Greetings cat lovers! Skye Blake here, reporting in with some interesting tidbits to help you understand the behavior of your sweet, crazy, angry or scaredy cat.
I’ve been following some interesting trails so you can learn how we modern felines think and see our world.
Then you can understand better why we behave the way we do.
Whether in your house or out in the wild, we all have the same instincts.
The information here is for general knowledge… always see your vet with questions about your cat’s individual needs.
Who Is Skye Blake?
Skye Blake, Cat Info Detective, is a curious cat researcher (not a veterinarian) who sniffs out expert, reliable sources about cats, studies their information, then passes it on to you!
Sometimes there’s not enough evidence for easy answers, so Skye gives you all sides, explains the situation as thoroughly and clearly as possible, and links you to experts on each page.
All sources are given at the bottom of each page so you can do more snooping…
Cats Are Not Little Dogs… We Don’t Behave the Same
First, let’s state the obvious… we aren’t little dogs! (a horrifying thought, being compared to those awful beasts!)
Dogs do things to make their masters happy.
We cats do things because we get something out of it.
If you want us to behave a certain way, make it worth our while.
Big tip for you… we don’t respond to “discipline” of any kind… including that nasty spray bottle.
We just learn to fear and avoid you.
People have bred dogs for thousands of years to fit certain jobs. They’re bred for physical and behavior traits that benefit people.
Dogs are a great help to farmers, hunters, police, disabled people, and others.
OK, ok… they can be sweet companions and fun to have around (great heating pads too!).
Cats Haven’t Been Bred for Behavior Traits
It’s different with cats, though. People have only bred us for a little while in comparison to dogs, primarily for physical traits, not behavior.
Humans breed cats for…
- eye color
- coat color and patterns
- length of fur
- head and face shape
- tails
- legs
They also work to remove genetic defects liked crossed eyes and tail kinks in Siamese.
Feline Ancestors
All house cats descend from the African Wildcat (felis silvestris lybica).
This wild relative still lives in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and western Asia.
Some of us even still look like them, tabby cats in particular.
Some breeds are only a few generations from their wild ancestors.
The Savannah cat is a good example, being a cross between a wild serval and a domestic cat.
They often have special needs because they’re still more wild than domestic.
There’s been no need to change our primal cat behavior beyond getting us to trust people and be friendly… that is until people decided to take us to live in their houses.
Since we haven’t been bred for behavioral characteristics, it doesn’t take much for our natural instincts to come out and our true feline behavior to show itself.
Cat Behavior is about Territory, Territory, TERRITORY!
Securing, patrolling, protecting, sharing territory (our world) as peacefully as possible… that’s what it’s all about for us.
To humans, territory is the four walls of your house and what’s in it.
You may have other outside boundaries to mark territory you own but you usually stay on terra firma, whether walking, sitting, or lying in bed.
We cats see everything vertical as our territory, too, not just the ground, so that means anything we can jump or climb on.
This affects how we act in your house.
Furniture, shelves, cabinets, narrow ledges, curtain rods, and many other things are all fair game.
Look up, I love a good tree to climb!
Just to make it more fun, we see your yard and anything outside the house as our territory, too!
That’s true for indoor-only kitties as well as those that go outside.
So, any critters, especially other cats who wander by, instantly alert us… INTRUDER ALERT, INTRUDER ALERT, TERRITORY UNDER THREAT!
We even act the same inside in our territory as we would outside. Our daily activities are exactly like our wild relatives.
We sleep, hunt, catch prey and eat, groom our wonderful selves and sleep again to have energy to hunt.
Our behavior is never random. It’s always related to this routine and territory.
See “The Territorial Cat” for more on this topic.
How Does This Relate to My Cat Being a Picky Eater, Scratching My Sofa, or Peeing on My Bed?
Knowing the way your cat sees her world is the basis for creating any change in behaviors you don’t want.
Understanding what she’s doing means you can change things you’re doing to fit what she needs.
These unwanted behaviors are signs that there’s something you need to change in her world.
Perhaps she has a bladder problem that needs vet attention.
Maybe she’s scratching the sofa because you haven’t given her a usable scratching post nearby that she likes.
Or she’s insecure because you’ve changed something in her world, and she has to mark her territory to feel secure again.
Use what you learn here to think about how your cat behaves in her world… your house.
Remember, to her it’s the same as if she were outside.
She sleeps, hunts, kills and eats her prey, grooms and sleeps again.
Often changing your behavior, as you understand her needs, changes her behavior too.
Your cat is then happy, content and secure in her world and you are too!
Discover more at “The Territorial Cat“.
Sources
Sources used on this website are either primary or secondary.
Primary sources are always preferable and have the most reliable information because they’re original and directly referenced.
Scientific abstracts and data are good examples of primary sources.
Secondary sources are weaker because they usually consist of opinions or articles that give no sources of their own.
However, sometimes they refer to primary sources.
When I use secondary sources, most are those with some authority, such as veterinarian or cat behaviorist books and articles.
List of Sources
“77 Things to Know Before Getting a Cat”, by Susan M. Ewing, Companion House Books, Fox Chapel Publishers International, Ltd., 2018
“African Wildcat”, Wikipedia
“Cat Calls: Wonderful Stories and Practical Advice from a Veteran Cat Sitter”, by Jeanne Adlon and Susan Logan (c), Used by permisson. Square One Publishers (www.squareonepublishers.com), Garden City Park, NY, 2012, page 60
“The Cat Whisperer”, by Mieshelle Nagelschneider, Bantam Books, The Random House Publishing Group, New York NY, 2013, www.bantamdell.com
“CatWise”, by Pam Johnson-Bennett, Certified Animal Behavior Consultant, Penguin Books, Penguin Random House, LLC, New York, NY, 2016
“The Inner Life of Cats, The Science and Secrets of Our Mysterious Feline Companions”, by Thomas McNamee, Hachette Books, Hachette Book Group, New York, NY, 2017, www.hachettebooks.com
“Think Like a Cat, How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat – Not a Sour Puss”, by Pam Johnson-Bennett, Certified Animal Behavior Consultant, Penguin Books, Penguin Group (USA) Inc, New York, NY, 2000, 2011
“The Tiger on Your Couch, What the Big Cats Can Teach You About Living in Harmony with Your House Cat”, by Bill Fleming and Judy Petersen-Fleming, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, NY, 1992
“Total Cat Mojo”, by Jackson Galaxy with Mikel Delgado, PhD, Tarcher Perigree, Penguin Random House, LLC, New York, NY, 2017
“What Your Cat Wants”, by Francesca Riccomini, Thunder Bay Press, Octopus Publishing Group, San Diego, CA, 2012
Updated February 27, 2023