Family Pets – Understanding Cat Behavior

Aloof, uncaring, and independent. Are these three terms you would associate with cat behavior? Ask any dog lover, and they’ll surely tell you that these traits of cat behavior are the very reasons they prefer Rover to Fluffy. The difference between a dog and cat is that while Rover aims to please the Alpha of the pack (you), cats don’t feel the same desire at all. Cats hold no instinct to survive in a pack and be submissive to a leader. Their only motivation is survival, nothing else.

A cat’s cool attitude fools many people, but know that felines are very intelligent creatures. Cats may not care about learning to roll over or lie down on command, but they can learn other things, such as not jumping on the kitchen table or counter or that your stereo speakers aren’t to be used for sharpening claws. Dogs and cats learn differently and in different ways. A dog might respond to a firm tone, but domination does very little for a feline. To train a cat, you must think like a cat and communicate in ways it understands.

Cats are solitary creatures. Unlike their canine counterparts, cats can go for long periods of time without ever seeing another of its kind. Their language doesn’t have to be as complex as that of dogs. Most of the time, cat behavior and language is very straightforward. For example, there is no mistaking the message behind the classic “Halloween Cat” pose. You know right away when a cat is frightened or angry. Cats also give off certain scents depending on their mood. Of course, with a human’s limited capacity for picking up scents, we can’t smell most of these subtle chemical changes.

Along with body language and scent, cats also communicate vocally. Many cat owners will tell you that their cats “talk” to them. The classic “meow” can be interpreted so many ways. If you listen carefully enough, you can often hear question in the inflection of the sound. There’s a meow for, “I know you’re opening a can of tuna!” There are meows and soft, rumbling purrs that mean, “Are you getting out of bed yet?”

When cats get excited, you might hear them chirp. They might greet you with a trilling sound when you come home. There is the wailing of a female cat in heat and the growling of the one-night-stand going on under your bedroom window in the middle of the night. Last but not least, there’s purring when your cat is utterly content.

You may need to observe cat behaviour and work at listening to the vocal communications of your pet for some time. Having an eye on what your cat does will help you narrow down what your cat is thinking. You may soon even be able to react to what your cat might try to do before he does it. Learning about cat behavior can go far in helping you to train your cat.