Cats wash or lick other members of their social group, the cats they are close to. This behaviour reinforces the bond and creates a “familiar group scent”.
When cats live with people these people become their social group. If your cat licks you it means they are showing you affection and this behaviour strengthens the bond between you from the cat’s perspective. Enjoy the cat love!
I think most of you are familiar with pictures joking about the physical similarities between owners and their pets. Do pets start to look like their owners or did the owner choose a pet that looks like them?
The more interesting question is whether owners’ and pets’ characters are similar. Research suggests cats and owners strongly influence each other’s behaviour, especially if the cat lives indoor only and if the owner is a woman!
The study also showed that cats remember when they are treated kindly and this directly affects how they react to their owners’ wishes. Cats were more likely to respond to their owner’s request for affection when that person had taken care of their needs in the past.
“A relationship between a cat and a human can involve mutual attraction, personality compatibility, ease of interaction, play, affection and social support,” said co-author Dorothy Gracey of the University of Vienna. “A human and a cat mutually develop complex ritualized interactions that show substantial mutual understanding of each other’s inclinations and preferences.”
While cats have plenty of male admirers, and vice versa, this study and others reveal that women tend to interact with their cats… more than men do.
“In response, the cats approach female owners more frequently, and initiate contact more frequently (such as jumping on laps) than they do with male owners,” co-author Manuela Wedl of the University of Vienna told Discovery News, adding that “female owners have more intense relationships with their cats than do male owners.”
If your cat goes outside then you’ve probably seen them bring home a dead mouse or two… I know it is perfectly normal cat behaviour but I really don’t like dead mice or birds.
It is often said that this is a gift because your cat loves you; however, giving gifts to show love is a human thing to do. Cats do not give other cats gifts.
Mother cats do teach kittens how to hunt and therefore may bring them a dead mouse, or one they haven’t killed yet, to teach them. I don’t think the cat is trying to teach you to catch mice; cats do not see the humans they live with as ‘sort of cats’. Plus, bringing home dead mice is behaviour displayed by male cats as well and also by females that have never had kittens.
Then why do they do it?
A cat’s instinct to hunt is very strong: they hunt even when they are not hungry or do not depend on eating prey to survive. If the cat is not actually hungry they may take the prey home to eat it later. Their instinct is to return to a safe place within their territory to eat.
So it’s not really a gift, but then it sort of is. Your cat is telling you that your home is a safe place for them 🙂
I much prefer this type of mouse 😉
Many of us are familiar with this scene: you are in the kitchen preparing your own food or even doing the dishes and your cat keeps begging for food. They keep meowing, they stand up against your legs or cupboards, they jump on the worktop, they drive you insane until…. you give in and give them some food….
I guess this already answers the question 😉
Your cat will keep doing it because they know you’ll give in and end up giving them some food. The solution is simple enough: stop feeding them when they are begging for food. However, I know it’s not so simple to enforce. It takes will power and the ability to resist those plaintive meows. You may need to walk around wearing ear plugs for a few days. Whatever you do, don’t give in! The cat has learned that begging leads to food so now they have to learn that is no longer leads to food.
It is important not to let your cat jump on the worktop. If they do so simply put them on the floor, don’t punish them or yell at them, just keep putting them on the floor. If your cat is very persistent put them in a different room for a while
Things that can help you:
It is always good to discuss this with the vet when you visit them for your cat’s annual health check. They can advise you how much you should be feeding your cat. If your cat is a healthy weight and you feed them accordingly, being hungry all the time could be a sign of illness, so do discuss it with your vet if you’re worried
These days it can be difficult to keep yourself entertained, let alone your kids and cat too!
If you’re wondering what to do this weekend then perhaps this video gives you some inspiration.
And it’s also a bit of fun if you just need a break from work or the coronavirus news…
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