Felis catus, cat behavior

Alert non-threatened cat

Social structure

Most wild felids are solitary-living. This is true for the two prospective ancestors of domestic cat: European wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the African wildcat (Felis lybica). Historically, the domestic cat also has been regarded as solitary, territorial and asocial. However, in process of domestication cats must have adapted to live at higher densities than in the wild and gradually adopted group living and became a social species. Because of popularity of domestic cat as a pet and growing number of multiple-cat households, recently, social structure of domestic cats has attracted attention of behaviorists.

A stable group of cats is commonly called a colony. Within the colony, cats form friendly relationships with certain members, grooming them, rubbing them, greeting them, and sleeping in each other arms.

Each cat in the colony possesses unique personality and makes its own contribution to complex social structure of the colony. There are usually cats who fail to form strong bonds with other cats, dominant and subordinate cats, and highly sociable cats. Study found that whereas individual traits such as activeness and aggressiveness are related to an individual cat's rank in a dominance hierarchy, trait such as sociability (likability) and curiosity are not related to this hierarchy.

At its core, the colony is matrilineal and based on cooperative relationships between females and their offspring. Aggression is exhibited by most members toward unfamiliar cats that are not members of the colony. If non-colony member are persistent in attempts to join the colony, it may be gradually accepted.

Signaling within the colony

Nose-touch is a greeting behavior that is exhibited most commonly between preferred associates. Females are equally likely to nose-touch with females and males, and vice versa.

Allorubbing is a behavior in which cats rub up and down each other sides. Whole body is involved in this behavior, which can continue for several minutes. Allorubbing is believed to facilitate exchange of scent and suggests that colony members develop a characteristic "colony odor".

Allogrooming is a behavior in which one cat licks another cat, usually on the head and neck.

Tail-up, in which the tail is held vertically, signals friendly intentions. It is frequently associated with allorubbing. Study shown that tail up posture more frequently displayed by low-ranking cats. Amicable interactions accompanied with tail up have been never observed in other species of felids with the exception of the lion. Tail up occurs also during cat-human interactions.

Dominance

In an established group of cats, subordinate and dominant cats communicate with each other by a set of ritualized signals rather than by overt fighting. Usually submissive cat moves slowly away avoiding eye contact.

If retreat was not an option, the subordinate will exhibit such behaviors as looking away, lowering the ears slightly, turning the head away and leaning back. The dominant cat usually stiffens its body and elevates base of the tail while allowing the remainder of the tail to droop. The hair on the tail and spine are often raised.

In more intense confrontations, the subordinate cat will flatten the ears, lower and curl the tail and crouch. The dominant cat will lean forward keeping its gaze steady. Outcome of these encounters is often depends on personality of the higher ranking cat. Some cats won't escalate conflict further and will be satisfied with silent victory, however bullies often attack and initiate fight.

In the extreme cases, the subordinate will roll over.

Full-blown cat fights result in severe injuries. Most vulnerable body part is ears.

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Aggressive behavior in cats

Play-motivated aggression

Play-motivated aggression is most common in younger cats but can be seen at any age. The play closely resembles hunting technique used by cats. Playful behavior can be directed not only toward moving stimuli but also toward chosen family member(s). Why certain individuals are victimized is not always clear.

Play/hunt behavior: the cat approaches its victim, crouches, stalks, chases, waits with tail twitching and a focused stare. The ears are directed forward. After successful catch, cat may bite and scratch its target severely thus completing the "kill".

One of predisposing factors for human-directed play/hunt-motivated aggression is using hands and feet to play with the kitten, playing roughly, and causing inadequate excitement in the kitten.

Petting-induced aggression

Petting intolerance may occur in some cats when they become annoyed by prolonged petting especially when it is initiated on body parts other than head and neck (places where cats groom each other). Before attacking the cat starts twitching its tail; the ears usually are flattened and rotated laterally.

Re-directed aggression

Re-directed aggression occurs in situations when the cat became aggressively aroused. When the cat was stopped short and denied access to primary target, the aggressive behavior might be re-directed onto another, closer target. This form of aggression may result in severe injury.

Social status aggression

Social status aggression is rarely directed at people. It usually is associated with attempts to make the cat do things it does not wish to do, for example, rough moving the cat from the resting site, obtrusive petting or unexpected interruption. In such cases, the cat may show assertive displays. Assertive posture is erect and stiff, with the ears up. This posture is opposite of the crouched posture of fearful or playful cat.

Fear-induced aggression

When the cat is cornered and/or feels threatened, even small kittens can attack with intensity, which can result in severe injuries.

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More about cats at GeoChemBio

• Cat main page (facts, domestication, nutrition, model organism)
• Cat reproductive cycle (mating, estrous cycle)
• Cat development (from fertilization to adult)
• Cat taxonomy (full taxonomy of Felidae)
• Feline diabetes (all you need to know, Pushkin's lab, etc.)

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References

• Durr R, Smith C. Individual differences and their relation to social structure in domestic cats. J Comp Psychol. 1997 Dec;111(4):412-8. PMID: 9419885
• Fiset S, Doré FY. Duration of cats' (Felis catus) working memory for disappearing objects. Anim Cogn. 2006 Jan;9(1):62-70. Epub 2005 Nov 16. PMID: 16133631
• Cafazzo S, Natoli E. The social function of tail up in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). Behav Processes. 2009 Jan;80(1):60-6. PMID: 18930121
• Crowell-Davis SL, Curtis TM, Knowles RJ. Social organization in the cat: a modern understanding. J Feline Med Surg. 2004 Feb;6(1):19-28. PMID: 15123163
• Levine ED. Feline fear and anxiety. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2008 Sep;38(5):1065-79, vii. PMID: 18672154
• Curtis TM. Human-directed aggression in the cat. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2008 Sep;38(5):1131-43, vii. PMID: 18672157

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Photo credit

Source of photos: http://kotomatrix.ru/ - cool photos of animals with funny descriptions (in Russian).

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