The Purrfect Guide to Thinking Like a Cat Read online

  The Purrfect Guide to

  Thinking Like a Cat

  The Purrfect Guide to

  Thinking Like a Cat

  Emma Milne and Karen Wild

  Thunder Bay Press

  An imprint of Printers Row Publishing Group

  10350 Barnes Canyon Road, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121

  www.thunderbaybooks.com

  Copyright © 2018 Amber Books Ltd

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Printers Row Publishing Group is a division of Readerlink Distribution Services, LLC.

  Thunder Bay Press is a registered trademark of Readerlink Distribution Services, LLC.

  All notations of errors or omissions should be addressed to Thunder Bay Press, Editorial Department, at the above address. All other correspondence (author inquiries, permissions) concerning the content of this book should be addressed to Amber Books Ltd

  United House, North Road, London, N7 9DP, United Kingdom

  www.amberbooks.co.uk

  Project Editor: Sarah Uttridge

  Design: Andrew Easton

  Thunder Bay Press

  Publisher: Peter Norton

  Associate Publisher: Ana Parker

  Publishing/Editorial Team: April Farr, Kelly Larsen, Kathryn C. Dalby

  Editorial Team: JoAnn Padgett, Melinda Allman, Traci Douglas

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-68412-502-9

  eBook Edition: March 2018

  CONTENTS

  Introduction

  BEFORE GETTING A CAT

  The Five Welfare Needs

  Where Cats Came From

  How Cats Learn

  Cat Communication

  Cat Vocalization

  Breed Traits

  Picking a Breed

  Picking a Breeder

  KITTENS!

  Picking a Kitten

  Kitten Development

  Socialization and Habituation

  Feeding Kittens

  Vaccination

  Neutering

  Worms and Other Parasites

  Insurance

  Stringing You Along

  When To Go To The Vet

  Declawing

  ADULTHOOD

  Exercise and Obesity

  Diabetes

  Creepy-Crawlies

  Stress-related Disease

  Common Poisons

  SUPER SENIORS

  Senior Considerations

  Kidney Disease

  Thyroid Disease

  Senior Health Checks

  Aging Gracefully

  Saying Goodbye

  A CAT’S SENSES

  Sight

  Taste and Touch

  Sound

  Smell and Scent Marking

  Eating and Drinking

  BEHAVIOR AND TRAINING

  Behavioral Health

  How Training Works

  Hunting and Predation

  Territory

  Fears and Phobias

  Eating Unusual Items

  Over-grooming, Pawing, and Scratching

  Self-reliance and Independence

  Litter Tray Problems

  Indoor Cats

  Fun Cat Activities

  Scratching

  Aggression

  Living With Other Cats

  Introducing New Cats

  Living With People

  Household Rules

  Harmony With Your Cat

  Index

  INTRODUCTION

  Cats and humans have shared this wonderful planet for thousands of years. It didn’t take long for cats to realize that humans can be quite useful to have around. With our big food stores and abundant rodents, we are attractive, and cats have learned that they are able to tolerate us. Our life with cats has been on their terms since they first realized this!

  You may have heard the saying “Dogs have owners; cats have staff.” Well, that is very true. It has taken a long time for us to come to grips with cat behavior, and many humans are still mystified by the things cats do. Cats evolved to spend most of their time alone. It can seem that they didn’t develop complex communication. But cats are subtle creatures that live in a world of nuances most humans just don’t notice.

  As a vet and cat owner, I often hear people say, “Argh, I hate cats, and yet they always come and sit on me.” Let me tell you why. People who love cats enter a room and, on spotting a cat, do everything in their power to get the cat to like them. They follow the feline, try to pick it up, reach out their hand, stare at the cat intently, and make all manner of bizarre squeaking noises. Cats HATE this! To cats, this is the height of a rude intrusion into their personal space at best, and at worst, it is terrifying!

  But consider the cat-haters. They are absolutely desperate for cats to stay away from them. They are petrified that, as is usual, the creature will make a beeline straight for them. They steadfastly avoid eye contact, they don’t approach the cat, and they don’t lean toward it. In fact, they totally ignore the animal. To the cat, this is the sweetest, least threatening kind of human ever encountered. And 30 seconds later, the cat is snuggled up happily on the cat-hater’s lap! Freedom of choice is the key to happiness.

  In the following pages, you’ll discover lots more about the weird and wonderful world of cat behavior. With a strong focus on keeping your cat healthy as well as happy, this book will take you on a journey. These 501 tips begin with choosing the right cat. They will encourage you in kittenhood and take you through the grownup times, onward into those mellow senior years. If you already have a cat, you may start to notice things you’d never seen before. When you emerge at the other end, you’re sure to be an owner worthy of a cat’s hard-won love!

  BEFORE GETTING A CAT

  THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS

  1.RESEARCH

  Knowing the five welfare needs of animals (food, environment, health, sociability, and behavior) is an excellent and simple way to think about the care of any animal, including cats. Before you commit to owning a pet, you should research its needs and decide honestly if you can meet them.

  2.NEEDS

  Three of the welfare needs are physical things, such as needing a suitable place to live and the correct food, and these are usually easiest to get right. The other two can be thought of as happiness needs, and this is where many people go wrong, by not fully understanding their pet’s requirements. The five welfare needs are as follows:

  3.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #1: FOOD

  A cat is what’s called an obligate carnivore. In the wild, a cat has to eat meat to get all the essential nutrients. Providing the right food for each time of your cat’s life is very important. Fresh water should always be available as well.

  4.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #2: ENVIRONMENT

  For most cats, this will be your house and yard or garden, and you’ll need to ensure that there are lots of comfortable places for them to sleep. Think carefully if you don’t have a yard. As you’ll see, cats can get very stressed when kept indoors and can have behavioral problems and even some diseases as a result.

  5.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #3: HEALTH

  Vaccinations, worm and flea treatment, neutering, illness, and injuries all cost a lot of money. Be realistic about money when thinking about pets. Cats can cost as much as $31,330 (£24,000) in a lifetime, and the average is around $15,660 (£12,000)!
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br />   6.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #4: SOCIABILITY

  Cats are solitary creatures by nature and don’t need the company of other cats to be happy. In fact, many cats hate living with other cats and see them as a threat. Along with being kept indoors, living with other cats is a major cause of stress.

  7.THE FIVE WELFARE NEEDS #5: BEHAVIOR

  Cats do a lot of things that people don’t like. They bring animals — dead, alive, or in pieces—into the home and sometimes put the animals into your shoes! Cats climb. They sit on work surfaces and scratch furniture. They treat us like slaves! You need to be prepared to love all these aspects of their nature.

  8.HONESTY

  If you already have a cat, think about these needs and ask yourself if there are any ways you could do better. If you’re thinking about getting a cat or kitten, research all these needs really well, and be HONEST with yourself!

  9.PRACTICE

  It’s not okay to deprive a cat of one of its needs because it’s inconvenient. By learning all about your cat’s needs beforehand, you can make the right choices about your lifestyle and whether a cat is the right pet for you.

  10.LOVE

  An animal can make life wonderful. Coming home to the welcoming chirrup from your cat can make the worst day all okay again. Remember that you need to be good to the cat, too. You need to uphold your end of the bargain!

  WHERE CATS CAME FROM

  11.ANCESTRY

  Randomly bred cats from around the world can be traced back to eight geographic regions of origin: Western Europe, Egypt, the East Mediterranean, Iran and Iraq, the Arabian Sea, India, South Asia, and East Asia.

  12.BREED HISTORY

  Cat breeds are far more recent than those of dogs, who were selected for jobs that humans needed them to do. Most cat breeds are less than 100 years old. The humans who designed them focused mainly on looks and cosmetic preference, rather than useful traits.

  13.DOMESTICATION

  Even living alongside humans, cats have remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. It is thought that two main ancient lineages contribute to the cat breeds of today.

  14.HOW CATS LIVED WITH HUMANS

  Cats were brought into the human world to assist with vermin control, although it is thought that some cats, such as the Egyptian breeds, were also popular due to their sociability and tameness.

  15.CATS IN HISTORY

  While dogs were bred for certain purposes, such as herding, cats already did what humans needed. They offered companionship and vermin-hunting skills, meaning they were already as perfect as they are today!

  16.EGYPTIAN CATS

  Cats, known in ancient Egypt as the “Mau,” were an important part of ancient Egyptian society. They were associated with the goddesses Bastet and Mafdet and were routinely mummified. You can still see ancient cat mummies in museums to this day!

  17.WITCHES’ CATS

  Historically, cats were associated with witches, and as a result, they were often killed during the time of the Black Death, in the mid-fourteenth century. This, of course, did not help keep down the disease-carrying rodent population at the time!

  18.CHANGES IN APPEARANCE

  The cat’s appearance has been changed the most in the twentieth century, due to human selection. Our choices have sometimes had disastrous consequences for the animal’s health. Prior to this time, only the tabby’s stripes and coat were popularized.

  HOW CATS LEARN

  19.EARLY LEARNING

  Cats learn from everything around them, even when very young. Kittens that are not handled during the neonatal stage, or even those born to mothers not petted during pregnancy, may suffer. This can affect the kittens’ reactions later in life. Gentle handling of alert kittens helps them learn not to fear human interaction.

  20.INSTINCTIVE RESPONSES

  These “knee-jerk” reactions are not learned: they are instant responses to a stimulus. For example, a sudden movement toward your face might make you blink. Cats are born with similar responses. Such a reaction is called an unconditioned response, meaning it is not learned.

  21.LINKING STIMULUS TO RESPONSE

  In the late 1800s, Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, pioneered the link between using a sound trigger and learning. B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist and behaviorist, then studied “operant conditioning,” linking cues or commands to learned behaviors. Cats can learn quickly in this manner.

  22.CONDITIONED OR LEARNED RESPONSES

  Conditioned responses include many everyday examples of a cat’s learned behaviors. A cat that is chased or held tightly by young children may quickly learn to avoid them or may learn to scratch and attack.

  23.LEARNING WITH A PURPOSE

  A cat learns based on what it finds important, what benefits it, or what causes the cat to be unhappy. This affects every aspect of a cat’s life. If your cat has learned something, ask yourself what your cat was trying to achieve by this learning.

  24.SURROUNDINGS

  Cats are continually learning from their environment. The context of events affects their behavior, and the consequences of that behavior influence what they choose next. Cats will learn new skills, whether or not you want them to!

  25.CONSEQUENCES. GOOD OR BAD?

  The outcomes of choices can be reinforcing and rewarding, or they can be punishing. Cats may run, chase, and hunt with different consequences. They may seek or lose food, shelter, safety, or sexual partners. While cats seek to fulfill their needs with their behaviors, they will have differing preferences.

  26.TRAINING A CAT

  Manipulating learning through training teaches cats to work alongside humans. Normally, cats will avoid anything threatening, far more than they will seek reward. Punishment creates enormous stress in cats and is not a suitable training method. Reward-based methods are effective, kind, and preferable.

  27.WHAT DO CATS FIND REWARDING?

  This varies from cat to cat and is demonstrated by what the cat is looking to achieve. A cat will often avoid situations and seek out safety in high or concealed places. Strongly scented food may attract a cat; if so, the food may be used to good effect in training.

  28.WHAT DO CATS FIND PUNISHING?

  By definition, punishment is anything that causes a cat to reduce or entirely stop doing something. A cat is sensitive to nuance and may quickly fight back if it feels that something aversive is about to happen. A punishing situation can be as simple as a human’s stroking the cat for too long.

  29.LINKING LEARNING CHAINS

  As with all learning, a cat links events together and can use these links to predict outcomes based on behavior. There is usually more than one behavior, known as a chain of behaviors, leading to a predicted outcome. Behavior chains can be very complex, based on the cat’s previous learning.

  CAT COMMUNICATION

  30.DO CATS “TALK” TO US?

  They certainly do, but we don’t always understand them. All cat owners need to interpret their cats’ signals correctly so that we don’t trample the poor cats’ feelings—or their tails!

  31.LIMITED SIGNALS

  Cats do not show the wide range of expression that we are used to from pet dogs. This means we may sometimes think our cats are tolerating things that they in fact heartily dislike.

  32.INTEREST

  When showing interest, a cat will focus its eyes intently. The cat may not move as it decides whether to approach or retreat. But just because the cat does not move away does not mean the cat is comfortable with the situation.

  33.ESTABLISH SAFETY

  Cats may wander seemingly innocently around the perimeter of a room, but they are checking whether or not to come any closer, and they are staying at a safe distance until that decision is made.

  34.APPROACH

  If the cat feels confident enough, the cat will come closer, tentatively, and will sniff ahead. The cat’s head will raise and lower a little during this exploration.

  35.EXPLORE!

  Now it’s time to ha
ve a look. The cat will examine the person or object. It’s possible that the cat will jump onto a lap or into a box, if those are the options, but this is done to check out if the lap or box feels like a secure place.

  36.SAYING HELLO

  A cat that feels very comfortable will rub cheeks alongside your face, or rub its body alongside an object. The cat may bump its head affectionately underneath your chin.

  37.TAIL UP STRAIGHT

  It’s easy to see if your cat’s tail is up high in the air, which usually happens when it’s approaching you. This is a signal of friendliness, greeting, and relaxation.

  38.TAIL SIDE TO SIDE

  If the tail is held out straight and moving side to side across the body, this can be a signal of aggressive intent. A cat’s tail will thrash angrily, so you must heed this as a warning.

  39.PUFFY TAIL

  When the tail is held up and the fur is erect, this makes the tail fluffed out, often accompanied by raised fur along the cat’s back. This puffy tail is a sign that the cat is very upset!

  40.FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

  Cats have flatter and more immobile faces compared with the faces of dogs, and as such their facial expressions can be more limited.

  41.FLAT EARS

  Accompanied by staring eyes, narrow pupils, and lowered head, flat ears are a sign that your cat is very unhappy and may behave aggressively.

  42.ARCHED BACK

  This is a defensive sign that may be accompanied by piloerection, where the fur on the back and tail is standing on end. The cat may leap and startle, or the cat may walk sideways while keeping an eye on the threat.

  43.CROUCHING

  When your cat is crouching down close to the floor with tail thumping, it’s time to let the cat be. The creature is feeling defensive and needs time to calm down.

  44.WHISKERS