The Secret Language Of Cats. Susanne Schötz

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СКАЧАТЬ able to understand. Cats have understood that sometimes, the best and quickest way to get what they want from us is to communicate with sounds, a meow, for example. They know that we will react immediately and we mostly know what our cats want from us: for us to give them food, open a door, retrieve a favorite toy mouse from under the sofa or just spend half an hour of our time petting, cuddling or playing with them.

       Touch: Tactile Communication

      Our cats know very well that the best way to communicate with their humans is with sound. Even so, they have maintained other forms of communication. Nosetouching, head-bumping, and rubbing against us, head to head, head to body, or body to body, and kneading our laps with their paws (we call the rhythmic stepping of a kitten against the teats of its mother and of a grown cat against a soft surface such as a blanket kneading, kneading dough, or making biscuits). Sometimes they will also show us they have had enough with either their claws or a bite. All of these are examples of tactile communication. Touch is very important, not only between mother cats and their kittens, but also between cats belonging to the same social group. It is possible that cats want to use touch to show us that they accept us humans as their friends as well.

      Cats that have befriended each other like to lie close to one another when they rest or sleep. Moreover, they may groom each other. Head- or cheek-rubbing with another cat, a dog or a human is often also a form of greeting. This tactile communication consists of friendly, affiliative gestures and serves to reinforce social cohesion.

       Body Postures and Movement: Visual Communication

      We should pay far more attention to the visual signals of our friends. Postures and movements, either of the entire body or of individual body parts, such as the tail, head, face, and above all, ears, eyes, and whiskers, provide clear indications as to the momentary mood or needs of the cat. In aggressive or defensive situations, the increase in the volume of the body by arching the back and raising the hair (usually referred to as piloerection) mostly means that the cat feels threatened and is meant to signal “I am big, and I have muscle and sharp teeth which I will use, unless…” However, it might often just be a bluff. That is why cats, before they attack, often assume an upright posture (often with an arched back), bristle their fur and sometimes open their mouths, so that they seem as big and scary as possible. This is how they defend themselves from any potential attackers.

      On the other hand, when Vimsan crouches flat rather than standing or sitting in an upright posture whenever Donna passes by her, this usually means something very different: she is signaling that she is very small and harmless and does not want to provoke a fight under any circumstances. Cats frequently communicate with subtle visual signs, for example, through their head, ear and eye postures and movements. There are also less subtle signals, like moving the body and the tail, as well as raising their fur, but these symbols also subside quickly. By no means do they last as long as a scent marking, for example.

      Slow movements like the closing of eyes, yawning, cleaning or even creeping away in slow motion demonstrate peacefulness and harmlessness. Rapid movements, in contrast, (tail wagging, foot stamping, and running toward or away from an enemy) are mostly signs of excitement. They indicate that it can get serious at any moment and that a fight might be in the making.

      Tail signals are especially interesting. A tail held vertically often means “I am young, small and friendly.” A tail held upright, but puffed up like a brush can often mean “I am big and impressive.” In contrast, a tail held upright with a slight kink or hook resembling a question mark often means “I am contented, curious and friendly.”

      Tail wagging has a fundamentally different meaning with cats than with dogs.

      It rarely has to do with joy or with joyous excitement. Instead, it seems to be more like a reflexive reaction to an inner conflict. The stronger the wag, the stronger the conflict. While a slow wagging is often only a sign of intense concentration, stronger wagging means “I am excited,” and even stronger wagging means “I am very worked up—it is about to get serious.”

       Spraying and Rubbing: Scent Signals

      Unfortunately, we humans cannot perceive all of the scents that our cats leave behind. The scents called pheromones, which are essential in communication between cats, persist longer than sounds and even continue to communicate something long after the cat that left this scent message behind has gone elsewhere. Scent markings are almost like writing for cats. These signals can describe the cat’s gender, age, health and readiness to mate, as well as reveal how old the scent mark itself is. Scent marks wear off with time and need to be continually renewed. Urine, stool and scratch marks are all among the scent signals. Scratching or rubbing with the head or the body also leaves decisive scent marks behind, as cats have scent glands on their paw pads (between the toes), as well as on their head and cheeks.

      We humans often entirely misunderstand these signals. When cats spray urine around or scratch the furniture, we often take it poorly and suspect malice. And we do quite a bit to prevent this behavior in our cats. We try to clean our furniture or treat it with chemicals that we hope will force our cats to give it a wide berth in the future. In the worst case, we might have to dispose of furniture that has been so treated. For the cats though, this behavior is communicative and important for the care of their claws.

      For example, when Kompis pees on the bushes in the garden, he tells all other cats that the garden is his home territory. In cities, where there are many four-legged creatures in a tight space, nobody gets their own beat, but instead must negotiate the same territory.

      Amazingly, cats in tight quarters are often able to reach compromises and establish a kind of shift operation: “I can patrol here in the mornings without a problem and leave my scent marks all over the place, the neighbor cats can come in the afternoon (when I am at home sleeping anyway) and do the same. That way, we rarely meet each other and avoid conflicts.” That is how Kompis solves the problem. His warning to other cats— that he is the king of “his” garden, young, healthy and ready to defend his territory—is understood by potential rivals. If another cat does come and leave a mark on his territory, he renews his claim the next day by leaving a fresh mark.

      When Turbo sharpens his claws on his favorite scratching tree, it does not serve only to help maintain his claws; it is also a scent marking. The glands on his paws leave a scent on the tree, so that the other cats can tell that he was there. It is a kind of cat social media—“I am logged on, and this scent is my status update.”

      Rocky and Donna also communicate with scent when they rub their heads against my legs, my face, the kitchen door or the leg of a chair. These marks mean something more like “I live here, and I feel well. I would like to leave my scent here so that the residents and things all smell like me. That way, I feel safe and secure.”

      Even if I cannot entirely perceive these scents, I have noticed that it smells a bit like bananas when my cats rub their foreheads or cheeks against my face. I do not know whether I am just imagining it, but to me, this scent says something like “You are my human, and so we should both wear the same perfume.” Maybe it is a kind of declaration of love or at least a way of ensuring the togetherness and belonging of cat and human.

      TIP: If you have a sufficient number of scratching posts and trees in carefully selected spots (where the cat is feeling secure and comfortable) you may reduce the scratching of your furniture.

       Meowing, Trilling, Growling and Purring: Communication through Sounds

      Not all cats communicate happily or frequently with sounds. Many prefer to be silent. Let us not forget that they are predators, and being a predator is deeply embedded, even in our pet cats. That is why they СКАЧАТЬ