a very acute sense of touch.
Will turn their head towards whichever side they are touched.
Front paw pads are sensitive to vibrations.
Vibrassae on the body are very sensitive.
Mystacial, superciliary, genal tufts, mandibular, and carpal
Early socialization of cats
3-8 weeks
This period of development is crucial if we want the kitten to live with humans.
Vision finishes developing
They begin to eat solid food.
Begin walking.
Gradually stop sucking.
Develop bladder control, begin to use the litter box.
Start to play, groom, eye colour changes, teeth erupt.
Early socialization do’s of cats
Provide kittens with food and fresh water.
Gentle handling and play by multiple people.
Expose to a variety of safe people and pets.
Consider socialization classes if available.
Provide litter boxes.
Low side
Scoop twice daily
Use unscented litter.
Get the kitten used to the carrier as a safe place.
Provide toys, novel experiences, kitten proof home, a custom them to being examined.
8 weeks is a good time to wean and rehome.
Early socialization of cats don’ts
Rough play with kittens
Play hide and seek as you are the one being sought out.
Do not isolate!
Remember this also has a fear period.
Preparing a new home for kittens
Kitten proof home
Block small holes kitty can escape into
Move strings and cords out of reach or tie up
Set up a ‘base camp’
Off limits to other pets (gradually introduce)
Only admit children with supervision
Comfortable bed
Litter box
Food and water (keep away from litter box)
Toy(s)
Cardboard box to play/hide in
Scratching post – with both vertical and horizontal surfaces.
Play with kitty lots.
Short periods frequently
Gradually introduce to house
Kittens/cats may not like being stroked.
May scratch in response.
Late socialization of cats
9 to 16 weeks
Eating solid food
Social play peaks
May be conflicts.
Vigorous exploration and climbing
Make sure they have a safe place to climb in
late socialization of cats do
Continue social education.
Cats that are not socialized to people prior to 12 weeks.
Wild and impossible to handle.
Larger litter box?
Minimum 1.5 x cat’s length
Provide vertical climbing spaces.
Vaccination
Adolescence in cats
17 weeks – 1 year
Reaches sexual maturity.
If not neutered may:
Spray/urine mark inside house
Fight
Roam
Owner should:
Continue to play and reward friendly activity.
Positive reinforcement and environmental enrichment required.
Microchip
Re-evaluate litter box size.
Requires mental stimulation – train your cat.
Adult stage in cats
Mature at about 2-3 years.
Social play decreases
Owner:
Reevaluate litter box size.
Play and reward good behavior.
Rotate toys, environmental enrichment is key.
Grooming behaviour in cats
Kittens start grooming at about 2 weeks of age.
Spend about half of their awake hours grooming.
Grooming or level of cleanliness is learned early from the queen and litter mates.
Often the first thing to change when ill.
Has four main functions:
Maintain healthy skin and coat.
Reduce heat (evaporation)
Affiliative behaviour between cats
Calming or communicative
Territorial behaviour in cats
Cats defend their territory and mark it:
Pheromone glands in the cheek, tail, and paws
Can scratch mark surfaces.
Defecate and leave uncovered in obvious places to mark territory.
Urine marking in cats
Urination problems are the number one behavioral problem in cats.
Urine marking
More common in intact males, can also be seen in females.
Spraying
Tail raised.
Treads on front feet
Smaller volume
Mark vertical surfaces
Occasionally small volume urination on horizontal surfaces
Urine marking of cats in the home
A high density of cats in the home contributes to spraying.
Spraying increases from 25% in single cat household to 100% in a 10-cat household
Intact males or females in heat are most likely to spray.
Urine marking in cats - treatment
Neutering, especially before sexual maturity
Spraying is also a learned behavior so the older the cat when neutered, the less likely neutering will eliminate spraying.
Decrease the motivation for spraying.
Deter other cats from coming onto your property.
Prevent your cat from seeing outside cats.
In a multicat house, separate cats that are not getting along.
Includes litter boxes and sleeping quarters.
You can try to reintroduce when you can supervise.
Make the specific place unwelcome.
Place their food or litter box in those particular spots.
Clean the areas with enzymatic cleaners – eliminates the odor.
Do not use ammonia-based cleaners.
Spray surfaces with synthetic facial pheromone designed to create calm and friendly behavior in cats i.e. Feliway
Drug therapy may work.
Anti-anxiety or anti-depressant drugs
Remember physical punishment does not work on cats.
Non marking urination of cats
Squat urination
On average twice a day
Ideally in a litter box
Digs with forepaws to make a pit.
Ideally for more than 4 seconds
Squat and urinates.
Creates a puddle.
May cover urine with substrate.
Urinate in home territory.
Cats Prefer:
Clean litter box (clean twice a day) – so do people
Litter box at least 1.5 x cats’ length
Can be narrow (10 cm +)
Sweater or small dog box
Fine substrate
Convenient quiet, private, clean location
Have one more litter box than number of cats
Cats with huge urinations and only eliminate once a day are behaving abnormally.
Basically, trying to keep their legs crossed hoping to find a better option.
Sometimes they can’t hold it anymore and choose the bed, the laundry or the carpet.
Holding urine can lead to urinary tract disease.
Abandonment of the litter box
There are several reasons or combination of reasons for a cat to abandon its litterbox or use it inconsistently.
The most common causes are:
Surface preference
Location preference
Litter box aversion
Stress
Smell
Surface preference of cats for litter box
The cat has decided that a surface other than the litterbox is preferred because:
Box is not maintained.
Substrate
Generally fine grained or softer substrates are preferred.
Unscented
About 4 cm deep
Covered or open
Individual variation in cat’s preference
Once a cat has learned to use another substrate (i.e. the carpet or quilt on the bed) it may remain the preferred substrate, even if litterbox is improved.
Suitable location of the litter box
Do not put litter boxes in closed spaces.
Good locations: rooms with more than 1 doorway, along a long wall of a large room
Poor locations: under the stairs, in closets etc.
Needs an escape route.
At least 3m away from food
This is extremely difficult in a clinic setting.
In the core of the cat’s living space
Cats don’t like to go for a hike to use the litterbox.
Defecation of cats
One to three dumps a day
Usually in a pit in the litter box
Defecation in the open is used to mark territory.
Socially interactive toys for cats
Toys on string
Feathers on sticks
Laser pointer
Solitary toys for cats
Plastic bottle with kibble and holes to let kibble out.
Kongs, mice
Box with holes and food inside
Box to hide in
Videos / window
Round plastic shower curtain rings (either linked together and hung or individual to bat around)
Plastic rolling balls – ping pong or practice golf balls (the ones with holes in them)
Paper bags
Cardboard rolls
Soft stuffed toys
Catnip or honeysuckle
Environmental enrichment cats
Exercise wheel
Cat run
Regularly make small changes to make your cat adaptable.
Switch toys up
Move the food bowl to different elevations
Catnip
Herb from the mint family.
The active ingredient is Nepetalactone.
Works through olfactory stimulation.
When cats smell catnip they can exhibit different reactions:
Excitation
Sedation
No reaction at all (seen in about 30% of cats).
Because the Nepetalactone reaction is genetically linked.
The reaction lasts 5- 10 minutes but cannot be evoked again for at least an hour.
Destructive behaviour in cats treatment
Treatment comes in the form of redirection.
Training has 3 components.
Provide an appropriate scratching surface.
Teach cats to use the new surface.
Discourage use of inappropriate surface
Destructive behaviour treatment Redirect the behavior by providing a suitable scratching surface.
Vertical or horizontal depending on cat’s preference.
Should be as long or tall as the cat is when fully stretched
Material type is important!
Sisal, Rug
Location, location, location
