Tag Archives: Behavior

How to make a cat people-friendly

PIXIE : Grandpa, Claire’s dad, came yesterday to celebrate his birthday at home. Zorro came to say hello to him, got petted, remained in the lounge with the humans, in brief, a perfect host. I did not even come to say hello. I crossed just once the lounge to show him that I was there, then I left in another room. I reappeared only when he had left. Claire says that I am a small savage, and she’s maybe right.

To feel at ease with humans other than his owns (or other animals), a kitten must be friendly manipulated by a maximum number of people (adults and children). Frequent different experiences, of moderate intensity, and not traumatizing, will help him to dread serenely the novelties that he will meet afterward.

This phase of socialization is short (as soon as the kitten opens eyes, between his second and his fifth week of life approximately) ; it’s there that the kitten is going to learn to communicate with the world which surrounds him and to react to new experiences. It’s during this period that it’s the easiest to accustom him to car trips and to his PTU by making him frequently do short trips.

But then, with a grown-up cat, how can it be done ?

All is not lost : we can accustom a grown-up cat to be less afraid of the unknowns in his familiar environment, or to live more serenely a transport for example, by confronting him little by little with these situations, daily but briefly, as far as he always feels safe, and as far as he can run away if he wishes.

We often merge “people-friendly” and “social” :
– getting people-friendly, I just spoke about it above : it’s the capacity to become integrated into his environment, to interact with it, and to react serenely to new experiences
– getting social takes place earlier, during the first month of life of the kitten until his third month approximately : it’s the integration of the kitten in the cat society, his capacity to communicate and to react as a cat among other cats, and his knowledge of the rules of feline propriety.

How does it happen with you ? Do you leave hiding UTB at the first ring, or do you come to say hello to the guests and to participate in the conversation ?

Game or fight ?

By seeing our photos last Wednesday, several of you wanted to know which of us had won : but even if there was all the same little excitement in the air this day, you all understood that it was about a wrestling game, about an update, and not about a serious fight.

However, for a human still little familiar with the body language of cats, it can be difficult to make the difference : game or fight ?

If it’s about a game or about an update between two cats who know each other, paw punches, quarrels, and spectacular pursuits can happen, but without real scratch and without serious bite. Cats mew little or not at all.

I remind Zorro to the order from time to time with a small brief mewing. He understands at once the message and plays less hardly.

If it’s about a serious fight, the protagonists have ears completely reduced behind, their pupils are dilated, the hairs of the spinal column and their mustaches are bristled, and their tail can be puffed. Cats hiss, mutter, and growl. If the intimidation is not enough, the battle begins : paw punches, quarrels, but this time the scratches are very real, and the bites also. The loser is then still pursued on a short distance by his opponent.

Pour les deux images : ©1991 Dorling Kindersley Limited pour l’édition originale – ©1991 Bruce Fogle pour les textes originaux – ©1992 Editions Solar, Paris, pour la version française – Titre original : Know your cat

The hardened tomcats wear the scars of these violent battles : their ears are sometimes torn, and a badly healed bite can cause an abscess.

Here is the video of real fight we found on YouTube (4 mn) :

Warning to kittens: very violent and explicit language
Warning to humans : turn off the sound if your cats are in the room !

Why is it important to spay or neuter your cat

Blog The Change is for writers and readers alike. This event takes place on the 15th of January, April, July, and October every year. It offers an overview of the various aspects of animal welfare as reported by those who take part : personal actions, promotion of a shelter in need, … Your participation (blogpost, comment, share) makes a difference in keeping the spirit of change alive.

According to a recent article of the newspaper Le Matin, the shelters of French-speaking Switzerland are full of kittens. The arrivals don’t stop since June. Why don’t people neuter their cat ?

“I have no money for this operation” : we regret being also categorical, but in our opinion, if you cannot meet the basic expenses of a healthy animal (food, neutering, and annual visit at the veterinarian), show yourselves responsible : don’t adopt an animal if you can’t afford to take care of him.

“A cat has to have a litter before being neutered” : it’s a common myth, and totally erroneous. Your cat will feel neither decreased, nor unfortunate of being neutered. The risk of health problems bound to the secretion of sex hormones as ovarian or mammary tumors for example will be reduced. Do you find I look unhappy, me ?

“My tomcat will not be any more a tomcat” : certainly, but as he will less want to run away and fight, the risk of wound will be reduced, and his quality of life will be improved there. The abolition of the marking will be also appreciated inside your house…

“Kittens are too cute” : completely agree ! But kittens grow up : did you leave your children to the orphanage when they were transformed into pimple-faced teenagers ? You maybe wanted to do it certain days, but you did not ! All the members of your family have right for the same respects.

Angel Céleste, August 2008, 4 months old

“Kittens are easy to give” : yes, but an indoor cat lives between 15 and 20 years on average ; adopting is making a commitment to take well care of a kitten during one year, of a grown-up cat during eight years, of an old cat during five years, and of a very old cat during the next years. On second thought, everybody doesn’t want to have a cat, even if as we have already said it, kittens are cute.

To avoid the proliferation of kittens in shelters, to protect the health of your cat, to decrease the risk of wound, and to avoid the abandonments of kittens and grown-up cats, please spay or neuter your cat.

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