You can mimic that behavior by offering a non-threatening finger tip at their nose level, a few inches away. Many cats will walk up and sniff your finger, and may even rub into it. Now that's a successful greeting. They're very sensitive to touch, and generally, they tend to like being petted in some places more than others.
A small study demonstrated that cats showed more positive responses—like purring, blinking, and kneading their paws—to petting on the forehead area and the cheeks. They were more likely to react negatively—by hissing, swatting, or swishing their tails—when petted in the tail area. A more recent study validated these findings with a larger sample size—and many owners can testify to these preferences.
Of course, every animal is an individual, but these studies give us a good starting point, especially if you're meeting a cat for the first time. There are plenty of signs that a cat doesn't like your actions. These can range from the overt—such as hissing and biting—to the more subtle: flattening their ears, looking at your hand, or twitching their tails.
Many think that food equals love, and that withholding food might make your kitty hate you, but a recent study of obese felines from Cornell University showed the opposite is true—at least for a period of time. About a month after 58 overweight kitties were placed on a diet, three-quarters of their owners reported that their dieting felines were more affectionate, purred more often, and were more likely to sit in their owner's lap. This adorable behavior came with some not-so-cute side effects—the cats also begged and meowed more—but by week eight, both the good and bad behavior had abated for about half the animals.
Regardless of whether a diet makes your pet cuddlier, keeping your pet on the slender side is a great way to help them stay healthy and ward off problems like diabetes, joint pain, and uncleanliness.
Most of the behavior problems that I've witnessed stem from boredom and a lack of routine playtime. No one thinks twice about walking their dog every day, but many people fail to recognize that felines are stealth predators who need a regular outlet for that energy. So why do cat people come off as so darned sensitive? Maybe because they are.
Studies do indeed show cat people tending toward greater nervousness and moodiness than the pro-canine crew. Whether consciously or not, both media and society seem to love to rub this insecurity in. Yet many in the pro-cat camp argue that the bond they share with their cats is superior to what dog people experience with their pets:. Sounds pretty bitter, maybe. But on this point, at least, the cat people are not as crazy as the stereotype maintains. And this may explain why cat people seem to have an incredibly deep bond with their pets.
Compared to dogs, house cats still have much more in common genetically with their wild cousins—something the recent mapping of the cat genome paywall highlighted. Among the biggest divergences involve genes that influence reward-seeking behavior and response to fear. About 9, years ago when grain agriculture began spreading throughout the Fertile Crescent, scientists think wild cats began encountering people more often as they hunted the rodent populations that swarmed granaries during harvests.
Farmers likely responded by rewarding those cats that stuck around with food scraps. The offspring of those whose genes allowed them to tolerate the presence of humans are the ancestors of modern-day house cats. Only a tiny fraction of cats mate with partners that humans choose for them, as recent research highlights, and uncontrolled breeding of feral and free-roaming cats generates most of the house cat population.
Because house cats continue to mate with wild populations, their hunting abilities have stayed largely intact. One of the biggest points of antagonism for cat people is a dog-cat rivalry that the media and popular culture stoke—and the fact that it almost always favors dogs.
Villains and their companions of choice? Cats , by a mile. Dogs are loyal, affectionate, friendly, and playful, according to the common wisdom. In fact, a recent study paywall found that news stories about dogs tend to be picked up more frequently than non-dog-related stories. Examine cat coverage and it becomes apparent that the media openly exploits the dog-cat rivalry, often portraying them as aloof at best—and at worst, cold, calculating, manipulative, bloodthirsty, toxic , and incapable of love.
Sometimes all of the above. All over Europe, the Catholic Church tortured and executed cat owners for witchery. Since having cats could get you burned at the stake, people began slaughtering domestic cats—a trend worsened by the misconception that cats caused the Black Death , which began ravaging the continent in the mids.
For instance, people might say this about specific dog breeds—pit bulls or poodles, say—but not about dogs in general:. Kittensbetween the ages of 3 and 7 weekswho receive positive physical handling and attention from people tend to be friendly and social. Can you train him to be a lap cat? You can sure try, and I have five tips that may help you succeed. Keep calm. Cats feel threatened by sudden movements and aggressive actions. Move slowly around him so he has time to get used to your presence.
Instead, slowly blink your eyes at him. Rub him the right way. Cats are purr-ticular about where and how they like to be touched. Scratch them between the ears or beneath the chin, rub that sweet spot between the eyes or stroke them along the spine. Avoid the belly and the base of the tail. Bond through beauty. Grooming your cat is another way to build a relationship with him.
Cats love to groom themselves and each other. Your cat will probably enjoy it if you brush him in a slow, gentle, rhythmic motion, all the while talking to him in a soft voice.
0コメント