What I’ve learned about Cats and their behaviour from various sources: Ok so life of a feral cat, from how I understand it…
Naps during day
Active as the sun goes down
Uses energy to chase prey
Eats it’s hunt (i.e mouse; consuming brains, lungs, heart, liver, some bone (not all), most of its fur… (cats are obligate carnivores, so everything they consume needs to be protein and taurine based)
It grooms
And then sleeps to revive its energy
It will occasionally wake up during the day for other needs, like defecating, maintaining its territory vs other cats, and reproductive activity.
Defecating: a cat will do business in it’s territory, and bury it to prevent the scent from revealing its territory to predators
Water: cats prefer their water to be moving, they wouldn’t drink still and stagnant water to prevent bacteria build up etc
Reproducing: all I know is that cats tend to “roughhouse” before activity, and will roll around exposing the areas they’d only show to people they trust, like their stomachs. (Stomach areas are very private to cats, and is to them seen as ‘foreplay’ to touch those areas. To Humans, a cat may “show” his stomach as a sign of “i trust you” but usually fussing the area is forbidden.
Territory: it’s well known for cats to be territorial, and usually a fight between cats would comprise of the following routine;
Watching the rival cat, if the cat starts to approach, it will trigger the cat to
“Fluff up”, using it’s muscles under each hair follicle, it will suddenly appear bigger
The pupils of the eyes will expand and will start to stare at the rival cat, unblinking
If the cat continues to approach, the territory owner will start to emit a low vibration sound – can sound like a drill. The sound will vary depending on the level of warning the cat wants to give.
Usually at this point the cat will ‘get the hint’, I think usually neutered/spayed cats will stop at this point
Beyond this point, the violence may start with scratching and actual fighting
After this info, it becomes more easier to understand a domestic cats behaviour… obviously if cats have reproductive systems, there’s a whole string of things that makes a cat more ‘feral’, like spraying, calling for mates, stronger sense of territory, even mood swings! So most cat behaviours can be solved just by dealing with that. I would not recommend a ‘full cat’ into a family home, because on occasion, home members can be treated like intruders on their territory.
With that bit made clear, the best treatment for a cat is to appreciate its ‘feral’ functions. If it’s on territory you don’t want it on, (like dining room table), stare at it and follow all the movements from the ‘territory’ section, as much as possible. If the cat defies, I find that once it’s puffed up and its eyes are fixed and expanded, you can perform a kind of “pounce”, usually that will scream “NO” to cats in a way they understand.
Each cat is different though, with different manners and thresholds. It’s taken a long while to get to know my cat, I know when he’s poorly, defiant, affectionate or just wants some alone time. Examples of my personal cat, Salem, if he defecates outside of his litterbox, it can mean different things… if it’s different texture to what you see in his littertray, you know he’s poorly. And sometimes vomit can look like poo in shape, but if it’s a crumbly texture it’s likely to be vomit. I didn’t believe it until i took a sample to my vet, showed her the pictures, and she confirmed it was definitely vomit, so you can’t scorn a cat for that because it’s natural to emit waste value that way too, just won’t be in the littertray. If it’s normal texture, then it’s defiant, and you have to consider if you’ve met your cats needs first! He’s saying “I’m really unhappy”. Is he stressed? Is he angry? Is he being territorial?
Only you can identify which can be the case.
The way to tell a cats health is through their behaviour, quality of fur, look of their stools, and any physical changes. Salems behaviour as an example; superbly soft fur (so soft you don’t even feel it!), dark brown/chocolate coloured stools, which look smooth and easy to pass, no limps or overgrooming evidence so he looks healthy inside and out. His behaviour is alert and confident, so he must feel very comfortable.
Stressed cats can behave differently, it can effect their bowel movement, irritability, and motivation. If cats are in pain, you will sometimes hear them purring even if you’ve not pet a single hair on them. Sometimes if they sense your pain, they might curl up to you and purr, sending healing vibes. It’s weird, but it’s been proven that the purr frequency promotes healing. Of course if the cat is rubbing against you and purring, it’s basically a greeting “ooo my dear food giver, what do you have for me today?”
But all cats are different, and if you notice destructive behaviour, consider if your cat has scratching posts it likes, food it needs – i.e protein rich cat food diet, had its energy expelled using toys and then feeding routine, make sure it has somewhere to climb (because cats love being “tall”, makes them feel safe), but negativity energy towards cats can cause massive problems, they absorb the energy they ‘receive’ and will inflict it in some other form. It may turn nasty towards the most gentle family members – scratching and biting, or may become stressed and cause mess like toileting in a defiant manner which would be out of the littertray. If they feel insecure in their territory, they may urinate in secret places to tell you “OI, this is MY home too!”. Traces of urine can be found using an ultraviolet light, it’s meant to be the best for showing the urines high ‘ammonium’ content?
Cats can usually be very perceptive, if they sense the owners stressed or anxious, they’re likely to sense it, so they may behave stressed or get easily scared. It’s apparently known that cats can also identify if someone’s terminally ill, pregnant, and can even connect with their owners to communicate to them if they’re poorly themselves… but it takes a real connective understanding to understand why cats are cats, and what your individual cat is capable of.
My go-to for any cat query is to watch “My Cat from Hell” by Jackson Galaxy, and even episode of “My Cat from Heaven” shows some cats so in tune with their owners needs, they have ACTUALLY saved their owners life! It’s incredible when you understand a cat, because they start to understand you, and living together becomes a blend of comfort and snuggles I have yet to find from any other species!
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