What Makes a Cat a Cat?

Kari Mundschenk, DVM

Director, American Association of Feline Practitioners

"Industrialization and urbanization have meant an increasing loneliness and isolation, a dull life, a lack of meaningful, dignified, interesting and vital occupation, alienation from nature, a loss of community and growth of consumerism.  Sadly, our pets are being dragged along kicking and screaming into the same existence."  B. Rollins

We all love our cats.  How then can it be that a majority of the health issues we deal with are "stress" induced?  Why are behavioral "issues" the number one reason of pet abandonment, surrender and euthanasia?

In order to answer these and many more questions, we need to go back in history; a time prior to the domestication of the cat.

Evidence of the existence of the ancestral cat goes back some 6000-10000 years, domestication some 2000-4000 years.  Native cats are found on every continent except Australia/New Zealand and Antarctica, a testament to the incredible adaptability of the species.  When we refer to domestication as it pertains to the cat one must question the application.  By definition, domestication means "to adapt (an animal or plant) to life in intimate association with and to the advantage of humans".  It would seem the cat has actually domesticated itself primarily for its own advantage, i.e. a readily available food supply.  The cat learned early that humans brought waste, waste brought rodents and taking up residence in close association to humans provided a ready source of food.  Equally as telling, there seems to be no historic evidence of breed selection in the cat for function.  Man has domesticated and selectively bred horses to be large to pull our plows, agile to herd our cattle, fast to entertain us in races.  We have selectively bred our dogs to guard our homes, protect our sheep, help us hunt our food and prey on varmints.  We have selectively bred our cattle for milk or meat.  Not the cat.  This species has been affected primarily for looks, not function.  So we might want to question who domesticated whom.  Further evidence that the modern cat may not be all that domestic is the feral cat population, currently believed to be larger than the pet cat population, which exists across the world today.  The cat is ably self sufficient and readily reverts to its ancestral means for survival, as we've all experienced when handling a frightened or threatened cat.

Cats, unlike dogs and cattle, are not a pack or herd species, which explains a lot about their behavior.  Cats are solitary hunters of small prey.  They do not have a daily sleep-wake cycle that we and many other animals have.  Rather, they sleep and wake frequently throughout the day and night.  This is because cats in the wild need to hunt as many as 20 small prey each day; they must be able to rest between each hunt and then pounce when food is available.  This explains why cats seem to sleep so much during the day when we are awake and spend so much time awake at night when we need to sleep.  This makes the cat appear to be a predatory nocturnal carnivore.  They really are a predatory carnivore with a tendency to be awake at multiple times of the day and night.

In order to protect themselves, cats try to hide when they are anxious or feel threatened.  They especially like to hide in high places, which permit a clear view of their surroundings.

Cats are very maternal with the sole responsibility to rear the young to be self sufficient in a limited period of time before the resources of the home territory are depleted by growing offspring.  Thus cats are very territorial; the territory must be defined and defended to ward off intruders that might compete for these resources.  Cats are not as social as many other species and they do not communicate in the same ways we do.  Contrary to what people believe, cats primarily rely on smell, not sight, to communicate with other cats, locate food and detect predators.  Cats communicate by "marking" objects and other animals; these marks are scents (called pheromones) released from special glands located in their forehead, cheeks, tail base and paws when they scratch and rub their body on objects.  Cats also do not rely too much on sounds from other cats and in the same way, do not respond to vocal tones of people in the same way other species may respond.

The cat, solitary by nature, is not antisocial.  Although strikingly independent the ancestral and domestic cat does seek to be part of a social group.  In nature, the adult female cat defines a territory only large enough to provide security and food for herself and the rearing of her young.  Although we often think of the tom cat as territorial, it is actually the female cat that is much more possessive of her domain, much less likely to accept intruders be they real or perceived, and much less tolerant of imposition.  When cats realized that close proximity to humankind vastly increased the availability of the food supply, this natural order of things was altered.  The young could mature, reproduce and stay forever in social colonies because food was plentiful.

The requirements for that survival are quite simple, and if you recognize how they relate to our modern pets you can grasp a better understanding of what makes a cat a cat.  Basically, the main requirements for survival are hunting for food, not being eaten, and defending their territory for a continual food supply and safe place to raise their young.  So the cat is really a simple creature; an apparently nocturnal predatory carnivore, solitary, maternal and territorial.  By making the cat an indoor only pet, providing free access to food, spaying and neutering, choosing the companion, deciding when we want the cat to sleep, what the cat can get up on and where to mark/scratch, we, as humans have brought about some issues which go against the very existence of our pet.  It is then up to us as their caregivers, to make sure their life is the best it can be while remaining safe and enriching.

Nutrition:  It is best to feed multiple, small meals rather than free choice.  A later talk will go into nutrition in more detail.

Socialization:  cats can be quite social with other pets and people as long as they control when and where socializing happens.  Colonies of cats have proven that cats can choose to live together with a social hierarchy.  As previously mentioned, scent is very important to the cat to define their territory and comfort zones.  Cats will mark in various ways by scratching, rubbing, urinating and defecating to make their territory comfortable.

Space:  Cats prefer vertical space.  They also need a comfort zone.  An access to a hiding area permits a cat to feel safe from people, loud noises and other animals.  It allows a cat to assess whether the situation is really something to be concerned about or not, and it allows the cat to have some private time.

Prey:  Cats have preferences.  Toys do not need to be expensive.  Some examples include an empty box or a paper bag, feathers, crumpled papers.

Now that we have an understanding of what makes a cat a cat, we will be able to address items in more detail by taking it from the cat's perspective.  We hope that tonight's talk will shed some light on the "bad" things your cat may do and future talks will help create ways that can assist two completely different species to live many, happy years together.

A final note:  Cats do not respond to force--it will actually worsen the situation.  If your cat is too rough with the play (prey) get up and leave the area (territory).  Cats respond to praise and redirection.

Thank you for coming, and we hope to see you next month.