Feline behaviour

From Felipedia

Feline HsHa, typified as an overtly aggressive, hyperactive, restless and overeating in kittens. Possible correlation with dietary allergies

Typical aggression behaviour in a neutered male Birman cat

Furniture scratching - a typical territorial behaviour gone awry in socialization

Inappropriate elimination in a cat, due commonly to poor weaning or insufficient number of kitty litter trays per household

Unilateral, self-induced truncal alopecia in a Siamese cat due to permanent anxiety (Stereotypy)

Displacement activities in cats - self-induced circumscribed alopecia of the forelimb in an anxious cat

Anxiety displayed by marked inhibition in the consulting room; cat burying itself in a bag

• Normal behaviour

Feline socialisation

Feline personalities

• Stress behaviour

Neurophysiology of stress

Displacement activities

Obsessive compulsive disorders

Aggression

Anxiety

Depression

Dysthymia

Hypersensitivity-hyperactivity syndrome (HsHA)

Overgrooming

Inappropriate elimination

Furniture scratching

• Anthropomorphic behaviour

Feline dependent disorder

Feline narcissism

Feline histrionic disorder

Feline antisocial disorder

Feline paranoid disorder

Cats are essentially asocial. This is often miscontrued as demeaning by cat lovers (ailurophiles), or sociopathic by ailurophobes. The reason for their asocial nature relates to the hard-wiring of their brain, specifically their cerebral cortex. In order to maximise utilisation of cerebropinal reflexes essential for hunting, cats have evolved into great hunters by maximising physical skills at the expenses of social skills^[1].

Specifically, cats lack the mirror neurone complexity ^[2] common to social animals such as humans and dogs. Therefore, it is physically difficult, if not impossible, for cats to comprehend the full spectrum of human emotions. Like nature, they are not cruel in the way they behave, just indifferent. Cats express fear, disgust, pleasure, but not to the degree seen with humans or dogs. The oft-used metaphor is comparing them to a tone deaf person listening to Mozart. But what they lack in compassion, they more than compensate for with cunning and curiosity^[3].

Although bonding does occur between a queen and her kittens (the basic feline social unit), generally speaking, cats bond loosely with other cats or humans. Consequently, they rarely suffer clinically from separation anxiety.

Behavioural problems can begin in utero. Kittens that experience extremely restricted nutrition in utero never behave normally. The exact neuroanatomic basis of these changes has not been fully elucidated^[4]. More often, behavioural problems are genetic ('highly strung' queens tend to produce 'highly strung kittens), or develop due to extraterritorial (stray cats hanging around) or intraterritorial stressors (change of house, new cat or new household member, change of food, etc).

Because cats lack the executive pre-frontal cortex of homo sapiens, they are limited in their capacity to express stress. Usually stress is manifest as either external or internal (self) destructive behaviour.

Density of free-ranging domestic cats appears directly dependent on food resources. Most domestic cats are solitary hunters.

Paternity appears to be an important determinant of personality in cats. Toms that are adventurous, outgoing, and friendly appear to produce kittens of similar personality. There appear to be genetically “unfriendly,” “timid,” or “shy” cats for which no amount of handling can make a difference; the genetic mechanism for this is poorly understood. The role of early experience and exposure for kittens cannot be overemphasized. Kittens between 2 and 7 wk of age that are handled by people are friendlier toward people and more outgoing and may have fewer problems with some forms of aggression, although the latter is poorly quantified. The effect of early handling can augment the paternal effect toward a willingness to explore. Between 12 and 14 wk of age, kittens switch from social play to social fighting and a more predatory play. Early weaning will hasten this change^[5].

Physical diseases can contribute to changes in temperament and these should be excluded as part of a routine physical examination. Diseases which can cause significant changes to a cat's temperament include:

• Overgrooming, due to stress, hyperesthesia syndrome, FHV, eosinophilic granuloma complex
• Urine spraying - usually indoor cats stressed by other cats roaming around the house
• Aggression - transference, threats, tenderness (pain)
• Pica - inappropriate eating (dirt, plastics, kitty litter, etc), early weaning, some breeds (Siamese, Burmese), stress
• Aloofness (wanting to be alone, but not aggressive) is usually because of illness, pain or queen ready to give birth.
• Increased friendliness often due to illness (seeking attention)
• Epilepsy - cryptococcus spp, Histoplasma spp, Lymphosarcoma and other cancers, trauma-induced, Coccidioides spp, Cytauxzoon spp,
• Apathy - Worms, Haemoplasmas - Babesia spp, Anaplasma spp
• Dietary imbalance - excess protein leading to reduced serotonin/dopamine/GABA/norepinephrine levels
• Chronic renal disease - inappropriate vocalisation/ambulation (2ry uremic encephalopathy)
• Liver disease - inappropriate vocalisation (2ry hepatic encephalopathy)

Feline communication

Vision

Cats have excellent peripheral vision and are extremely good at perceiving movement. They are capable of some limited short-range binocular vision but, in general, don’t see too well close up. Because of the wide dilation of their pupils, reflecting tapetum, and high density of rods in the retina, they have excellent night vision. They also have cones (as do all mammals) and therefore have color vision. They see best at the blue/green end of the visible light spectrum. Vision is a primary sense in a cat and is used in communication. They are able to interpret different facial expressions, tail position and body posture of other cats and, thus, to pick up on their affect.

Audition

Cats can hear frequencies in the ultra-sound range and use this hearing range to detect itinerant kittens and small prey animals. There are a number of sounds used in auditory communication. These are generally divided into two categories, the so-called pure sounds and the complex calls. Pure sounds include:

• Murmur
• purr
• growl
• squeak
• shriek
• hiss
• spit

• Complex calls include:

mew

moan

meow

Olfaction

This sense is much more important to cats than was formerly thought and maybe as important as vision. Cats investigate odors several hundred times per hour and are as avid in this respect as dogs. Areas of communication in which olfaction plays a role are:

a) scent marking with facial pheromones

b) scent marking with urine

c) fecal marking

d) anal gland secretions

e) clawing/scratching

f) gape response (c.f. vomeronasal organ)

Behavior problems related to olfaction include house soiling and furniture scratching.

References

1. ↑ Stecina K & Jankowska, E (2007) Uncrossed actions of feline corticospinal tract neurones on hindlimb motoneurones evoked via ipsilaterally descending pathways J Physiol 580(1):119–132
2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron
3. ↑ Dodman, NH (2009) Feline sense, social structure and aggression. Pers comm.
4. ↑ Merck Vet Manual
5. ↑ Dodman, NH (2009) Feline sense, social structure and aggression. Pers comm.