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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:	Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:	FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:	MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO

Created:	Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:	Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5089
Total number of notes:	60366

2927.0. "CATS - domestic on the outside, but wild at heart" by CRUISE::NDC (Nancy Diettrich-Cunniff-I wanted it all) Tue Oct 10 1989 10:06

    This is reprinted without permission from "The Gazette", Montreal,
    Sept 3, 1989 (Sorry for the delay.)

    CATS: Domesticated on the outside, but wild at heart: Research
    unravels mysteries of feline behavior.  by William Stevens of
    the New York times

    The inscrutability of the cat, long a creature of mystery to
    humans, is slowly yielding to a vigorous new effort among scientists
    to fathom this wildest and most indepentent of domestic animals.

    The scientists are finding, among other things, that household 
    cats display an extraordinary flexibility that enables them to
    deal with the potentially schizoid state in which they find
    themselves: domesticated on the outside, but wild at heart.

    On one side of that duality, the experts are finding that cats are 
    more sociable than popular myth would have it.  Kittens can easily
    be conditioned to become affectionate rather than aloof.

    Efficient Killers -

    But on the other side, housecats are being revealed as such effic-
    ient killers, even hen well-fed, that they often have a major effect
    on their surrounding ecosystems.  

    A cat can instantly change from a purring ball of fur to a merciless
    stalker of prey, animal behaviorists say, because its nervous system is
    equipped for a range of divergent responses to the world around it, any
    of which can be tripped at any moment by the right stimulus.

    This characteristic has made cats unusually adaptable, able to live
    successfully in a one-room apartment and on a farm.

    Some animal behaviorists have also concluded that cats display as 
    much range and variety in personality and temperament for their
    species as humans do for theirs and as much quirkiness, both
    maddening and delightful.  Cats, for instance, are highly sensitive
    to the actions and moods of people and are capable of sulks and
    snits when they feel slighted or deserted.

    The experts have also developed startling evidence of the cat's
    renowned ability to survive, this time in the particular setting of
    New York City, where cats are prone at this time of year to fall
    from open windows in tall buildings.

    Researchers call the phenomenon feline highrise syndrome.  One study
    involved 132 cats that accidentally fell distances from 2 to 32 
    storeys and found tht 107 of the cats lived to purr another day. 
    The cat that fell 32 storeys was one of the survivors.

    The interest in all this is more than academic.  With the rise of
    the two-income family, cats have surpassed dogs as the pet of choice
    for many urban dwellers; they do not have to be walked, and they can
    be left alone indoors all day.

    Cats are now believed to outnumber dogs as pets in several Western
    countries, reversing a historical trend.

    'Focus was on dogs'

    "This is the genetically engineered pet for working people" said
    Phyllis Wright, the vice-president for companion animals of the
    Humane Society of the United States.

    The trend, in turn, has stimulated the new interest in learning more
    about the cat's nature, a subject long treated in literature and
    song but less often as subject of science.

    "For a long time the focus was on dogs; now it's turned around,"
    says Dr. Benjamin Hart, a professor of physiology and behavior at
    the University of California at Davis who is an authority on both
    cats and dogs.

    He and his wife, Lynette Hart, the director of the university's
    human-animal program, have written a textbook for feline and canine
    behavioral therapists.

    The number of therapists who deal with cats is growing, and they are
    finding it a lucrative field.  Because of the cat's inscrutability,
    man cat owners misunderstand their pets, the experts say.

    Conflicts arise, and the therapist is called to sort things out. 
    The conflict often arises because the cat is simply being a cat.

    "A cat playing is normal behavior, a cat playing on your head at 
    4 o'clock in the morning is not appropriate behavior," from a human
    point of view, said Dr. Dale Olm, a veterinarian and animal be-
    havioral consultant at the New York hospital of the American Society
    for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  

    Often, a misunderstanding of the cat's nature creates false
    expectations that lead the owner to abandon the animal or take it to
    a shelter.  Half of the animals in many shelters are cats, said
    Wright, about double the proportion from the early 1970s.

    Of all the domesticated species, Hart said, only the cat lived a
    solitary life in the wild.  And it remains fundamentally an asocial
    animal incapable of being dominated by humans.

    Thi characteristic is widely seen as a major reason why so many 
    people dislike cats -- and also why others value them.

    A Wall of Aloofness -

    "A dog or a horse can be admonished or struck and it will become 
    submissive," Hart said.  "You can't do that with a cat.  They do not
    go into a subordinate role as a dog or a horse does.  They just
    fight back."

    Cats also differ in anothe major aspect of their relationship with
    people, and it is here that scientists have discovered a way to
    break down the wall of aloofness.

    Dogs see humans as a member of the pack, a companion, scientists say,
    whereas cats, with their solitary heritage, do not.

    A common view among scientists is that what cats see in humans, if
    they are going to see anything, is a stand-in for the mother.  The
    humans are perceived as fulfilling the mother's role as provider and
    care-giver, especially when a ct comes to live in a house when it is
    young.

    One small sign of this is the characteristic bit of behavior in
    which a cat "kneads" its owner's lap with its paws.  It is the same
    behavior that accompanies nursing.

    Another is the fact that cats purr when humans pet them, "which is
    what a kitten does when it's around its mother," Hart Said.  "But
    two adult cats don't normally get together and purr with one
    another,"  he said.

    Adult dogs, on the other hand, use the same signals on humans that
    they use on each other, like wagging the tail.

    Animal behaviorists have found that most cats can be shaped into
    affectionate, friendly creatures by simply petting and handling them
    alot from the age of 2 to 7 weeks, a sensitive time in the devel-
    opment of social relations.  This should occur before a kitten
    is separated from its mother, and the handling usually has to be
    done by the mother's owner.

    "Once a cat has had this experience, it will remain a cat that is
    friendly to humans for its entire life," said Dennis Turner, a
    lecturer in ethology and animal research at the University of
    Zurich-Irchel, Switzerland.  "and if the kitten has missed this
    experience, it will remain shy of people."

    Turner is the co-editor with Patrick Bateson, a professor of
    ethology at Cambridge University, of "The Domestic Cat:  the
    Biology of Its Behavior", which pulls together the latest researchon
    cat behavior. (The book was published in 1988 by the Cambridge
    University Press".)

    'It becomes upset'

    The cat "is exquisitely sensitive to the behavior of other
    individuals and, when it is kept as a pet, to the actions and moods
    of its human owner," Turner and Bateson wrote.  Becaue of this,
    problems can result when a major change in the relationship takes
    place.

    "When our behavior does change from wht they expect, it can affect
    the cat," Hart said.  Leaving for a trip, or cchanging working
    hours, "whatever it is, the cat is going to see it as a major change
    in its environment," he said.  "It becomes upset."

    The resulting problems can include urinating outside the litter box
    -- on the owner's shoes, for instance.  Some cats mope and later
    punish absent owners by ignoring them when they return.

    Not all cats would react this way.  "Some cats adapt to people
    coming and going and pretty soon it doesn't bother them" Hart said.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2927.1	MY CATS ARE MARSMELLOWS - AT HOME	HKFINN::BARKER		`Tue Oct 10 1989 10:29`	14
	Some of what you have re-printed has been borne out in my long experience with cats. For example, though I was raised with many cats in our household and developed a genuine love of cats, the cats I experienced as a child were often aloof due in part to the disinterested way that my parents dealt them. Mostly be accident of multilpe birth, the cats were just there and were feed (no vets) and not all provided the attention that I now lavish on my cats. Consequently, my cats are very affectionate and responsive toward our family - and are generally easy with people outside the family and even strangers. Mary
2927.2		CRUISE::NDC	Nancy Diettrich-Cunniff-I wanted it all	`Tue Oct 10 1989 11:04`	7
	I agree that cats certainly can be shaped and that the relationship is not one of dominance over them. We treat each other more as equals. There seems to be an consensus that we all want to make each other happy. That means that they don't do certain things that make me unhappy and I don't do things that make them unhappy. Seems to work for us. Nancy DC
2927.3		TALLIS::DUTTON	It's only rock'n'roll, but I like it!	`Tue Oct 10 1989 11:21`	14
	I must agree with the "dealing with them on an equal basis" comments that Nancy made in .-1. Now if we could only convince them to treat us on a equal basis.... :-) :-) :-) RE: the base note's comments on being efficient killers.... Well, a friend of mine has an (affectionate) definition of a cat that makes me chuckle whenever I think of it: "CAT -- noun. Fur, fangs, and claws, all connected to a brain that's wired for ultra-violence"
2927.4	Valuable insight into my two 'Owners'	BIMINI::SPINGLER		`Tue Oct 10 1989 11:23`	31
	It's true that we certainly don't dominate our cats. It seems (sometimes) to be the other way around! :-) I think it is wonderful being owned by two cats. They (our cats) make that ownership pure pleasure. With a dog, (and I love dogs, they just happen to be different from cats,) you change it's behavior to suit you. With cats you work out a compromise. Example: I won't play on your head at 4:00AM if you feed me a snack before you go to bed at night, is a common sucessful negotiation between cats and humans. I think that sort of interaction is one of the many things taht makes cats such facinating pets. Thanks for entering that article, I find that it is true, the more attention you give to a cat the more both cat and human will get out of the relationship. One thing that I am not sure of though is the socialization issue, I know of many feral cats and cats with abusive first homes that were very sucessfully socialized later in life. It takes work and patience, but it can be done. It could be that these cats are just the exception that prove the rule. Feline lucky to be owned by two cats! Sue & Panther & Spot P.S. They sure can hold a grudge when they want too!! That part was right on the button!
2927.5	Critical times for learning	CRUISE::NDC	Nancy Diettrich-Cunniff-I wanted it all	`Tue Oct 10 1989 11:42`	16
	re: socialization - From my psych background, what I've heard is that there are certain critical times in a human or animal's development when the learning of certain skills happens most easily - around age 2 is a critical time for language learning in humans. If the learning doesn't occur at that time, it can happen later in life, but is more difficult for the person or animal. Again a good example is the acquisition of language. Humans are able to pick up 1,2,3 languages very very easily early in life. The certainly can learn additional languages, and do learn them, later in life. The process, however, takes much longer and is more difficult. So - feral cats can be socialized, but as you pointed out, it takes alot of patience and time. Nancy DC
2927.6	Not for long though	STAR::PMURPHY		`Tue Oct 10 1989 13:50`	3
	.4 re. their holding a grudge - But unlike a person, they don't hold that grudge for long. ;-)
2927.7	Bribery works!	BIMINI::SPINGLER		`Tue Oct 10 1989 14:16`	37
	I'm just thankful that I can bribe them out of a grudge most times! :-) It usually goes like this: Me: "Oh Panther, Mummie's sorry, I didn't mean to step on you!" Cat: Runs under table or chair and looks pitiful, licks front paw (No matter what part of her I stepped on it's always a front paw that she licks, she knows that I can see it.) Me: "Will you feel better if I give you a pounce?" Cat: "Only one? But Mummie I HURT!" Me: "Come on Baby, I won't step on you again, come get the pounce." Cat: "No, I don't trust you any more." Licks shoulder and looks injured. Me: "Honest Panther, Mummie didn't mean it, okay, I'll bring the pounce to you." Get down on all fours and delivers several pounce to patient. At this point Spot shows up and gets a few too. After all we can't play favorites. Then make a big fuss over Panther hugs and pats and belly rubs (if she'll let me) and apologising profusely all the while. Cat: Licks my hand and scampers off to play. Will be getting back to me at meal time with notification that I have been fully forgiven. The funny part is that I don't mind all that work, Maybe I need a little psychoanalysis, Nancy DC, can you help Me??? Feline manipulated, Sue & (Her trainors) Panther & Spot
2927.8	I won't be bribed....	SWAT::COCHRANE	Brace yourself - a brace of cats!	`Tue Oct 10 1989 14:49`	17
	Re: grudges I have two "we didn't need any more kittens, Mother" grudges going on right now, with Dream (aka "Mommy's Princess") and Niniane (aka "I was here first"). Niniane even refused Pounce ("No, I won't eat it and make you feel better. You'll suffer for this.") and Dream took to the basement for two whole days ("See if I come shed on you anymore!"). My dear,dear Boogie, however, is a saint! She even put up with riding in a cat carrier with two kittens to the vet's and back without so much as a growl! Mary-Michael (who has six cats and not quite enough cat carriers at the moment) ;-)
2927.9		CRUISE::NDC	Nancy Diettrich-Cunniff-I wanted it all	`Tue Oct 10 1989 15:11`	5
	re: .7 psychoanalysis - Are you kidding!!!! My mother's ready to commit me for having so many cats!!! Maybe we can share a room. Nancy DC
2927.10	purr-sonality plus...	MSBIS2::SADLER		`Tue Oct 10 1989 15:35`	20
	On the subject of grudges our female cat, Pumpkin, is a TRUE grudge holder. She works herself up over the most trivial of things. When my husband works on some yard project with noise ("Must he keep up that incessant banging?!"), Pumpkin gets so furious, she resorts to a chair under the table, rolls her eyes back as far as she physically can, and turns her head while closing her eyes if you even try to speak to her. She will not eat a seafood Bonkers treat which she is usually in a frenzy over. She will pout for two days, only letting you speak to her late at night with the lights off. Our other cat Ninja is a "rules" man. The LAW is that daddy does not come into the dining room (the cat's room) unless he: a) Is going to feed us; b) has the fishing worm for us to play with. And likewise, we do not go into daddy's room (the living room) unless: a) the dining room is too cold; b) we have to vomit. Rules are rules... Cathy
2927.11		VIDEO::MORRISSEY	I wanna rock wit'cha baby	`Wed Oct 11 1989 10:07`	13
	re: the past few You ladies are killing me!! I'm laughing so hard I'm crying! Sue, you sound just like me with Sasha....she knows she has me wrapped around her little finger (or paw as the case may be) and can really make me feel guilty. Thanks for the laughs...I needed them! JJ
2927.12	Smart little things, aren't they?	MEMIT::MISSELHORN		`Thu Oct 12 1989 14:38`	21
	I'm also sitting here laughing out loud. Just love the dialogues! My girls are grudge holders too. Just last night I stepped on Brittany who let out a huge yell. When I looked down, there was a BIG clump of fur on the floor and the tail end of Brittany running down the cellar stairs (but only a couple of steps down where I'd be sure to see her looking hurt). Well, did I feel rotten! Even after I gave her 4 Q-tips (her favorite toy) and played Q-tip Toss for 5 minutes, she wouldn't warm up. The biggest sin I can commit with them, however, which earns me the "big chill" from all 3 is if I go away overnight. When I come home looking for hugs and snuggles, they give me their "it's a stranger!" look and run. I have to admit, it really gets to me. Fortunately, this only lasts until the next feeding time. Usually, it does get them a night of sleeping in the bedroom, though, even if it means I don't get any sleep when they do. Barbara (Another mummie who is wrapped around little paws)
2927.14	PART 2 OF 3	CRUISE::NDC	Nancy Diettrich-Cunniff-I wanted it all	`Mon Oct 16 1989 10:12`	62
	PURRING PETS ARE SUPER PREDATORS For the family of Peter Churcher, the first one downstairs on summer mornings faced an unpleasant chore. The early riser often had to clean up the remains of whatever prey the family cat had brought in overnight. John Lawton was in a similar situation. This set Churcher, a biology teacher in an English public school, and Lawton, a biology professor at the University of London, wondering about the ecological effect of housecats. Startling Results: They persuaded all but one of the 78 cat owners in Felmersham, England, the Bedfordshire village where the Churchers lived, to save the remains of their cats' prety in coded plastic bags for a year in 1981 & 1982. The resuklts were startling. According to the study, reported in Britain's "Journal of Zoology" in 1987 and described again in last month's "Natural History" magazine, domestic cats turned out to be the major predators in the village. A total of 1,090 victims (535 mammals, 297 birds and the mangled remains of 258 unidentified animal) were collected, an average of about 14 per cat per year. Fifteen species of animals and 22 species of birds were represented. The most important items were wood mice (17 per cent), house sparrows (16 per cent) and ank voles (14 per cent). The study suggested that "at least 30 per cent of the sparrow deaths in the village were due to cats," and concluded that "house cats may well prove to the beh key predators" in urban and suburban settings. "In terms of the overall impact," Churcher said in an interview, "you could think of them acting as one super predator, the equivalent of a couple of barn owls or a couple of foxes." Svcientists know that cats usually go hunting even when they are well-fed at home. But horrified cat owners and others often ask why they play with the prey, seeming to torture it. And why do they bring it home and present it to their owners? Some scientists believe that what appears to be "playing" with live prey is the cats way of tiring a seemingly difficult or dangerous quarry, so that a killing bite on the back of the neck can be delivered. Mother cats bring prey home so that their kittens can play with it and learn to hunt. And some experts suggest that cats sometimes engage in "overflow play" after killing their prey to blow off steam. Seeking approval: Common wisdom has it that a cat is seeking approval when it brings prey home and drops it at the owner's feet. But some animal behaviorists speculate the cat is simply bringing the prey back to what it sees as its den. Young cats have been observed sharing prey with their mothers, and experts believe that in the absence of its mother, a cat often sees its owner as a substitute.
2927.15	PART 3 OF 3	CRUISE::NDC	Nancy Diettrich-Cunniff-I wanted it all	`Mon Oct 16 1989 10:29`	60
	CATS CAN TAKE THE PLUNGE Every year, scores of cats fall from open windows in New York City. From June 4 through Nov. 4, 1984, for instance, 132 such victims were admitted to the Animal Medical Centre on 62nd St in Manhattan. Most of the cats landed on concrete. Most survived. Experts believe they were able to do so because of the laws of physics, superior balance and what might be called the flying-squirrel tactic. In a study for the medical centre, Dr. Wayne Whitney and Dr. Cheryl Mehlhaff recorded the distance of the fall for 129 of the 132 cats. Lunged for Insect: The falls ranged from two to 32 storeys, with an average distance of 5.5 storeys. Two cats fell together. About a quarter fell during daylight hours, and about 40 per cent at night. For the rest, the time of the fall was unknown. Three cats were seen falling by their owners. two were described as having fallen while turning on a narrow ledge, and the third had lunged for an insect. Seventeen of the cats were put to sleep by their owners, not because of life-threatening injuries but because the owners said they could not afford medical treatment. Of the remain 115, eight died from shock and chest injuries. Even more surprizing, the longer the fall, the greater the chance of survival. Only ane of 22 cats that plunged from above seven storeys died, and there was only one fracture among the 13 that fell more than nine storeys. Ability well known: The cat that fell 32 storeys on concrete, Sabrina, suffered a mild lung puncture and a chipped tooth. She was released from the hospital after 48 hours. The cat's ability to twist around while falling and land on its feet is well known. but why did cats from higher floors fare better than those on lower ones? One explanation is that the speed of the fall does not increase beyond a certain point, Mehlhaff and Whitney said in the December 1987 issue of "The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association". This point, "terminal velocity," is reached relatively quickly in the case of cats. Terminal velocity for a cat is 100 km/hr; for an adult human, 190 km/hr. Until a cat reaches terminal velocity, the two speculated, the cat reacts to acceleration by reflexively extending its legs, making it more prone to injury. After terminal velocity is reacched, they said, the cat might relax and stretch its legs out like a flying squirrel, increasing air resistance [and thus slowing its rate of descent] and helping to distribute the impact more evenly.