Caring for your cat

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Sarah Pritchard - 01 Jan 2002 05:00 GMT

Looking After Your Cat

The cat is rather an enigma. Just as the lion is the king of the jungle, domestic cats are servants to no-one. Having said that , cats can be very affectionate companions if we, their human pets meet the cats’ simple needs.

The cat is not a pack animal and so does not have a tradition of subservience in a hierarchy. It does not try to please its owner by being obedient, like a dog does. Rather, it does as its owner wishes only if the cat is going to get some advantage from it.

My cats know that they are not allowed in the bedrooms, but they sneak in there any chance they get. They will hide in various places and will not come when called, but they come running if I am putting food in their dishes as I am calling them. They magically appear.

People often do not understand cats. They believe that the cat is only interested in itself, its own comfort and territory. It is true that a cat can look after itself and survive in the ‘wild,’ but a pet cat will give as it gets and cats do have feelings. If all you do is feed the cat and do not give it much attention, it will keep to itself and just use your house like a hotel. However, if you give the cat lots of fuss and attention, talking to it, cuddling it and so on, it will give you lots of attention too.

Our cats give us cuddles and spend a lot of time with us, joining in various activities in the house and garden (often as spectators). The female cats tend to be very ‘motherly’ with the children, surveying over them and accompanying them when they go for a walk in the village. We had one cat, Lily, who always counted everyone in at the end of the day. She sat up on the big French cupboard, in the kitchen, watching the door. She would stay there until everyone was home, then she felt that her daily surveillance was over and she could curl up in her basket for the night. We called her our guardian angel..

ãCopyright Sarah Pritchard
http://www.healthycathappycat.blogspot.com
http://www.SarahsWritingDesk.com

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Jo Firey - 10 Jun 2006 15:51 GMT

Nice but I have to disagree. (For starters cats refuse to comply for any
system of rules)

Cats on their own choose to live in groups, except when they don't. Lions
call them prides, housecats are clowders. And a great deal of time in these
groups is spent in seeking status and maintaining it. It just isn't a "me
boss you not" group similar to what dogs will go for,

Also, cats do not give as they get. They give as they have to give.
Currently we have one cat who sleeps with us, if the night is cool he sleeps
with his feet in my hair. The other will maybe if I'm very lucky will brush
against my legs or allow me to touch her fur every week or so. She is also
giving everything she's got. I feel honored to share my life with each of
them.

Jo

> Looking After Your Cat
>
[quoted text clipped - 44 lines]
> ---
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jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 10 Jun 2006 20:54 GMT

> Cats on their own choose to live in groups, except when they don't.
> Lions call them prides, housecats are clowders. And a great deal of
> time in these groups is spent in seeking status and maintaining it.
> It just isn't a "me boss you not" group similar to what dogs will go for,

In other words, dogs get born into their class and stay there, but cats
have class mobility? :)

(Just a joke - I know dog status is based on personality, not something
they inherit from their parents. But once the hierarchy is established,
the underlings don't continue challenging it.)

Apparently, all felines have the capacity to live in groups. And they
do have a social structure, even the ones that spend most of their time
alone. It's just that most feline species have very large territories,
so they get very spread out and don't meet as frequently. But lions don't
have as big a territory for some reason, so there are far more lions per
geographical unit than, say, leopards. Urban domestic cats do the same
when they form colonies.

OK, now that I've said this, it doesn't make total sense. :) I did read
it somewhere recently - I think it was in The Tribe of Tiger, a book about
feline psychology and "culture". I'll have to go look it up in the book
and see if I can express the idea a little better.

> Also, cats do not give as they get. They give as they have to give.
> Currently we have one cat who sleeps with us, if the night is cool he sleeps
> with his feet in my hair. The other will maybe if I'm very lucky will brush
> against my legs or allow me to touch her fur every week or so. She is also
> giving everything she's got. I feel honored to share my life with each of
> them.

This is nice. It's a good description.

Joyce

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Marina - 11 Jun 2006 04:50 GMT

> > Cats on their own choose to live in groups, except when they don't.
> > Lions call them prides, housecats are clowders. And a great deal of
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> feline psychology and "culture". I'll have to go look it up in the book
> and see if I can express the idea a little better.

That was a nice book. My dad knew the writer, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.
The big difference between lions and other great cats is that lions hunt
together while other cats mostly hunt alone. Though some domestic cats
may cooperate when hunting, they mostly hunt alone, too. But they may
share their prey once they've killed it. Nikki used to bring Frank the
voles she didn't want to eat herself. Boyfriend brings KFC collared
doves. I don't know what I'm trying to say here. ;o) Maybe that cats are
just individuals, you can't generalize about how they will behave. AIUI,
even some other big cats may hunt in pairs, like leopard siblings.

Signature

Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

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Jo Firey - 11 Jun 2006 05:25 GMT

>> > Cats on their own choose to live in groups, except when they don't. >
>> Lions call them prides, housecats are clowders. And a great deal of
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> individuals, you can't generalize about how they will behave. AIUI, even
> some other big cats may hunt in pairs, like leopard siblings.

When our crippled Siamese Sam got older, he and our young feral rescue would
tag team the birds outside. Sam would really exaggerate his limp and just
barely crawl across the yard. The Jay's and Mockingbirds would come down to
pick on him. He looked like an easy target and they knew they were faster
in an open area. Only they would then get nailed by the youngster. And
Sam's limp would get a whole lot better.

But there is a difference between co-operative hunting and hunting in packs.

Jo

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Christina Websell - 11 Jun 2006 23:57 GMT

>>> > Cats on their own choose to live in groups, except when they don't. >
>>> Lions call them prides, housecats are clowders. And a great deal of
[quoted text clipped - 45 lines]
>
> Jo

Yes, absolutely.
I would like to think that Boyfriend has recognised that Kitty is not as
spry as she used to be: that she loves to eat *prey* rather than cat food
(which she does) and therefore he hunts for her.
The reality is probably different.
He fancies himself as a hunter, so he goes out and hunts and catches
something, maybe a little birdie, or a big dove, or a mousie. He rushes
back to the house to show his meowmie what a great hunter he is and present
his prize as proof. Kitty then rises from her place next to the fire and
says "What? you don't want it? Give it here, then."
So she scarfs it down immediately and Boyfie is left saying "but I wanted to
show Meowmie, I purposely didn't eat it myself.."

Tweed

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