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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Effects of the characteristic temperament of cats on the emotions and hemodynamic responses of humans

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft

Affiliation Graduate School of Agriculture Studies Tokyo University of Agriculture, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan

Roles Methodology, Supervision, Validation

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan

• Takumi Nagasawa, 
• Mitsuaki Ohta, 
• Hidehiko Uchiyama

• Published: June 25, 2020
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188
• Reader Comments

Cats positive effects on their owners’ physiological and psychological health, including improved mood and activation of the human prefrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus in the brain. However, the association between the health benefits provided by cat ownership and the characteristic behaviors and reactions of cats is unclear. We recruited 29 participants to measure human prefrontal cortex activity, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, during interactions with a cat. After the experiments, participants subjectively responded to a questionnaire regarding success rates for interactions with the cat, and completed the Self-assessment Manikin—a scale used to measure emotion. Interactions comprised eight types in four categories (touch, play, train, and feed). This study showed that interactions with a cat significantly activated the prefrontal cortex, regardless of interaction type. During training, the integral values of oxygenated hemoglobin in the left inferior frontal gyrus were the highest in all the interaction categories; however, success rates were lower than in the touch and feed interactions. Regarding the Self-assessment Manikin scores, all interaction categories showed a positive correlation between success rate and valence score, especially in the train and play interactions than in the touch and feed interactions. These results indicate that interactions with a cat activate the prefrontal cortex in humans, including the inferior frontal gyrus region. Moreover, cats’ autonomous behaviors and reactions positively influenced the participants. The characteristic temperament of cats may be a key factor influencing the health benefits of owning cats.

Citation: Nagasawa T, Ohta M, Uchiyama H (2020) Effects of the characteristic temperament of cats on the emotions and hemodynamic responses of humans. PLoS ONE 15(6): e0235188. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188

Editor: Alberto Dalla Mora, Politecnico di Milano, ITALY

Received: December 3, 2019; Accepted: June 11, 2020; Published: June 25, 2020

Copyright: © 2020 Nagasawa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Humans throughout the world have pets, especially dogs ( Canis familiaris ) and cats ( Felis silvestris catus ), which have positive effects on the health of their owners. Growth from knowledge reported that 57% of people internationally have at least one pet (dogs: 33%, cats: 23%) [ 1 ], and 64% of such people regularly spend time with pets to maintain their physical health [ 2 ]. Previous studies also showed that companion animals can promote people’s physiological, psychological, and social health [ 3 ]. Recently, the number of pet cats has grown to exceed that of dogs in some countries [ 1 ], including Japan (dogs: 8,903,000, cats: 9,649,000) [ 4 ]. Cats have adapted to co-exist with humans and become the most popular companion animal.

Some studies have reported that owning a cat provides beneficial health effects for the owner. Cat ownership has been linked to a reduced risk for minor health problems, such as headaches and hay fever [ 5 ]. Petting a cat can decrease blood pressure and heart rate [ 6 ], and cat ownership is associated with a decreased risk of death due to myocardial infarction or cardiovascular disease [ 7 ]. Furthermore, cats can be sources of emotional support for their owners [ 8 ], and reduce negative emotions [ 9 ]. These findings indicate that cats can provide both physiological and psychological health benefits.

Recent studies have shown an association between owning pets and improved executive functions [ 10 ], such as working memory [ 11 ], which is controlled by the brain’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) [ 12 ]. Studies have shown that the PFC can be activated by petting [ 13 ] or hearing a cat [ 14 ]. In one study, Kobayashi and colleagues primarily focused on the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) region of the PFC [ 13 ], which controls functions related to nonverbal communication, such as theory of mind [ 15 ], processing others’ facial expressions [ 16 ], and empathy [ 17 ]. Moreover, individuals with autism spectrum autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have impaired function in the IFG region and a deficit in the mirror neuron system [ 18 ]; therefore, owning a cat could help improve nonverbal communication skills of individuals with ASD. However, previous research only focused on one source of sensory stimulation at a time (e.g., tactile [ 13 ] or auditory [ 14 ]). Moreover, these studies were not designed to focus on the everyday interactions between cats and their owners.

In households with cats, feeding, playing, and physically interacting with cats is common [ 19 ], as well as essential for building good relationships between cats and their owners. Recently, positive reinforcement training, such as clicker training, has been shown to be an effective method to improve the welfare of cats in animal shelters [ 20 ]. However, it is unclear whether there is an association between these interactions with cats and the health benefits people can experience through cat ownership.

Compared to cat ownership, the health benefits of dog ownership are more apparent. Walking a dog, one of the everyday interactions between dogs and their owners, could have various health benefits for dog owners. Walking a dog activated parasympathetic nerve activity [ 21 ], and created a habit of engaging in physical activity [ 22 ]. Moreover, walking a dog could increase one’s opportunities for social interactions with others [ 23 ]. Dog ownership has also been associated with a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease [ 24 ] and its associated mortality rate. Additionally, in several studies, researchers focused on dogs’ behavioral reactions during experiments. For example, Nagasawa and colleagues reported that gazing behavior from dogs increased urinary oxytocin concentrations in owner [ 25 ][ 26 ]. Another study reported that interaction with dogs could affect the concentration of hormones such as cortisol and oxytocin in their owners’ blood [ 27 ].

Through the process of domestication, dogs have learned to display obedient behaviors toward humans. The purpose of domesticating dogs was to allow them to work with humans (e.g., guarding and hunting [ 28 ]); thus, more submissive traits were chosen by artificial selection. On the contrary, cats do not typically display obedient behaviors toward humans. As cats were originally utilized for their instinctual hunting ability to decrease rodent populations [ 29 ], cats may have been domesticated by natural selection, not selective breeding [ 28 ]. Marinelli and colleagues found the factors that affect the quality of dog–owner relationships differ from those for cat–owner relationships [ 30 ], and stated the tools used to study human–animal bonds need to be customized by species. Therefore, in the study of human–cat relationships, the behaviors and reactions of a cat should be the point of focus to determine if it is the factor that leads to health benefits for cat owners.

We designed this study based on various everyday cat–human interactions, focusing on the characteristic temperament of cats during regular interactions, and examined whether the characteristic temperament of cats affects human physiological and psychological health by assessing a cat’s behavioral reactions. We hypothesized that everyday interactions with a cat activates the PFC of the human brain, including the IFG region, and affects human’s moods. Particularly, the characteristic behaviors and reactions of cats could positively influence these effects.

Materials and methods

Ethics statement.

The experiments in this study were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (approval no. 1134) and Animal Experiment Ethics Committee (approval no. 1301312) at the Tokyo University of Agriculture in accordance with the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki.

Participants and the test animal

We recruited 29 participants (10 men and 19 women) from the Tokyo University of Agriculture. Participants’ mean age was 21.17 ± 0.65 years. Sixteen participants had experience owning cats. All participants provided verbal informed consent before the experiment. No participants were allergic to cats. One spayed female cat (ragdoll breed; nine-years-old) was used in this study. The cat had always lived in the laboratory and was already trained to perform some behaviors by using positive reinforcement (e.g., raising her paws, touching humans’ hands, sitting down, turning around, lying down, etc.). Before the experiment, all participants encountered the cat while receiving an explanation of the experimental protocol; there was no person who had a specific and close relationship with the cat.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

During all experimental tasks, oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations were recorded using the fNIRS method. We used an OEG-SpO2 (Spectratech, Inc., Kanagawa, Japan). Fig 1 shows the arrangement of the apparatus. Using the basis of the International 10/20 System, the center of the probe holder was placed on Fpz, the bottom left of the corner was placed on F7, and the bottom right of the corner was placed on F8 [ 31 ]. The temporal resolution was set at 0.08 s. This fNIRS method has approximately 770 and 840 nm wavelengths as near-infrared light. This instrument consists of six illuminator probes and six detector probes. The distance between the illuminator and the detector was fixed at 3 cm.

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

Black circles are illuminators. White circles are detectors. The number is the measurement region of 16 channels.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g001

Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM)

The SAM is a nonverbal pictorial assessment method that directly and quickly measures affective responses in many contexts [ 32 ]. It comprises three dimensions (valence, arousal, and dominance) consisting of 5-panel graphic depictions, rated on a 9-point scale (see Fig 2 ). We focused on the valence and arousal dimensions because they are the two factors related to emotions.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g002

Behavioral reactions of the cat

After their interactions with the cat, participants subjectively assessed (by percentage) whether the interaction with the cat was successful (0%: the cat did not obey to 100%: the cat perfectly obeyed ). Each question was arranged in an order designed to reflect the thoughts of the participants (e.g., touch interaction category: did the cat allow itself to be brushed/petted; see S1 Appendix ).

We divided the experiment into four interaction categories ( Table 1 ). We set two items for each interaction type. Table 1 shows the details of each interaction category: “touch” (brushing with a comb/petting by hand), “play” (with a stick/with a small rubber ball), “train” (tactile/non-tactile), and “feed” (giving food/water). The experiments consisted of one interaction item in each of the four categories.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.t001

The experiment was conducted in a 3 × 3m room in the laboratory. The cat was familiar with the experimental space. The protocol of the experiments is shown in Fig 3 . Participants were asked to sit in the middle of the room. For each interaction item, participants interacted with the cat for 30 seconds (task time). Before and after each interaction, participants rested for 30 seconds (pre- and post-times). During the pre- and post-times, the participants stared at a cross mark written on a paper on the wall, and repeated the Japanese vowels (/a/,/i/,/u/,/e/,/o/) in their head to stabilize their prefrontal Oxy-Hb concentrations [ 13 ]. When the task started, the experimenter put the cat in front of the participant. During all the stages of the experiment, participants were not allowed to speak to the experimenter, bow their head, or stand. However, participants were allowed to talk to the cat, but only with words related to the interaction (e.g., call the cat’s name). After the experiment, participants completed the SAM to identify their emotions and the behavior of the cat during the interactions.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g003

fNIRS analysis

NIRS enables us to measure signal changes in Oxy-Hb and Deoxy-Hb. The direction of changes in Oxy-Hb is always the same as that of the change in regional cerebral blood flow; however, the direction of changes in Deoxy-Hb is influenced by other factors (venous blood oxygenation and volume) [ 33 ]. Therefore, we focused only on Oxy-Hb signals. We removed the physiological fluctuations, caused by body motion and posture change, from Oxy-Hb signals using the hemodynamic modality separation system [ 34 ].To analyze participants’ Oxy-Hb signals of PFC over time during the experiments, we calculated the average value from all participants combined using the BRainAnalyzer (B.R.Systems Inc., Kanagawa, Japan). We then averaged all 16 channels in the data set.

Based on previous study [ 13 ], to compare the degrees of activation in each interaction category, integral values of Oxy-Hb were calculated using the BRainAnalyzer ( Fig 4 ). When we compared interaction types, we adjusted the start of the integral values to baseline. We focused on the right and left IFG regions of the brain. These regions placed F7 and F8; thus, channel 1, 2, 3, and 4 channels reflect right IFG, and 13, 14, 15, and 16 channels reflect left IFG [ 35 ].

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g004

Statistical analysis

We determined the difference of the mean Oxy-Hb signal during rest and task time by performing an analysis of variance and a Bonferroni test as post-hoc analyses. Using the Friedman test and Scheffe’s method as post-hoc analysis, we examined the difference among four interaction categories: the integral values of the left and right IFG, participants’ mean success rate for interaction with the cat, and participants’ mean SAM score. Additionally, we compared the differences of the integral values of the left and right IFG between participants who had experience owning cats and those who did not (Welch’s t -tests). We assessed the correlation between success rates and the integral values of the left and right IFG and SAM score using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. All statistical analyses were performed using BellCurve for Excel (Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd., Japan).

Data were analyzed from 27 participants. Two participants were excluded from analysis because one participant did not complete the experiment, and we failed to measure channel 1 of another participant.

Sequential change of the Oxy-Hb signal

The sequential change of the Oxy-Hb signal is shown in Table 2 . Significant differences in the mean Oxy-Hb concentration were observed among pre-time, task-time, and post-time (touch: F = 483.63, p < .01; play: F = 372.39, p < .01; Train: F = 509.48 p < .01; feed: F = 363.27, p < .01). A post-hoc analysis using a Bonferroni comparison indicated there were significant differences in all interaction categories: touch: pre vs. task (t = 26.82, p < .01), pre vs. post (t = 27.06, p < .01); play: pre vs. task (t = 21.76, p < .01), pre vs. post (t = 25.14, p < .01), task vs. post (t = 3.38, p < .01); train: pre vs. task (t = 23.82, p < .01), pre vs. post (t = 30.32, p < .01), task vs. post (t = 6.51, p < .01); feed: pre vs. task (t = 22.85, p < .01), pre vs. post (t = 23.81, p < .01).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.t002

Integral values of the IFG

Fig 5 shows the mean integral values of the right and left IFG. For both the right and left IFG, significant differences were observed among interaction categories (right IFG: X 2 = 41.68, p < .01; left IFG: X 2 = 73.11, p < .01).

Mean integral values of the left (a) and right (b) IFG in each interaction categories. Error bars indicate SE. Different letters indicate significant differences by Scheffe’s method ( p < .05).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g005

For the right IFG, a post-hoc analysis using Scheffe’s method indicated that the feed interaction (1.88 ± 0.40) had smaller integral values than did the touch (4.84 ± 0.55, X 2 = 16.23, p < .01), play (4.60 ± 0.48, X 2 = 10.05, p < .05), and train (6.59 ± 0.65, X 2 = 40.69, p < .01) interactions. The train interaction had higher integral values than did the play interaction (X 2 = 10.29, p < .05).

For the left IFG, the feed interaction (1.52 ± 0.37) had smaller integral values than did the touch (4.58 ± 0.53, X 2 = 27.27, p < .01), play (4.68 ± 0.52, X 2 = 24.61, p < .01), and train (7.14 ± 0.69, X 2 = 71.70, p < .01) interactions. The train interaction had higher integral values than did the touch (X 2 = 10.53, p < .05) and play (X 2 = 12.30, p < .01) interactions.

According to Welch’s t -tests, in all interaction categories, there were no significant differences in the integral values of the left and right IFG between participants who had experience owning cats and those who did not.

Valence scores showed significant differences among interaction categories (X 2 = 9.85, p < .05, Fig 6A ). A post-hoc analysis using Scheffe’s method indicated that the train interaction (5.06 ± 0.33) had a lower score than did the feed (6.46 ± 0.21 X 2 = 9.34, p < .05) interaction.

The mean SAM score among interaction categories for (a) pleasure and (b) arousal. Different letters indicate significant differences by Scheffe’s method ( p < .05).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g006

Arousal scores also showed significant differences among interaction categories (X 2 = 29.37, p < .01, Fig 6B ). The play interaction (4.61 ± 0.28) had a significantly higher score than did the touch (3.15 ± 0.24, X 2 = 22.45, p < .01) and feed (3.37 ± 0.29, X 2 = 15.64, p < .01) interactions. The train interaction (4.50 ± 0.28) had a significantly higher score than did the touch (X 2 = 24.12, p < .01) and feed (X 2 = 17.05, p < .01) interactions.

Success rate

Significant differences were observed in the success rates among interaction categories (X 2 = 36.36, p < .05, Fig 7 ). A post-hoc analysis using Scheffe’s method indicated that the touch interaction (62.78 ± 3.93%) had a higher success rate than did the play (36.02 ± 4.55%, X 2 = 8.56, p < .05) and train (35.46 ± 5.03%, X 2 = 11.48, p < .01) interactions. The feed interaction (75.65 ± 5.48%) had a higher success rate than did the play (X 2 = 24.29, p < .01) and train (X 2 = 29.05, p < .01) interactions.

Error bars indicate SE. Different letters indicate significant differences by Scheffe’s method ( p < .05).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.g007

Correlation with success rate

We analyzed the correlation between the success rate scores and the integral values of the IFG (right and left side), as well as between success rate and SAM scores individually ( Table 3 ). The correlation between success rate and the integral values of the IFG was not significant in all interaction categories. However, SAM scores significantly correlated with success rates. For valence scores, there was positive correlation among all interaction categories (touch: r = 0.53, p < .05; play: r = 0.61, p < .01; train: r = 0.68, p < .01; feed: r = 0.54, p < .01). For arousal scores, only the play interaction positively correlated with success rate (r = 0.51, p < .01).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.t003

Sequential change in Oxy-Hb signal of the PFC

Interactions with a cat activated participants’ PFC, regardless of interaction type. The experiment protocol consisted of interactions typical in cat owners’ homes; therefore, this result suggested that owning a cat enhances the function of the owners’ PFC. Furthermore, PFC controls executive function [ 12 ]; therefore, interactions with a cat may improve executive function. This result is consistent with previous studies [ 10 ][ 11 ]. To our knowledge, this study may be one of the first to explain the mechanism that everyday interaction with cats enhance PFC function.

Integral values of the IFG for the train and play interactions

We focused on the integral values of Oxy-Hb signals in left and right IFG regions. In all interactions, the integral values did not correlate with each success rate individually. However, there was a significant difference among interaction categories. The integral values of the train interaction were larger than those of the other interaction categories. Notably, in the left IFG region, the integral values of the train interaction were significantly larger than those of the other categories. The left IFG controls the mirror neuron system [ 36 ] and empathy [ 37 ]. This study suggested that performing training interactions with a cat would be an effective way to help develop these brain functions.

There are several possible reasons for significant activation of the IFG during the train interaction. First, participants might have not been accustomed to training a cat; thus, it is possible that unnatural interaction situation promoted Oxy-Hb activation for participants. Training is still not a typical interaction between a cat and its owner in general households. Nevertheless, training using clicker has recently become a standard method to improve cats’ welfare [ 20 ] and develop effective relationships between cats and humans [ 38 ]. Training a cat should be recognized as a common interaction between cats and their owners.

Second, the characteristic temperament of cats (i.e., not typically displaying obedient behavior) might have been the reason for activation of the IFG. For the train interaction, participants reported significantly lower success rates than for the feed and touch interactions. The cat frequently showed autonomous behaviors and reactions to participants owing to the independent nature of cats. Participants might try to anticipate the cat’s next action and determine how to succeed. This thinking process might have been the reason for the activation of the IFG.

The play interaction also showed a lower success rate than did the feed and touch interactions. Further, the integral values of the IFG during playing with the cat were larger than those during feeding. In the play interaction, it was difficult for participants to attract the cat to play. As with the train interaction, participants might think about the way to succeed in this interaction.

The thinking processes used during the train and play interactions related to fundamental nonverbal communication skills necessary not only for interactions between people and animals but also for interpersonal interactions. Therefore, the train and play interactions with a cat, which induce the activation of the IFG, have potential to treat individuals with ASD, which have impaired function in the IFG region [ 18 ]. Previous studies showed that interactions with an animal can improve the social communication skills of children with ASD [ 39 ][ 40 ]. Although much of the previous research has been performed using therapy dogs [ 41 ], a few studies have posited that cats can also be useful for therapy with people with ASD [ 42 ][ 43 ]. However, the mechanism was still unclear.

It is frequently difficult to speculate on cats’ behaviors, even for their owners. The behaviors and temperament of cats, such as independence, is a unique trait compared to dogs. As cat domestication was shorter than for dogs, and may not even be complete [ 28 ], the genes of domestic cats are not distinct from those of wild cats [ 44 ]; thus, even household cats frequently display autonomous behaviors like wild animals. The present results suggest that cats’ unique behaviors and reactions are the key factors explaining the mechanism underlying the health benefits that cats can provide to individuals with ASD. However, this study targeted healthy participants, not those with ASD; therefore, further studies are needed to determine whether cats positively effects the treatment of individuals with ASD.

Integral values of the IFG for the feed and touch interactions

During the feed interaction, the integral values were significantly less compared to the other interaction types; however, the success rate was higher than in the train and play interactions. Since feeding is the most fundamental interaction between a human and an animal, the cat relatively obeyed participants during the feed interaction. Participants may have felt it was easy to speculate on the cat’s behavioral reactions during the feed interaction; therefore, the IFG region was not activated.

As with feeding, tactile communication with a cat is a central interaction between a cat and its owner. In this study, the touch interaction showed a higher success rate than either the train or the play interaction; however, the integral values of the IFG were larger than during the feed interaction. This could be the result of tactile stimulation. A previous study showed that the IFG region was activated by touching a cat [ 13 ], which is consistent with the findings of this study. Therefore, the current results might show that tactile stimuli, which occur through interaction with a cat, affect IFG activation.

Valence scores from the SAM significantly positively correlated with success rates. The valence dimension in the SAM is the measurement of emotions, such as happiness and satisfaction [ 32 ]. In this study, participants felt positive emotion when the cat obeyed them. Moreover, the train and play interactions, which had a significantly lower success rate than the feed and touch interactions, showed a relatively higher correlation coefficient than the feed and touch interactions. Therefore, the present result indicates that the lower the success rate of interaction with a cat, the more likely positive emotions of the participants occurred when the interaction succeeds. As mentioned above, cats and dogs have different temperaments, and cats frequently showed autonomous behavior and reaction for their owners. These characteristic temperaments of cats may be the key factor to enhance human psychological status.

During the play interaction, only the arousal score for the SAM significantly positively correlated with success rates. The arousal dimension in the SAM is the measurement of emotions such as excitement [ 32 ]. In the play interaction, the success meant the cat responded to the cat toys using its paws. It is possible that the movement of the cat increased the arousal of the participants. Previous studies claimed that the arousal response is related to enhanced cognitive function [ 45 ]. Additionally, exercise, which increases arousal, also improves executive function [ 46 ][ 47 ]. Therefore, playing with a cat may promote s the development of human cognitive function. Furthermore, 90% of cat owners play with their cats at least once per day [ 48 ]; thus, play with cats is a common interaction for their owners. The results of the current study may show the mechanism of an association between owning pets and improved executive functions.

Limitations

This study had several limitations. First, we used a laboratory cat, not a house cat. This was because of the difficulty of conducting this experiment in cat owners’ homes. Domestic cats are territorial animals [ 49 ], and would not behave typically with their owner if an unfamiliar person and apparatus were to be in their territory. Thus, we utilized a laboratory cat. However, the cat had been raised in the laboratory like as a house cat; therefore, the cat had the characteristic temperament of a house cat.

Second, during the experiments, only participants could initiate an interaction, not the cat. Specifically, in the touch interactions, we requested that participants pet the cat. However, cats often display allogrooming (i.e., groom other cats using their tongue) and allorubbing (i.e., rubbing their head and tail toward other cats) behaviors toward humans [ 50 ]. If interactions between participants and the cat had been mutual, the results may have varied. In future studies, researchers should design a protocol that allows for free and mutual interactions between cats and participants.

Third, we used Bonferroni’s and Scheffe’s methods for post-hoc analyses; although, we did not use a false discovery rate approach. Therefore, further studies should use false discovery rate to control the proportion of false positives among channels that are significantly detected.

Conclusions

Our findings indicated that everyday interaction with a cat can activate a person’s PFC, including the IFG region, regardless of the type of interaction. Moreover, during training interactions, the cat often disobeyed the participants, which elicited significant IFG activation. Valence scores of participants positively correlated with the success rates for interactions with the cat; especially, the train and play interactions, which had significantly lower success rates than did the touch and feed interactions, and a high correlation coefficient.

This study showed that the autonomous behaviors and reactions of a cat influenced the physiological and psychological states of people; therefore, the characteristic temperament of a cat may be the key factor to the mechanism underlying the positive health effects gained through cat ownership.

Supporting information

S1 appendix. questionnaire for behavioral reactions of the cat..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235188.s001

Acknowledgments

We thank Editage ( www.editage.com ) for English-language editing.

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Comparative Cognition pp 287–303 Cite as

Developments in Research on Cat Cognition and Personality

• Saho Takagi 3 , 4  
• First Online: 28 August 2021

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Cats, along with dogs, are one of the most popular companion animals for humans. Across the world, increasing numbers of cats are being kept as pets. Despite their familiarity, cats’ cognition has long been shrouded in mystery, mainly because cats were considered largely unsuitable for psychological studies in laboratory settings. The “Cats Team” in Kazuo Fujita’s lab has developed several innovative and useful methods for studying cat cognition. In this chapter, I review findings from some of the team’s studies of cat cognition, including physical inference, use human social cues, incidental memory, cross-modal integration, jealousy, and third-party social evaluation. I also briefly describe some ongoing work on the relation between genes and personality, and suggest directions in which behavioral and cognitive studies of cats might go.

• Felis catus
• Personality

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Mini review article, the mechanics of social interactions between cats and their owners.

• 1 Institute for Applied Ethology and Animal Psychology, I.E.A.P./I.E.T., Horgen, Switzerland
• 2 Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

This is a mini review that summarizes what is known from quantitative observational studies of social interactions between domestic cats and humans in both laboratory colonies and the home setting. Only results from data that have been statistically analyzed are included; hypotheses still to be tested will be declared as such. In some cases, the observational data have been combined with independently collected subjective assessments by the owners of the animals' character and owner personality traits to help interpret the data. Further some relevant experimental studies are also included. All social interactions between cats and humans that are discussed below assume that the animals were socialized to people as kittens, the first topic of this review. Such socialized cats show what might be called “friendliness to humans,” which in turn affects human attachment to the cat. The visual and acoustic behavioral elements used to communicate and interact with other cats can be perceived by people and are also employed by the cats when interacting with them. The initiation, and the initiator of social interactions between cats and humans have been shown to influence both the duration of the interaction bout and total interaction time in the relationship. Compliance with the interactional “wishes” of the partner is positively correlated between the cats and the humans over all human-cat dyads examined. Cats do not spontaneously prefer one gender or age cohort of people, but the humans in those cohorts behave differently to the cats causing the latter to react differentially. The dyadic interaction structure has also been shown to differ between women and men and between older and younger adults. Nevertheless, cats—merely their presence but of course their behavior—can affect human moods and human mood differences have been shown to affect the behavior of the cats. Finally, differences have been found between interactions with purebred and non-purebred cats and between younger and older cats.

Socialization and Other Factors Affecting Establishment of a New Relationship

Eileen Karsh was the first researcher to experimentally determine the sensitive phase of kittens for socialization to humans and this was supported by further data from cat colonies in Zurich and Cambridge ( 1 – 3 ). Kittens handled frequently by humans during their second to mid-seventh week of age become friendly and trusting of people and remain so throughout their later lives [tested to at least 3 years of age, ( 4 )]. The duration and frequency of handling and number of handlers required for this effect have also been examined ( 5 ). Much behavior toward conspecifics is still to be learned. Schaer ( 6 ) suggested that conspecific “socialization” occurs by about 10 weeks and Hediger ( 2 ) confirmed experimentally that socialization to conspecifics and to humans can occur simultaneously. Therefore, most experts recommend not placing kittens before 10 or 12 weeks of age ( 7 ) 1 .

Although original socialization status to people is of paramount importance for future cat-human relationships, other parameters have also been shown to influence the establishment of a new relationship [summarized in a model by ( 1 , 8 )]: genes of the father ( 9 ); presence and behavior of the mother ( 10 ); curiosity (exploratory behavior, see below); stroking the cat; and the act of feeding the animal ( 11 ). The model by Turner predicts differential outcomes of later positive and negative experiences with people depending on the quality of original socialization to humans. For a cat well-socialized to humans as a kitten it takes many negative experiences with other people to become wary of such contacts and very few positive experiences with a new owner to become friendly and trusting of that person. A cat poorly socialized to people as a kitten requires a great deal of positive experience to accept a new person, but very little negative experience with a person to confirm its wariness and fear of people. Most shelter employees will inform that a poorly socialized and/or mishandled cat requires a great deal of patience and understanding by the new owner after being rehomed, while a well-socialized individual will take only 1–2 weeks to adapt to the new owner and home. This has enormous welfare implications for the cats involved in that poorly socialized cats take up limited space in the shelter for longer while waiting for the personnel to find such a patient new owner, and well-socialized cats can be rehomed more easily and quickly.

Friendliness to Humans

Turner et al. ( 9 ) reported a father effect on the behavioral patterns of kittens associated with what one might call “friendliness to humans.” Since cat males have nothing to do with raising their kittens, this effect had to be genetic. At the time the authors cautioned that they were not talking about a “gene for friendliness” and later, McCune ( 3 ) proposed that the genetic father effect was on “boldness” of his kittens, which in turn, increased or decreased their exploratory behavior and the chances of their contact with new humans, appearing as friendliness or, if lower, shyness.

Turner and Stammbach-Geering ( 12 ) asked women living at home to subjectively assess their cats and relationships to them along 31 traits, once for their current cat and once for the “ideal” cat and relationship. The effects of civil status, housing condition (indoor or with outdoor access), and number of cats kept on the trait ratings were also examined.

Significant positive correlations were found between the ratings of “cat affection to the owner” and “owner affection for the cat.” The former was positively correlated with ratings for “predictability,” “proximity to the owner,” “enjoyment of physical contact,” “cleanliness” and “likeness to humans.” The keepers of cats with outdoor access rated their animals as being less curious than those of indoor cats. The authors hypothesized that cats kept exclusively indoors were compensating for their less animate environment by initiating more contacts with objects inside than the outdoor cats did. However, it is important to remember that correlational results are not necessarily causal, and still need to be tested experimentally. Turner's ( 13 ) observational data on human contact initiation by indoor cats do however support the hypothesized interpretation.

Communication Between Cats and With Humans

Cat-cat visual, olfactory and auditory communication have been fairly well deciphered beginning with Leyhausen's ( 14 ) original work on the body and facial signals used [expanded by ( 15 – 17 )]. Cats often use some of the same visual and vocal signals when interacting with people. When they approach another familiar cat and greet their keepers after a short absence, they raise their tails upright, presumably as a sign of friendly intentions. Only domesticated cats use this signal and it has been suggested that there was selective pressure for such a signal in the dense temple colonies of ancient Egypt ( 18 ). To get our attention, they flank-rub on our legs (which might also mark us) and head-rub—forehead to forehead—with cats they know well, presumably marking each other (and us) with a scent ( 1 , 19 ). Bernstein and Friedmann [( 20 ), also citing ( 21 )] reported that cats preferred certain places on their bodies, particularly the head region, for being stroked, modified their postures to promote access to those preferred regions, and even led their keepers to preferred places in the home for petting episodes. Ellis et al. ( 22 ) determined that both handler familiarity and body region stroked significantly influenced negative behavioral responses. Bernstein and Friedmann (op cit.) also mentioned the cat's closing of the eyes in this relaxed situation (sometimes called the “slow blink”). This slow-blink has received more attention recently and when previously unfamiliar persons initiate such blinking, cats tend to approach them more often ( 23 ).

Auditory communication by cats has been and continues to be examined [reviewed by ( 17 )], most recently by Schötz et al. ( 24 ) using phonetic analyses of cat-to-human vocalizations. It is generally known that cats vocalize more frequently with their human companions than with other cats ( 1 ). Yeon et al. ( 25 ) found that meows are attention-seeking vocalizations in interspecific situations and higher pitched (subjectively more pleasant) than in feral cats and wild ancestors. They also modify their purrs when actively soliciting food (more urgent and less pleasant than when just resting as perceived by the human raters) and people are capable of distinguishing these ( 26 ), both behaviors probably learned over time in interactions. Ellis et al. ( 27 ) reported that 40% of their human participants identified the correct contexts of cat vocalizations more often than by chance when the vocalizations belonged to their own cat, but did not perform above chance when the calls belonged to an unfamiliar cat. Interestingly, Saito et al. ( 28 ) demonstrated with the habituation-dishabituation method that privately owned cats can discriminate their own names from other words, which leads now to other studies in the area of social cognition in cats.

Recent work on social cognition in cats also has relevance to cat-human communication. Vitale Shreve and Udell ( 29 ) provided a first review of what was known and still to be discovered and a number of studies have since been published. Pongracz and his colleagues in Hungary have been particularly active this this area. Even though Miklosi et al. ( 30 ) had already shown differences between dogs and cats in their ability to use human pointing gestures, especially that cats lacked some components of attention-getting behavior compared with dogs, Pongracz et al. ( 31 ) demonstrated that cats were indeed able to read and follow human gaze for referential information. Galvan and Vonk ( 32 ) found that cats were only modestly sensitive to emotions as indicated by human postural and vocal cues, but particularly when displayed by their owner. Quaranta et al. ( 33 ) demonstrated experimentally that cats are indeed capable to cross-modally match pictures of emotional faces with their related vocalizations in both conspecifics and humans, especially for high intensity emotions. These authors concluded that cats have a general mental representation for the emotions of their social partners, both conspecific and human.

The Initiation of Social Interactions and Goal Meshing

As mentioned above, the results from Turner and Stammbach-Geering ( 12 ) prompted a more detailed investigation of social contact initiation by household cats and their humans. Turner's ( 13 ) team observed the mechanics of social interactions in 158 cat-owning households over three consecutive days, recording which partner, the cat or the person, tried to initiate the interaction (precisely defined), the reaction of the partner (accepting or declining), the duration of each interaction as well as total interaction time observed in that cat-human relationship. The goal of the project was to determine a potential measure of relationship success or quality. Firstly, Turner looked at the proportion of “intents” to interact that were successful - separately for the cat and the person (in this study, the woman of the household) - and attempted to correlate these values with total interaction time in the relationship over all cat-human dyads observed. There was no significant correlation for the cat data, but a significant negative one for the humans. The more successful the person was in initiating interactions, the shorter the total interaction time with the cat. This means that it is the cat that determines how long the interaction lasts. The next measure combined the data for the cats and humans into one number, namely, the proportion of all successful attempts to interact that were due to the cat. Over all person-cat pairs, this measure was indeed positively correlated with total interaction time in a relationship. That is the higher the proportion of all successful intents to interact that were due to the cat, the more time spent overall interacting in the relationship.

In Mertens' ( 34 ) observational study in other households, she found that the human partner was generally more active than the cat in distance regulation, especially in reducing distance between the two, but that single bouts of staying close to each other were longer when initiated by the cat. Further, Mertens reported a higher degree of reciprocity in distance regulation in cat-human dyads with adults than in those with children and juveniles, indicating a better “meshing” of close contact. “Goal meshing,” i.e., whether the goals of each partner are aligned with the ongoing goals of the other, is one important quality of any relationship ( 35 ).

Turner ( 13 ) continued the analysis of his data and calculated the proportion of “start interactions” (a defined and recorded element) due to the cat whenever the person had shown an intent to interact (also precisely defined), i.e., the individual cat's willingness to comply with the woman's “wish” to interact. Operationally, the “wish” to interact was defined for both the human and the cat as an approach to the partner and/or a directed vocalization. Also for each pair, whenever the cat had shown an intent to interact, he calculated the proportion of “starts” due to the woman, or, the woman's willingness to comply with the cat's “wish” to interact. These two values over all observed human-cat pairs were positively and significantly correlated. In other words, if the woman complies with the cat's wishes to interact, then the cat complies with the woman's wishes at other times; if the woman doesn't comply with the cat's wishes, then neither does the cat, with the woman's wishes. Therefore, a symmetry exists in the relationships at all levels of compliance, high to low, which might explain the popularity of cats, but also differences in the level of interactivity between relationships. In some relationships there is a high level of interactivity, in others, low, and the cat apparently accepts this, as indicated by staying on as the household pet (even when allowed outside) and lowering its own rate of initiation of interactions, when the owner shows less interactivity.

Wedl et al. ( 36 ) used a relatively new tool to analyze the structure of human-cat interactions observed in the home setting, namely Theme® (Noldus bv, The Netherlands). Strings of video recorded owner and cat behaviors were analyzed during four visits to each of 40 cat-owning households. The Theme® algorithm detects sets of events which follow each other non-randomly in the temporal sequence. Two actions that occur repeatedly and regularly in alternation form a basic “t-pattern.” Hierarchically structured t-patterns emerge via the detection of relationships of these previously detected patterns by repeated use of the algorithm scanning the strings of behaviors. Wedl and her co-workers found that owner and cat personality and gender and cat age of the partners (see below) had significant effects on t-patterning of dyadic behavior. In dyads with a female owner, the number of patterns per minute tended to be higher than in dyads with a male owner. Further, cat sex did not have any effect on the temporal patterning of dyadic behavior. These results are consistent with results found by Mertens [( 34 ), see above] and Turner ( 1 ).

Differences Related to Human Gender and Age

Mertens and Turner ( 37 ) reported differences found between the behavior of men, women, boys and girls in an experimental study of their colony cats. When the human volunteers were not allowed to interact in any way with the cats they were meeting for the first time in an encounter room (they had to look at an age-appropriate book during the first 5 min), the cats entering the room showed no preference for gender or age of the partner in their approach behavior. However, during the following 5 min when the persons were allowed to interact as they pleased with the cats and the authors recorded the human's behavior, the cats reacted to differences in behavior between men, women and children. Men tended to remain seated while women and girls moved down onto the floor, to the level of the cats. Children, especially the boys, tried to approach the cats immediately to which the cats usually reacted negatively by fleeing from them, even though they were all well-socialized. Women and girls spoke to the cats more often and the cats vocalized more often with them than with the men or boys.

These results were supported by later observations by Mertens ( 34 ) during 504 h in 51 cat-owning households with 162 persons and 72 cats. When at home, women spoke and interacted more with the cats than men did. Children were especially active with respect to motor activity, while adults spoke more often to the cats. She also found that interactions with women had a higher reciprocity and therefore probably both the person and the cat enjoyed high-quality relationships. In a more recent study, Wedl et al. ( 36 ) found that female owners entertained a more structured interaction with their cats than male owners and that extraverted owners have relatively varied interaction patterns with their animals. From a PCA analysis of answers to a questionnaire by Hungarian cat owners, Pongracz and Szapu ( 38 ) reported that women considered their cats to be more communicative and empathetic than men did and that emotional matching of the cat was more commonly reported by elderly owners than young owners.

Turner ( 39 ) compared the interactions of younger adults and elderly persons (65+) with their cats and found no difference in total interaction time between the two groups, but two differences in the structure of those interactions: Younger adults interacted significantly more often with their cats, but when older people interacted, they did so for significantly longer (Presumably the elderly waited until the cat came to them to interact, but this was not tested.). The younger owners also interacted more often from a distance and spoke more often to the cat than the elderly did.

All of the above findings have allowed recommendations to psychotherapists and pedagogues working with cats to help people in texts ( 40 , 41 ) and courses in animal-assisted intervention, as well as to the general public to promote harmonious cat-human relationships.

The Effects of Cats on Human Moods

Rieger and Turner ( 42 ) and Turner and Rieger ( 43 ) discovered that not only the mere presence of a cat in the household, but also interactions with the cat reduce measureable negative moods in the person, e.g., anxiety, depression, and introversion. The depressive owner initiates fewer interactions with the cat, but when the cat approaches that person, s/he accepts the intent of the cat to interact, which affects the human's mood. The cat also changes its behavior in response to depressiveness of the human when close to the person (but not at a distance), vocalizing more frequently with the person and head- and flank-rubbing more often on that person. More mood subscales in women than in men are affected by the cat, and they are more strongly affected than in men. Turner et al. ( 44 ) concluded that only the partner, but not the cat, enhances positive moods, while the cats alleviate negative moods. This effect was comparable to the effect of a human partner.

Effects of Cat Breed and Age on Cat Behavior and Cat-human Interactions

Surprisingly, given the large number of popular cat breed books, there have been relatively few research studies of breed differences in behavior or behavior toward people. Turner ( 8 , 39 ) reported on the only ethological study that compared the two oldest purebreds, Persian and Siamese cats, with non-pedigree cats and combined observational data with subjective trait ratings by the owners. He found few differences between the two breeds - reportedly at the extreme ends of cat personality - presumably due to convergent human selection, but those expected from the popular literature: The Persians were less active and less vocal than the Siamese, while the latter were more playful but demanding of their owners. Relative to the non-purebred cats, the purebreds were often closer to their owners and friendlier to strangers, which might be related to differences in handling (pampering) during upbringing or to artificial selection (genetic differences).

Hart and Hart ( 45 ) interviewed some 80 US-veterinarians in feline practices considered to be unbiased authorities on breed differences in cats. They ranked a random selection of five breeds and domestic short- and long-haired cats out of 15 cat breeds along 12 behavioral traits. Three traits had high predictive value to distinguish the breeds, seven traits with moderate and two traits with low predictive value. However, Turner ( 46 ) stated that confirmation of these subjective rankings is still needed from comparative ethological observations. The same criticism can be made of two more recent, but otherwise promising studies for future work, namely by Wilhelmy et al. ( 47 ) and Salonen et al. ( 48 ). Using a well-known questionnaire to generate standardized behavioral profiles, the former study found behavioral characteristics in purebred cats associated with breed, coat color and coat pattern. The latter study also gathered a large data set from a health and behavior questionnaire completed by owners and determined behavioral differences between 19 breeds and breed groups along 10 different behavior traits. A moderate level of heritability in three breeds for seven traits was found but the authors reported that substantial genetic variation exists within breed populations.

There are even fewer studies of the effect of cat age on cat-human interactions. Wedl et al. ( 36 ) employed the Theme® algorithm to their observational data and determined that the older the cat, the lower the dyadic event type complexity, meaning that the strings of cat behavior in interaction with their owners are shorter in old cats than young ones. This probably reflects decreased activity levels and playfulness with age in cats.

Concluding Remarks

This mini-review has shown that we have discovered much about the mechanics of social interactions between cats and their owners, but that more remains to be discovered when researchers apply new techniques, e.g., phonetic analysis of cat vocalizations, or by applying the Theme® algorithm to analyze such interactions. More observational studies comparing the behavior of different cat breeds and animals of different coat characteristics would be welcomed to substantiate and compliment the owners' qualitative assessments of personality traits. Further, it is hoped that an ethically acceptable method to test the prediction of Turner's ( 1 , 8 ) model on the effects of later positive and negative experiences with people on friendliness to people can be found.

Author Contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords: owners, socialization, communication, mood, cats, interactions, breed

Citation: Turner DC (2021) The Mechanics of Social Interactions Between Cats and Their Owners. Front. Vet. Sci. 8:650143. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.650143

Received: 06 January 2021; Accepted: 08 March 2021; Published: 31 March 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Turner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Dennis C. Turner, dennis@turner-iet.ch

This article is part of the Research Topic

Exploring Cats: Their Behaviors and Human-Cat Interactions

Essays About Cats: Top 5 Examples Plus Prompts

Cats are some of the most beloved animals to humankind; this article contains writing prompts and essay examples to help you write essays about cats. 

When you think of animals, two things come to mind: cats and dogs. Cats are some of the most popular pets, as they are, for the most part, relatively independent, low-maintenance, and easy to care for. The word “cat” most often describes domesticated house cats but also refers to some of the most vicious predators on the planet, such as lions, cheetahs, and leopards. Nevertheless, they make great companions for people who enjoy staying home and spending time sitting down and petting them, which reduces stress and anxiety. 

If you want to start writing essays about cats, start by reading some essay examples.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

1. Short Essay on “Cat” by Kirti Daga

2. life of stray cats by nathaniel bridges, 3. do cats understand mirrors by christine o’brien, 4.  why cats are bad pets by shannon cain.

• 5. ​​Why Are Cats So Incredibly Rude? by Julie Davidson

5 Writing Prompts For Essays About Cats

1. should you own a cat, 2. why are cats so loved, 3. my experience with cats, 4. cats vs. dogs, 5. my favorite breed of cat.

“If your cat has given birth to kittens, make sure that your house is quiet because a lot of noise and activity can scare a small kitten and a cat lover would never wish to scare a kitten for sure. Cats can be shy in nature and can even take time while adjusting with the environment. One needs to be patient and deal with the animal with a lot of love and care.”

Daga gives a basic description of cats’ physical features, personalities, and misconceptions about them. They are gentle and playful yet, to an extent, selfish. Many believe that cats are related to black magic and bad luck; however, this is entirely false. Daga ends the essay by briefly discussing how to tame a cat and care for one that has given birth to kittens.

“Although it’s impossible for us to adopt every stray cat on the street, but imagine if every family manage to keep a pet cat in their home. That can actually save a lot of their lives. Some might have allergies towards animals but you can still help by providing clean water and some food outside of your house for the cats. This can avoid them from eating poisonous or unhygienic foods and also let them have a healthier life.”

In his essay, Bridges implores readers to be more sympathetic to the plight of stray cats. They have difficulty finding food and are involved in many accidents, particularly with cars. Bridges suggest leaving out food and water for stray cats, so they eat healthier food than whatever they scavenge for. In addition, he encourages people to adopt stray cats, although this is not for everyone, as some may have allergic reactions. 

Looking for more? Check out these essays about dogs .

“the extent of cat self-awareness is still a mystery. Despite all of the wisdom contained in her all-knowing eyes, when your cat’s pacing back and forth in front of mirror, she’s probably not admiring the sleekness of her coat or the smoothness of her freshly-trimmed nails.

More than likely, she’s investigating the stranger that is too close for comfort.”

O’Brien writes about the phenomenon in which cats look at themselves intently in the mirror. Based on research, cats do not recognize themselves and continue to look into the mirror to assess possible threats. As animal brains are less developed, they do not understand that they see themselves and instead see their reflections as other animals. They are not looking at themselves as people claim but trying to perceive the presence of another cat. 

“How many people do you see taking their cat with them on car rides? Or having a nice walk in the park? Absolutely no one. If you’ve ever brought your cat in the car, you know how loud, annoying and horrible it is, not only for them but you as well. The whole time, all you hear is their pitiful meow from the carrier, which is in the very back, covered in blankets to drown out the ear-splitting screeches.”

Cain’s essay explores the more negative aspects of cats, particularly compared to owning a dog. She starts by recalling ancient Egyptian traditions by which cats were associated with divinity and protectors from evil spirits, demons, and hell. She also discusses several bad qualities of cats; they are “a bit messy,” “filthy,” “annoying,” and “horrible.” While Cain does not hate cats, she believes dogs are preferable. 

5. ​​ Why Are Cats So Incredibly Rude? by Julie Davidson

“Cats hold a grudge. When a cat is mad, she wants you to acknowledge it. Some will act out doing such things as clearing the books off the coffee table, sumo wrestling a feline roommate, or emptying her water dish out onto the floor—all to get your attention. But, just when she has pushed us to our absolute limit, a cat flashes those big kitten eyes (picture Puss in Boots from Shrek), and we melt like a snowman in the Sahara.”

Davidson writes about some of the cats’ bad habits, particularly their “rudeness.” They demand attention, put up a bad attitude when it is not given, and do things considered “adorable” to win back the favor of their owners. Cats are lovable yet manipulative; however, this is part of their nature, and cat owners must deal with it. For more, you can also see these articles about cats .

In this essay, research and list the advantages and disadvantages of owning a cat- what positive and negative traits do they have? Then, conclude whether you would recommend getting a cat as a pet to others. Of course, this would be easier if you own or have a cat, but ample research will suffice. This is an excellent topic for an argumentative essay, as you can find many arguments for and against owning a cat online. 

It is a fact that cats are loved by many. What makes cats so lovable? In your essay, look into some qualities of cats that make them so beloved and ideal as pets. If you do not have a cat,  you can base your essay on interviews with cat owners or information from the internet. 

Think of a memorable occasion when you interacted with a cat, whether with your pet, a family member or friend’s cat, or even a stray cat outside. How did it make you feel- were you stressed, relaxed, or disgusted? Your essay should be a retelling of a personal story; do not include others’ opinions or ideas from online sources. 

For an engaging argumentative essay, decide which animal you prefer: cats or dogs. Research and write about the advantages and disadvantages of having either of them as a pet, then decide which one you would prefer. Be sure to justify your choice; you can use some of the essay examples above as evidence, 

Do you have a favorite breed of cat? How about the species of cat overall? For your essay, write about your favorite type of cat, whether a lion, tiger, or adorable Persian cat. Explain why it is your favorite and, if applicable, any other special meaning the cat has to you. 

If you’d like to learn more, check out our guide on how to write an argumentative essay .

For more help, check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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October 1, 2018

12 min read

The Inner Life of Cats

If you have ever wondered why your cat behaves the way it does, wonder no more

Mark Allen Miller

Ask me another

Interview by Kate Wong

As anyone who has spent time with cats knows, our feline companions are mysterious—much more so than those other furry family members. Here John Bradshaw, author of Cat Sense (Basic Books, 2013), fields a selection of questions submitted by Scientific American editors and Twitter followers about the cat’s many quirks. Bradshaw is a visiting fellow at the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Sciences in England, where he studies the behavior and welfare of cats and dogs, as well as their interactions with people.

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Are cats less domesticated than dogs? Are they becoming more domesticated over time?

Cats are far more similar to their wild ancestors than dogs are to wolves, so dogs are in that sense the more domesticated of the two species. As they adapted to living alongside humans, cats became more sociable with one another and much more accepting of people, but there is no evidence that they have changed much more than that over the past few thousand years.

Will cats, which require meat, eventually evolve to eat a broader array of foods as dogs do?

Cats and dogs belong to a group of mammals known as Carnivora, and the wild ancestors of both species dined primarily on meat. Recent DNA analyses indicate that over the course of their evolution, dogs have acquired more copies of the so-called amylase gene, which makes an enzyme that helps to break down starch. Having more copies of this gene has allowed dogs to eat a more omnivorous diet. In contrast, the cat family, known as Felidae, lost the genes that encode several key enzymes—including those that manufacture vitamin A, prostaglandins and the amino acid taurine—early in its evolution. Whereas dogs (and humans) can synthesize these substances from plant-based precursors, cats have to obtain them from meat. To expand their diet, cats would have to evolve physiological traits that allow them to synthesize these and other key nutrients from plant foods. This capacity has not emerged during the 10 million years of felid evolution, so it seems unlikely to arise spontaneously in our domestic cats.

Why do cats purr?

Cats purr because they have something to say, which roughly translated is “please keep still and pay attention to me.” Kittens purr to persuade their mothers to keep on nursing them, and pet cats purr when they want to be stroked. The vibrations emanating from the purr certainly have a calming effect on people. Yet sick cats will also purr as a cry for help. So purring doesn’t always mean “I’m happy.” Some researchers have claimed that the vibrations from purring might help heal bone damage in an injured cat.

Credit: Mark Allen Miller

How do they purr?

The purr is an unusual vocalization, made by rattling the vocal cords together rather than vibrating them by pushing air past them, which is how cats—and humans—generate all their other vocal sounds. That’s why cats can purr when they’re breathing in and breathing out. Most species of wildcats can purr, including the cheetah. The exceptions are the big cats—lion, tiger, jaguar and leopard—whose voice boxes are modified so that they can roar.

Why do house cats have so many vocalizations compared with wildcats?

House cats are much noisier than feral cats, although they have fewer vocalizations than some other species. The jungle cat from Asia, for example, has a couple more that are not in the house cat’s repertoire, namely the “ow” and the “gurgle.” The house cat’s characteristic sound, the meow, is hardly ever heard in feral cat colonies, except occasionally when mother cats are communicating with their kittens. Feral cats diligently monitor one another’s comings and goings, so they don’t need to announce their presence vocally. Cats that live with humans, however, learn that meowing is a good way of getting our attention: our pet felines often find that we have our noses buried in a book or a screen, so they meow to get us to acknowledge them. Some pets develop a “private language” of meows that only their owners understand, each signifying something different that the cat needs. Also, certain breeds are notoriously chatty, the Siamese in particular.

Do cats think of their owners as parents? Siblings? Friends?

By rubbing around our legs when they greet us, cats show that they regard us as friendly but at the same time slightly superior to them. When living in a family group, kittens rub on their mothers, females rub on males and smaller cats rub on bigger cats. The reverse rarely occurs—an indicator of the small imbalance of power in each of these relationships.

How can you get a cat to love you?

Cats naturally feel affection for those who feed, look after and play with them, although they don’t always make that obvious. Trust can be harder to win because some cats are just nervous. One trick is to always allow the cat to approach you rather than forcing yourself on the cat when you feel like it. When the cat does approach, reward it with a few treats and let it leave as soon as it wants to. You should find that it comes to you a little sooner, and stays for a little longer, each time.

Why do cats sometimes suddenly bite or scratch the person who is petting them?

You have probably missed the warning signs that the cat has had enough. Some cats, even if they enjoy being petted, also tire of it very quickly. Flattened ears and a slight twitching of the tail can signal that they have had their fill. If you have such a cat, try breaking off from stroking it every few seconds and allow it to move away if it wants to.

Can cats get jealous?

Research has demonstrated that dogs can get jealous, so cats probably can, too. For both species jealousy is an in-the-moment emotion they experience when they see that another individual is getting the attention they are craving: they don’t remember being jealous once the moment has passed. As with dogs, cats have a limited concept of time: they can learn to distinguish between different time intervals but only when these intervals are limited to a few seconds. Thinking back into the more distant past is probably beyond their abilities.

Do cats remember different people or just the people they see on a daily basis?

Scientists have not studied this specific trait directly, but cats do seem to forget other cats once they have been separated for a long time, so the same probably applies to people as well. Dogs, for whom humans are much more important, can remember people by their scent for months, probably years.

Do coat colors and patterns correspond to certain personality traits in cats?

Cat owners commonly believe that coat color can predict the personality of their pet, but there’s no evidence that this is universally true. Locally, a very successful male can produce a lot of kittens that both look like him and behave like him because of their shared genes, which might explain how people have come to associate coat color with personality. Among pedigree cats, the major breed types do have characteristic personalities: the so-called oriental breeds tend to be particularly active, the exotics more laid-back. Cats that are hybrids of domesticated cats and wildcats exhibit even stronger breed-specific personality traits. For example, Bengals, which are a cross between domestic cats and the Asian leopard cat, tend to be extremely adventurous and sleep for only about half the time that a typical domestic cat does.

Why do cats bring their kills to their humans?

It is tempting to see these kills as presents from our feline companions, but they are not intended that way. Cats take their kills somewhere safe before they eat them. If this location happens to be in or near the kitchen, they are automatically reminded that commercial cat food is much tastier than mouse, and hence they abandon their catch then and there.

Why do they knock objects off tables and shelves?

Some cats are just clumsier than others, and material possessions mean nothing to them. Others will bat items over the edge simply to get their owner’s attention. Sometimes they seem to do it for their own entertainment or because they have learned that this is a game that their owner seems to enjoy.

Do indoor cats suffer from not being able to go outside?

If a cat has lived indoors all its life, it probably doesn’t “miss” what it has never experienced. Outdoor cats that are suddenly confined do get stressed, however. All indoor cats should be given plenty of stimulation—hunting games using preylike toys are ideal.

Why do cats sometimes suddenly decide to run around like crazy for no apparent reason?

Cats can get quite frustrated if they are bored or if they are stressed, perhaps because they have just seen a rival cat through the window. Under such circumstances, the slightest movement, perhaps just a speck of dust caught in a shaft of light, can set them off. Regular play sessions can help dissipate all that energy and relieve any stress.

Why do cats love to climb into boxes, including ones that seem too small?

Cats like to feel well protected, especially when they intend to sleep, and cardboard cartons can be ideal for a secure nap. Why some seem to prefer too small boxes over just right ones is a mystery, though.

Why do cats climb to heights that they are subsequently afraid to jump down from?

Because cats’ claws face backward, they’re much more useful for running up trees than for climbing down. (The margay, a tree-dwelling South American cat, has double-jointed ankles and wrists that allow it to descend as easily as it ascends.) Inexperienced or frightened cats may go higher than they should. But they usually succeed in descending eventually because they have a reflex that enables them to fall safely, even from quite considerable heights. They stretch all four legs out sideways, so that the loose skin on their belly forms a kind of parachute. Then, a split second before reaching the ground, they push their feet downward and arch their back to minimize the shock of landing.

Why do some cats go crazy for catnip and others show no response at all?

The catnip response is a bit of an enigma because it consists of seemingly random segments of play (pouncing, clutching with the claws), socializing (cheek rubbing) and female sexual behavior (rolling onto the back, for example). Many cat species have this reaction to the herb, including lion, tiger, leopard and lynx. Yet not all individuals in these species show the response because it is controlled by a single gene that only about two thirds of cats carry [see “Catnip’s Magic,” below]. There is no evidence to suggest that cats that ignore catnip are deficient where play, socializing and sex are concerned, however. The catnip response may simply be an evolutionary accident.

Why do cats lick and chew plastic bags, power cords and other nonfood items?

Veterinarians have noted an unhealthy taste for plastics in some cats but have never convincingly explained it. Cats may be trying to alleviate stress. Among oriental cat breeds, adults commonly suck, chew and eat fabrics, especially wool, in response to stress. Also, kittens of all kinds that are weaned too early may develop the habit of suckling on a blanket, usually purring and kneading with their front paws at the same time, as if the blanket were their mother.

Why do they chew their fur?

There are two possible reasons for this behavior. One is itchy skin, possibly caused by fleas or other parasites, or an allergy. But persistent overgrooming on one spot or pulling out clumps of fur can also be signs of chronic stress, perhaps because of conflict with another cat in the house or in the neighborhood.

Why do cat feet sometimes smell like tortilla chips?

A common minor fungal skin infection, similar to athlete’s foot in humans, often produces this smell. Dogs may carry this fungus, too.

Why can’t domestic cats go without food for long, like their big cat cousins can? They get fatty liver disease in a couple of days.

All cats, big and small, can suffer from fatty liver disease, in which fat released from other parts of the body accumulates in the liver, blocking its ability to carry out key functions such as recycling red blood cells. This condition can occur as a result of cancer, diabetes or kidney disease, but it can also be triggered by the cat not eating for some reason (stress is a common cause in pet cats). It comes on much more quickly in obese cats, so it’s probably less common in big cat species simply because living in the wild they’re unlikely to be overweight.

Why are cats so finicky about food and their litter boxes? Why are they so sensitive to any change in routine?

Cats have much more exacting nutritional requirements than dogs do, so they have to be careful about what they eat. Also, as solitary hunters, their ancestors could afford to eat in their own good time. Dogs, in contrast, are descended from pack-hunting wolves, which evolved to eat quickly so they could grab their share of the kill. Cats also prefer to hide their feces, which would otherwise betray their whereabouts to prey and predators alike, hence their reluctance to use a dirty litter box. Cats are much more sensitive than dogs are to any change in their environment because they are territorial animals that get their sense of security from the place where they live. That’s why cats often try to get back to their owner’s previous home in the first few weeks following a house move.

Will cats really consume their deceased owners in some situations?

If they are literally dying of hunger, cats (and dogs) will eat anything available. I’m sure that they don’t mean to cause offense!

CATNIP’S MAGIC

Have you wondered why some cats exhibit strange behavior when exposed to catnip? They act much like a female cat in heat: They may rub their head and body on the herb or jump, roll around, vocalize and salivate. This response lasts for about 10 minutes, after which the cat becomes refractory to catnip’s effects for roughly 30 minutes. Response to catnip is hereditary; about 70 percent of cats exhibit this behavior in the plant’s presence, although it does not affect kittens until they are about six months old and begin to reach sexual maturity.

The genetically susceptible cats are responding to a volatile oil in the stems and leaves of the plant Nepeta cataria and other Nepeta species, which are members of the mint family. When the oil, named nepetalactone, enters the cat’s nasal tissue, it apparently binds to proteins that stimulate sensory neurons. These nerve cells, in turn, provoke a response in neurons in the brain’s olfactory bulb, which project to several regions of the brain, including the amygdala (two neuronal clusters deep in the temporal lobes that mediate emotional responses to stimuli) and the hypothalamus (the brain’s “master gland”), which is known to play a role in regulating everything from hunger to emotions.

The hypothalamus, acting through the pituitary gland, alters hormonal levels to spur the sexual-like response. In other words, the cat essentially responds to the oil as if it were a pheromone emitted by another cat. Catnip is considered to be nonaddictive and completely harmless to cats. — Ramona Turner

Ramona Turner is a veterinarian practicing in Fresno, Calif.

BE A CAT RESEARCHER

Cat lovers around the globe can help researchers better understand the feline mind while helping cats lead happier and healthier lives. Check out the following citizen science projects. In some cases, you do not need to live with a cat to participate.

Track Your Cat

NC State University, Movebank.org and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

http://cattracker.org

Live with a cat that goes outside? Investigators know very little about where cats go when they leave the home and even less about why some travel the open road and others stay nearby. In this project, set up a GPS cat-tracking device and find out where your cat goes.

Cat Tracking Down Under

Cat Tracker Australia, a Discovery Circle project

www.discoverycircle.org.au/projects/cat-tracker

Do cats around the world show similar movement patterns? Does the local environment affect how cats roam? This cat-tracking project in several states in Australia—open to anyone in the region, not just cat owners—will provide a cross-continental comparison of cat behavior. It includes GPS cat tracking, a cat personality test and a general survey.

The Feline Biobank: Genetic and Genomic Resources for the Cat

Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

https://www2.vet.cornell.edu

What role do genes play in common feline diseases? By comparing DNA from healthy cats with DNA from cats with one or more common diseases, scientists can better understand the role that genes may play in these conditions. This project could assist veterinarians in their ability to diagnose and treat common diseases. The project is looking for DNA samples from healthy cats older than 10 years old.

Investigating a New Class of Anticancer Drugs for Mammary Cancer in Cats

www2.vet.cornell.edu

Is there a way to stop mammary cancer in its tracks? Help reveal how feline mammary cancer develops and lay the groundwork for new ways to treat it. Investigators are accepting both normal and cancerous feline mammary gland tissue samples from female cats.

Understanding Cat Pain

University of Lincoln School of Life Sciences, England

http://ucpproject.co.uk

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that involves a physical response as well as behavioral change. This project explores the facial, postural and vocal expressions of pain in cats—information that gives owners and veterinarians a leg up on recognizing this emotion earlier so cats can be treated before their welfare is compromised. If you own a cat that you think is in pain, contribute a video or picture. You can also take a quick quiz and check your ability to detect pain in these animals. — Julie Hecht

Julie Hecht is a Ph.D. student studying dog behavior and author of the Dog Spies blog at ScientificAmerican.com

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The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family.

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Essay on Cat

The cat is a domestic animal. Its scientific name is Felis catus. It is a small animal that belongs to the “Felidae” family. The cat is the only domesticated species of the family. Other members include tigers, panthers, etc. Cats are adorable animals and are petted by lots of people in the world. They are playful and spending time with them reduces stress and anxiety. In this essay about cats in English , their nature, behaviour and diet have been discussed.

Cat Paragraph in English

Cats are of three types- house cats, farm cats and feral cats. House cats are the cats we pet in our houses. Cats become good friends of humans. Unlike dogs, cats are not very active around their owners. However, they are good emotional companions to their owners. An essay on cats must emphasize the fact that cat-sitting has been proven to be therapeutic by many researchers. 

Any ‘my pet cat essay for Class 6’ must include a few details about the appearance of cats. Cats have very sweet features. It has two beautiful eyes, adorably tiny paws, sharp claws, and two perky ears which are very sensitive to sounds. It has a tiny body covered with smooth fur and it has a furry tail as well. Cats have an adorable face with a tiny nose, a big mouth and a few whiskers under its nose. Cats are generally white in colour but can also be brown, black, grey, cream or buff. 

Cats are omnivores. They eat vegetative items such as rice, milk, pulses, etc. as well as fish, meat, birds, mice, etc. Therefore, cats can feed on both types of food.

It is worth mentioning in this my pet cat essay for Class 6 that cats are considered sacred in several cultures such as the Japanese culture. Cats are often depicted as symbols of wit and honour. Several folklores include stories about the intelligence of cats. 

Apart from being clever and sweet, cats are also skilful hunters. They use their sharp, pointed nails and canines (teeth) to kill animals like snakes, mice and also small birds. Cats are also helpful to their owners as they protect the household from rats. Thus, from this cat essay, it can be said that cats are helpful pets as well.

However, any essay on cats would be incomplete without writing about their babies. A cat offspring is called a “kitten”. Cats are very protective and caring towards their kittens. They feed the kittens and raise them. Kittens are extremely tiny and adorable as well. Their eyes open sometime after they are born. Kittens are very energetic and they spend their time playing with each other and loving their parents. 

Now this cat essay will discuss the nature of cats. Cats are very lazy creatures. They usually spend their time napping and sleeping in warm places. Cats have a slow approach to their lives. They are not very energetic animals and they yawn very adorably whenever they are tired. Cats are very good friends to humans if they trust them. Cats like to sleep close to humans for their body warmth.

A Short My Pet Cat Essay for Class 6

In the following, my favourite pet cat essay, the cat’s behaviour, diet and appearance are discussed. Cat is a domestic animal. Cats are very beautiful and friendly animals. They are very good at hunting rats and snakes.

Cats have two eyes, a tiny nose, two perky ears, four legs and a tail. Their bodies are covered with smooth fur. They have whiskers under their nose. They have sharp claws and tiny paws. Cats are very lazy animals. They sleep a lot during the day. Cats are very good friends to humans. Cats eat both animals and vegetables. 

With that, this cat essay in English comes to its conclusion. This cat essay includes various information about cats in short. In a nutshell, this cat essay for kids discusses why cats are loved by many people.

My Pet Cat Essay for Class 1

Cats are domestic animals. They are small in size. Their bodies are covered with smooth fur. They have two mesmerizing eyes, two highly sensitive ears, four legs, whiskers under their nose and a long tail.

Cats are of three kinds, namely- farm cats, house cats and feral cats. House cats are petted by many people all across the globe. Cats are considered sacred in some traditions and cultures like the Japanese culture. Cats are very witty animals. They are very skilful hunters of rats, snakes, etc. Cats are very lazy pets, they sleep for long hours in a day and they are friendly to people they trust. Cats are not very social animals. Its offspring is called a “kitten”. Cats belong to the same family of tigers and panthers. Cats feed on both vegetables and animals and are, therefore, omnivores. Cats are very beautiful animals and they’re a favourite of many people.

With that, my pet animal cat essay comes to an end. In this essay on cats for class 1, their types, appearance, behaviour, diet and nature are discussed. These are some reasons why cats are adored by many.

FAQs on Cat Essay

1. What is a Cat’s Average Lifespan?

A cat’s average lifespan ranges from two to sixteen years. This is usually in the case of indoor cats as compared to street cats whose lifespan extends only up to 5 years.  The lifespan of a cat depends on the lifestyle they adapt to as well as the environmental hazards they are protected from. A person must contact a veterinarian and use the tips given to ensure that the cat is able to survive longer and lead a healthier lifestyle.

2. How Many Breeds of Cats are There on the Planet?

There are sixty recognized cat breeds in the world at present. Some of them are- Persian cats, Birman, Siberian cats, Siamese cats, British Shorthair, American Shorthair, etc. Some of the most common cat breeds known are Domestic shorthair, American shorthair, Domestic Longhair, Russian Blue, Bengal, Scottish Fold, etc. Different breeds have different characteristics in terms of their behaviour, personalities and needs. Some of them are reserved and short-tempered while some are extremely affectionate and loving. There are some breeds that are extremely independent while others are devoted to their owners.

3. How do Cats Clean Themselves?

The tongues of cats are scaly and they are excellent for cleaning the fur of cats. Cats keep their fur clean by licking their bodies. They are epitomes of cleanliness in terms of hygiene and hence use their tongue, paws and teeth to clean themselves clean. They use their rough/barbed tongues to lick, the paws for absorbing moisture and using it to clean off the dirt as well as their teeth to pick out the stubborn specks from their body.

4. How do we know that a cat is suffering from a health issue?

Cat owners must be very vigilant about the health of their cats by observing changes in their movements time and again. Once a cat reaches a certain age, it is obvious that their diet routine and their behaviour. For those cats suffering from major infections or diseases, regular checkups at the vet are mandatory. Once every two months is the recommended period of time to get a cat checked for health issues. Some symptoms like hiding, aggression towards people, loss of interest towards surroundings, neglect to groom or unusual vocalisation should be monitored.

5. What should domestic cats eat?

There is a difference in the diets of domesticated cats and street cats. Most of the time street cats are found to dig through garbage for leftover food for survival or catch smaller live animals as a part of their hunting tactics. In the case of domesticated cats, veterinarians usually suggest a compact diet that is healthy and to the liking of the cats. Regulating the food every day can prevent the cats from being either malnourished or overweight. Cats mostly prefer meat so boiled or cooked fish, chicken or red meat can be included plus cat food containing the same can also help in building their immune system and protect their heart, eyes and bowel movements. Raw meat and dairy products like cheese should be avoided as they are very harmful.

Cats: The strange and fascinating history of our feline friends

Cats have associated with humans for up to 10,000 years.

When were cats domesticated?

• Are there different breeds?

How smart are cats?

Do cats feel emotion.

• Do cats see color?

How do cats help people?

Additional resources.

Domestic cats ( Felis catus ) are small carnivorous members of the family Felidae — the only member of that family that has deigned to join humans in domesticated bliss. 

Cats have lived among humans for thousands of years. They probably started hanging around human grain stores, attracted by mice and other vermin, and eventually spread around the world as sailors brought them aboard ships.

Today, cats still help humans control vermin and also provide companionship. In the past few centuries, humans have bred some cats to display certain traits, like hairlessness, establishing dozens of cat breeds. With their charming mix of aloofness and goofiness, cats amuse and fascinate humans in equal turns.

Cats were domesticated around 10,000 years ago, research shows. A 2017 genetic study found that today's domestic cats descend from Felis silvestris lybica , a wild cat subspecies from the Near East. Genes from cats found in archaeological sites in the Near East, Europe and Africa reveal that about 10,000 years ago in modern-day Turkey, cats started to associate with humans and split from their wild relatives. 

Despite having relatively small natural ranges, Felis silvestris lybica started showing up in eastern Europe by 4400 B.C., according to telltale genes from cats found in archaeological sites. This spread strongly suggests that cats were hitching rides aboard ships with traders, who probably appreciated that cats kept rats in check. Cats certainly traveled long distances: A 2016 study found DNA from Egyptian cats at a Viking site in northern Germany dating to between A.D. 700 and 1000.

The oldest known burial of a domesticated cat comes from Cyprus, where a human and a cat were buried together 9,500 years ago, researchers reported in 2004 . Cat bones also have been found buried in 5,300-year-old refuse pits in China , suggesting that the felines were a part of human life in the Far East, too.

Even if cats joined people in the Near East, it was in ancient Egypt where they took on a starring role. Scientists aren't yet sure whether the Egyptians domesticated cats separately from the Near East lineage, or whether the cats spread from Turkey to Egypt. Either way, Egyptians treasured cats' mixture of protectiveness and independence and saw the traits of their gods in cats, which were sometimes mummified lovingly next to their deceased owners but were also sacrificed in large numbers as part of religious rituals. Bastet, a feline-headed goddess, was worshipped as a protector and as a deity of pregnancy and childbirth.

Related: Why were the ancient Egyptians obsessed with cats?

Are there different breeds of cats?

Cats come in many breeds, though not with the same degree of diversity as dogs. The Cat Fanciers' Association , a nonprofit dedicated to cats, recognizes 45 pedigreed breeds as well as the "companion cat," otherwise known as "most regular cats."

These breeds include relatively well-known varieties, like the slender Siamese cat and the fluffy Persian, as well as the leopard-spotted Bengal, the short-tailed American bobtail and the hairless Sphynx. While dogs have been bred over centuries to carry out different tasks, leading to a variety of sizes and shapes, domestic cats have only two jobs: controlling pests and being pets. Thus, most pedigreed cats are bred for traits such as color and fur length rather than, say, a waterproof coat for swimming or a strong herding instinct for guarding sheep. Most cat breeds date to less than 100 years ago, Leslie Lyons, a professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, told Live Science in 2017 .

Cats are intelligent, and the widely held notion that dogs are smarter than cats may be unfounded, given that each species has cognitive abilities best suited to their lifestyle, Live Science previously reported. Felines display object permanence , or the ability to realize that something still exists when it's out of sight — an ability humans develop around the age of 8 months. Object permanence is an important skill to have when you're a hunter operating at night, listening for the telltale patter of tiny mice feet. Cats also recognize their owners' voices , according to a 2013 study in the journal Animal Cognition .

But cats don't always make their smarts easy to measure. "They're a nightmare to work with in the lab," said Julia Meyers-Manor, a psychologist at Ripon College in Wisconsin who studies animal cognition.

Compared with other animals, such as rats and dogs, few studies have been done on cat intelligence, Meyers-Manor told Live Science. Cats hate strangers and unfamiliar places, like labs, she said; they typically bury their faces in their owners' arms and refuse to cooperate with the task at hand.

Unlike dogs, which are pack animals, cats evolved from a solitary wild lifestyle, thus making them less attuned to social cues   In a 2021 study , researchers had cats watch as their owners struggled to open a container. In some cases, an actor helped the owner open the container. In others, that actor rudely turned away. In still others, an actor sat by neutrally, neither helping nor refusing to help.

The actor then offered the watching cat a treat. Previous studies had found that dogs avoided taking treats from an actor who had refused to help their owners, but cats didn't care; they took treats from anyone. According to the researchers, this may not have been cold-hearted behavior by the kitties; instead, cats may not have understood the difference between someone who helped and someone who didn't. They simply haven't been bred for hyper-cooperativity with humans, the way dogs have.

In other words, cats are plenty smart, at least at tasks that a solitary hunter needs for survival. They just don't necessarily care if you know it.

Cats might not be the most socially savvy, but there is evidence that they form bonds with their humans. A 2002 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association found that cats can develop separation anxiety, often displayed by peeing or pooping somewhere they shouldn't. Cats also seemed to defer to their owners in a 2015 experiment in which they were presented with an unfamiliar object (in this case, a fan). Of these cats, 80% looked between the fan and their owners while their owners talked about the fan in either a reassuring or alarmed tone of voice. Cats who heard the alarmed tone were more likely than cats whose owners were calm to look toward the room's exit, suggesting they understood the negative emotion in their humans’' voice and were responding to it. They also interacted with their owners more, suggesting they were seeking reassurance.

Cats also seem to recognize the emotions of both other cats and humans. In a 2020 study in the journal Animals , researchers showed pet cats pictures of angry or happy human faces alongside recordings of humans laughing or growling angrily. They also showed the cats pictures of angry and contented cats alongside recordings of cats hissing and cats purring. In some cases, the pictures matched the emotional sounds; in others, they were mismatched. The researchers then measured how long the cats looked at each image while the matched or mismatched sound played.

The results showed that cats looked longer at the pictures when the emotional sounds matched. They also showed more stress when exposed to the stimuli representing both human and cat anger. This finding suggests that cats can process basic emotions, even when displayed by another species.

"These findings demonstrate that cats have developed social skills that allow them to understand human emotional signals, which is a key factor for the maintenance of interspecies relationships and for strengthening the human-cat bond," the researchers concluded.

Do cats see color? (And other feline senses)

Cats have excellent vision, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual . Their eyes are loaded with sensing cells called cones, which provide acuity in bright light. They're also equipped with a high number of rods, cells in the retina that are good at capturing dim light. This allows cats to see six times better than humans can in the dark, according to Merck. A reflective layer in the eye called the tapetum lucidum also helps collect extra light at night. This layer is what makes cats' eyes shine green if a flashlight or headlight catches their eye in the dark.

Research from 2014 suggests that cats can see ultraviolet light , blue light outside the range that humans can see. Cats likely don't see color as well as humans, though. They have two types of cones that can detect short- and long-wavelength light, according to a 2009 study , while humans have three, giving people greater sensitivity at distinguishing between colors. In 2013, an artist created comparisons of scenes from the perspectives of cats and humans , showing that cats don't see long distances as well as people do and that their world looks more desaturated. However, cats have a broader field of view than humans do: 200 degrees compared with 180 degrees for people.

Cats aren't particularly strong smellers, but their sense of hearing is very sensitive. According to a 1985 study in the journal Hearing Research , cats can hear frequencies between 55 hertz and 78 kilohertz, a broad range that is topped only by porpoises and cattle. (For comparison, the deepest sound a human can hear is 20 hertz, and the most piercing high sound is around 20 kilohertz.)

Cats still work to control rats and mice around farms, nurseries and warehouses. But most of the time, a cat’s job is to provide companionship for people.

Science suggests they do their job well. A 2016 study in the journal Pet Behaviour Science found that spending time with a cat reduced heart rate and blood pressure in both owners and volunteers who didn't own cats. A study published online in the journal Anthrozoös in 2015 found that cats reduce their owners' negative moods.

Interacting with cats activates the prefrontal cortex, the front part of the brain that is associated with complex tasks. A 2020 study in the journal PLOS One found that playing with, petting, training and feeding cats all activated a region of the prefrontal cortex linked to empathy and nonverbal communication.

The autonomy and independence of the cats seemed to be key to what makes the cat-human relationship work: Getting a normally uncooperative cat to cooperate with play or training provided a big mood jolt, the researchers found. It turns out that for cats, playing hard to get pays off.

Learn more about caring for cats and avoiding their diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Check out the The Humane Society of the United States for useful information on how to care for cats and solve common problems. And this Library of Congress page has a fascinating description of how cats became domesticated.

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Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

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Feeding Cats for Optimal Mental and Behavioral Well-Being

Mikel delgado.

Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis

Leticia M. S. Dantas

Behavioral Medicine Service, University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Diagnostic Imaging, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

Introduction

Cats that are confined indoors are dependent on their owners to determine when, what and how they eat, which impacts a cat’s welfare on multiple levels. Obesity and behavior problems are common in pet cats 1 – 3 , and these conditions, although multifactorial, may be related to the ways that cats are fed 1 , 4 , 5 . The feeding of cats should follow these key principles:

• how cats are fed should reflect the way that cats naturally eat
• feeding should promote the physical and mental/behavioral health of the cat
• cats should be given choices to assess their preferences whenever possible.

How cats eat

Feral cats are generalist predators 6 , likely able to survive in many environments because of their ability to adapt to variable prey. The natural feeding behavior of feral cats is highly dependent on available resources. Unowned island cats who were not additionally provisioned by humans primarily hunted and ate small rodents 6 and birds 7 , although fish, invertebrates, and reptiles/amphibians were also consumed 8 .

Human provision does not eliminate predatory behavior. One study in a national park found that the native rodent and bird populations were significantly lower in areas where cats colonies were fed compared to areas where cats were not observed 9 . Another study found that feral cats hunted and consumed approximately four times the amount of prey as housecats. The percent of feeding from prey for housecats varied from 15–90% of their daily intake 10 . The feline diet changes with season and prey availability 11 , and some cats specialize on a particular type of prey while others are generalists 12 . It is unknown whether a cat’s preference for varied prey predicts their preference for a varied diet, in terms of meat source, textures or tastes.

Previous studies have found that more than 40% of cat owners report feeding their cats dry food exclusively, with around 30% feeding a diet of at least half canned food 13 . Many cats (40–60%) are free fed or fed twice daily 13 , 14 , with free-feeding more common for obese cats 14 , 15 .

The caloric intake of the average neutered adult cat varies widely but has been estimated at approximately 55 kcal/kg per day 16 . Because the most common natural prey of both domestic cats and their closest ancestors is mice (30 kcal/mouse), it is likely that this lineage of cats evolved eating several small meals per day. When allowed to choose their own feeding patterns, cats tend to eat between roughly 8 and 16 meals a day 16 , 17 . It is unknown how feeding relatively infrequent meals impacts the health or behavior of cats, although one study of twenty laboratory-housed male cats found increased aggression, and less consumption of food and water when meal-fed compared to when fed ad libitum (unrestricted access to food – time and quantity) 5

Foraging and contrafreeloading

Because all animals must forage for food, whether by hunting, scavenging, or searching, enrichment that encourages foraging behavior can provide an outlet for natural behaviors. Many captive animals appear to prefer working for food over receiving freely available food, a phenomenon known as contrafreeloading 18 , 19 .

Because one study found that cats preferred to eat freely available food before lever pressing (working) to receive food 20 , they have been described as “the only species so far tested that showed no contrafreeloading 18 .” Due to some methodological issues (small sample size, food restriction, the task required by cats to acquire food) the results of this study should be interpreted with caution, and more studies are clearly needed. Cats naturally work for food, and only around a third of cats’ hunting attempts lead to a kill 21 . Cats will continue to kill prey (i.e., contrafreeload) before consuming previously killed prey 21 , 22 . Although hunger is not necessary for cats to hunt or play, hunger increases hunting and play 23 , 24 , and would for example, likely increase a cat’s desire to use a foraging toy (food puzzle).

Food puzzles

Food puzzles have been recommended for cats and dogs as a mode of environmental enrichment 25 – 27 , as well as one tool in the treatment of pet obesity 28 , 29 . In theory, food puzzles should increase activity and encourage problem solving 30 . Previous studies of confined companion animals have demonstrated positive effects of foraging toys on behavior, including calmer behavior in shelter dogs 31 and reduced feather-picking in parrots 32 .

Case studies suggest positive effects of food puzzles on the behavior, and well-being of cats 25 , although a recent study found that their use may not increase overall activity 33 . Using a randomized crossover design, nineteen housecats were fed from either a bowl, or a set of food puzzles while wearing an accelerometer. No differences were found in daily or weekly activity levels between the two feeding conditions.

Food puzzles are not commonly used by cat owners. One survey found that less than five percent of owners provided food puzzles or hid food around the home to stimulate their cat’s foraging behavior 3 . A more recent survey found that 30% of participants used food puzzles, but only occasionally, and another 18% had previously tried, but no longer used food puzzles 34 . It is challenging to quantify how much enrichment owners provide for their cats, and there are few empirically-based guidelines for what types and how much enrichment improves the welfare of cats. However, food puzzles should not harm pet cats and may offer benefits for their welfare; current feline care guidelines encourage their routine use 35 .

Using food puzzles

• Food puzzles can be used with wet or dry food.
• Mobile puzzles are objects with holes that can be filled with dry food and rolled around to release food.
• Stationary puzzles have a base and wells or cups from which food may be fished out.
• Puzzles can be purchased or homemade.
• The difficulty of the food puzzle should match the abilities of the cat, and at first, the food puzzle should require little effort on the cat’s part to release food.
• Food puzzles can be filled with treats at first or introduced to the cat before meals to increase motivation.

Mobile food puzzles can be manipulated to release food.

Gege, 13 year-old male neutered DSH cat, using a home-made food toy.

Other options to encourage foraging activity

• Divide a cat’s food into small, naturally-sized portions to place in different locations in the home to stimulate search behavior.
• Toss pieces of dry food across the floor for a cat to chase and retrieve.
• Place food on elevated surfaces, such as cat furniture or tables. The physical condition of a cat (age, joint mobility) should be considered.

Feeding practices

Offering small, frequent meals would be most similar to cats’ observed preferences 17 , 36 , , 37 . Owners can allow cats to graze or offer multiple feeding choices (food puzzles, as well as meals). In either case, owners should track the overall daily intake of their cat by weighing food with a scale 38 and following recommendations from their veterinarian. Reassessing the cat’s weight, body and muscle condition will determine how the program is working for the individual (See: Assessing nutritional requirements and current intake by Witzel-Rollins and Murphy).

Owners may need education about proper cleanliness of feeding areas, which may impact cat feeding behavior. Many cat owners do not completely or routinely empty and wash bowls, and instead “top off” dry cat food. Saliva and crumbs can quickly accumulate, and a dirty bowl increases bacteria and may be unpleasant to cats; pet food bowls have been ranked among the most bacteria-laded kitchen surfaces 39 , 40 . Food and water dishes should be washed daily 41 , and food replaced as needed. When wet food is left out for long periods of time, it can become dry, which may reduce its appeal for cats.

There has been recent attention to a potential issue for cats, labelled “whisker stress 42 ”, the assumed discomfort experienced when a cat’s whiskers touch the side of a narrow bowl while eating. To date there is no empirical evidence on whether whisker stress occurs 43 ; however, owners may choose to offer food in a few different styles of dishes to see if their cat shows a preference.

Another open question is whether cats prefer water separated from their food, a frequent recommendation 44 , 45 , based on the assumption that dead prey would contaminate a water source. As with “whisker stress,” there is no empirical evidence demonstrating a preference for separate food and water areas. Many cats are fed dry food, and dry food increases water consumption 16 , 46 , so cats may prefer a water source close to their food. Studies are needed, but owners can provide their cats with choices of water and food locations to determine individual preferences.

Problems related to feeding

Although free feeding is associated with obesity, opportunities to graze may also allow cats to eat in a manner closest to what is natural to them. The relationship between free-feeding and weight gain may be due to the continual availability of calorically-dense food, but there are other related factors, such as neuter status, which may reduce a cat’s maintenance energy requirements and ability to regulate intake 47 , 48 . Living in a multi-pet household is associated with a higher body condition score 4 , 49 , 50 , which could be due to stress, increased competition for food, or to a larger amount of food being available.

Not all free-fed cats become overweight, thus freely available food is not the only cause of obesity. There has been little exploration of the effects of negative emotions on the feeding behavior of companion animals, although stressors and changes in routine have been associated with anorexia in cats 51 , 52 . Emotional overeating has been well-established in humans and laboratory animals, and may be caused by frustration, stress, boredom or other factors besides hunger 53 . Recent research suggests a relationship between impulse control and overeating in cats 54 , similar to findings in humans 55 . Unfortunately, obesity and overweight may further reduce an animal’s quality of life by restricting their activity and through related physical conditions, such as diabetes mellitus or joint disease.

Obesity may be prevented with an appropriately enriched environment that provides exercise, mental stimulation, and a sense of control and safety. Cats who are at a healthy weight may be able to free feed without excessive weight gain, particularly if owners monitor food intake and their cat’s weight. However, cats switched from meal feeding to ad libitum feeding may initially increase their food intake, which can lead to at least short-term weight gain 56 , 57 ( Figure 4 ).

Cats can be trained to sit on a scale for routine weight monitoring.

Cats are known to be particular about flavor profiles, textures, shapes, and temperature of food 58 , 59 . A reduced appetite can be caused by a diversity of pathological or disease processes and should not be considered “normal behavior” associated with food preferences until health issues have been addressed or ruled out. Cats can be neophobic toward new foods, particularly when they do not find the food palatable 37 , and may instead develop a fixation on one type of food 59 . These cats may sniff at the new food before tasting it or refuse to try it altogether 37 .

One study found behavioral differences between cats eating a preferred versus a less palatable food 60 . When eating less desirable food, cats were more likely to flick their tail, groom their body, flick their ears backwards, and lick their nose without tasting the food. Cats eating a preferred food were more likely to lip-lick 60 .

Owners can prevent pickiness by offering new foods as choices, alongside previously accepted foods 61 . Cats appear to appreciate some variety in foods offered, and may initially show a preference for a novel food, but the effect is usually transient 62 . Accepted foods should be regularly rotated into a feeding regimen to maintain consumption, otherwise, neophobia may be observed during future presentations 63 . Cat owners should also keep in mind that some cats prefer their food at room temperature or warmer 59 .

Begging/Meowing for food

Cats increase activity and exhibit anticipatory behaviors as feeding time approaches 64 , 65 . As these behaviors (e.g., pacing, meowing, purring) become associated with the delivery of food, they may be reinforced. Some cats may exhibit demanding behavior (e.g., meowing, knocking things off shelves) at other times to get food or attention. Cats on restricted intake show more “affectionate” behaviors (such as sitting in a lap) in addition to attention-seeking behaviors (such as begging, following owners, and meowing) 66 , likely in an attempt to solicit food from the owner. Some cats may even become aggressive when waiting for food or try to steal human food from counters and tables 67 . Owners are sensitive to the intensity of cats’ solicitation behaviors 68 and may misinterpret these social interactions as hunger, and give the cat more food, which can lead to weight problems 62 ( Figure 5 ).

Cats may engage in attention-seeking behaviors to solicit food from owners.

Providing cats with food on a routine or schedule rather than feeding cats exclusively when they “ask” will reduce begging behavior, although owners will likely observe increased anticipatory behaviors close to scheduled feeding times 64 , 65 . Cats who have been reinforced for meowing at other times may experience an extinction burst (increased behavior in response to removal of reinforcement) when owners stop feeding the cat on demand 69 . An extinction burst may be avoided by including differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors 69 . One cat with aggressive behaviors around food was successfully treated with a combination of routine, enrichment, training for quiet and calm behaviors, and ignore demanding behavior that previously led to being fed 67 .

Automated feeders

If a cat is overly dependent or demanding on their human for food, a timed automated feeder can be implemented. This reduces the connection between the human and the arrival of food and also allows an owner to program multiple feedings per day, at a schedule that works better for their cat (e.g., great frequency of small meals) and for them (e.g., being able to feed the cat in the middle of the night without the owner having to wake up) ( Figure 6 ).

Nina, 1 year-old female spayed DSH cat, using an automatic feeder.

Cats are solitary hunters; they hunt small prey 70 that they do not share, aside from mothers with kittens 36 . The ability of natural occurring groups of cats to exist at high density is directly related to the availability and dispersal of resources, including prey. Cats fed inside homes should also be treated as solitary feeders, and resources should be ample and spaced out sufficiently to prevent competition or stress when eating. Aggression between cats can be influenced by conflict over availability of resources, including food 71 , 72 (See also Heath: Environment and Feline Health: At Home and in the Clinic in Part I).

In one survey, approximately half (56.4%) of multi-cat households provided multiple food bowls 73 although it was not noted whether feeding areas were in proximity to one another, rather in separate locations. In the same study, almost half of multi-cat households only provided one food dish for multiple cats. When cats are required to share a feeding bowl or station, a cat may be forced to eat while feeling stress or anxiety, rather than forgo a meal. In some cases, cats may fight at a shared food station both before and during feeding due to crowding 74 , whereas other cats may choose to avoid conflict by waiting to eat until another cat is finished ( Figure 7 ).

Cats should be fed at least a few feed apart from one another. Courtesy of S. Globerman, DVM, Marietta, GA.

Another study found a relationship between aggressive encounters away from the food bowl, feeding order, and agonistic behavior around a feeding station in an owned cat colony 75 . This and a study of an outdoor colony of feral cats in Italy suggested that social interactions around the food bowl are complex 71 , 76 . Some cats appeared to tolerate eating close to specific individuals, and other cats chose to leave the feeding area and return after other cats had already fed and vacated. In both studies, food was only available from a single, central location.

Although some cats may not mind sharing a food dish, the best way to accommodate multiple cats is to give each cat the choice to eat alone. Some cats will carry food away from the food dish to eat it; this is a normal feline behavior, and cats who hunt often carry their prey away from the kill 36 . Carrying food away from the source can also indicate that the cat has a preferred feeding area. Owners should position bowls to allow cats a vantage point while eating, so they can observe if humans or animals approach while they eat.

Managing dietary issues in multi-pet households

• Multi-pet households may have animals with different diets or eating preferences, or adversarial relationships.
• Many therapeutic diets provide complete nutrition, so if all cats find it palatable, they can often be transitioned to the same diet.
• The SureFeed® is a motorized bowl that can only be accessed by the cat(s) with the correct microchip(s). A microchip-activated flap installed in a door or wall can also limit access to specific cats.
• Other devices are being added to the market (PortionPro Rx™, CatsPad©, etc.) that allow owners to manage feeding while avoiding confining cats, limiting access to food, or punishment/correction.

Senior cat using a microchip activated feeder. Courtesy of I. Johnson, CCBC, Marietta, GA.

Meal feeding can be part of a cat’s daily routine. Knowing when to expect food and having a routine are known to reduce sickness behaviors in cats 51 . Meal feeding may increase the cat-owner bond and allows the owner to use food as reinforcement for behaviors, such as asking a cat to sit quietly in a desired location (e.g., a mat). Feeding a large meal before bedtime and after an exercise session can reduce nighttime activity, a common complaint of cat owners 36 . A complementary recommendation to prevent or modify night activity is for the cat owner to introduce food puzzles and leave them available overnight so the cat can self-feed, while using other feeding methods during the day.

Using food in behavior therapy interventions: Applications in clinical behavioral medicine and feline mental health care

As previously explained in this chapter, diet and food intake have a role not only in general health but also in mental and emotional well-being. Specific nutrients cause changes in brain structure, chemistry, and physiology, leading to behavioral changes 77 . Besides the usefulness of food as a tool in veterinary behavior therapy, this understanding allowed for the production of prescription diets that are part of mental health treatments for animals, including cats 78 . Besides providing precursors to important mood-regulating neurotransmitters (such as tryptophan for serotonin synthesis), food ingestion regulates receptors and causes release of neurotransmitters associated with pleasure and calmness.

Overall, food is a fundamental aid in three main types of interventions commonly used in veterinary psychiatry and psychological care: the application of environmental enrichment and meeting basic behavioral needs, counterconditioning therapy, operant conditioning, and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors. These interventions are of benefit not only to owned cats but also to cats living in shelters and laboratories 79 , 80 . The efficacy of these tools is generally related to food value 81 , with more palatable reinforcers leading to increased response 82 .

The literature citing benefits of environmental enrichment for brain health is extensive and beyond the scope of this chapter. Benefits can be externally measured and are part of assessment, treatment evaluation, and prognosis of feline patients (such as increases in behavioral diversity, presentation of normal species-specific behaviors, utilization and exploration of the environment, ability to cope with stressors, reductions in the frequency and intensity of abnormal and pathological behaviors, and decreased clinical signs of anxiety) 27 , 52 . However, benefits at the neuroanatomical and neurochemical levels are also well-known (from changes in cortical thickness, size of synaptic contacts, number of dendritic spines and dendritic branching, to increased brain weight) 83 .

In 2013, the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the ISFM published their Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines that recommended, among other techniques, the use of food puzzles for feline well-being 84 . This recommendation has been supported by several other publications and studies. Consequently, in behavioral medicine and veterinary psychiatry, environmental enrichment in the form of food toys, puzzles and games are an important aid for all feline patients regardless of their diagnoses. However, it can be particularly helpful for specific conditions such as separation anxiety disorder (e.g., by giving the cat options of rewarding and stimulating activities not related to interacting with and the presence of the owner), generalized anxiety disorder (e.g., by decreasing clinical signs of hypervigilance and arousal) and for cases of inter-cat conflict (e.g., by taking the cats’ focus away from each other and towards a rewarding and relaxing activity, which might also promote counterconditioning between cats) 25 , 85 .

Counterconditioning therapy is commonly used as part of the treatment and management of fear, phobias and other anxiety disorders. It is based on classical conditioning (i.e., learning through association) which is involved in the development of fear responses 86 . Classical counterconditioning does not require a specific response from the animal, but instead depends on changing an animal’s emotional or motivational state in the presence of a conditioned stimuli. Because food affects neurophysiology and neuroendocrinology and therefore the cat’s emotional state, the association of high value food and/or food toys and puzzle with specific situations and conditioned stimuli (e.g., another animal, sounds) can decrease stress, fear and anxiety ( Figure 9 ).

Food puzzles are instrumental in behavior therapy, promoting counter conditioning between cats, encouraging positive social behavior and decreasing conflict.

Counterconditioning is ideally paired with systematic desensitization (i.e., progressive exposure) and it is tailored for every individual cat with gradual steps based on the cat’s body language, facial expression and emotional responses. A few examples of this type of therapy are to decrease fear of veterinary visits, the carrier and car rides, people, appliances and other animals 87 . Counterconditioning is key when integrating or re-integrating cats in a multi-cat household 25 , 88 .

Differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors (DRA) is based on both classical conditioning and operant conditioning. This type of therapy replaces dysfunctional behaviors with actions that are more appropriate for a situation. The general guidelines involve removing the reinforcers for unwanted behaviors when possible/applicable, teaching acceptable alternative behaviors in the same context, and using positive reinforcement to maintain desired behaviors long term. Again, food (especially when high value) is a powerful reward for most cats, as the changes achieved are not only external (behavioral) but also happen at a neurochemical level. When applied properly and consistently, these interventions can lead to long lasting behavioral and emotional change. This form of therapy is fundamental for the treatment and management of cats whose stress response escalates into aggression. For example, DRA is used to teach avoidance to replace or substitute threatening signals and aggression between cats 88 . Differential reinforcement is also effective for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders, by modifying stereotypical behaviors while reinforcing other, functional responses 85 . Details on the use of food rewards, food puzzles and toys for veterinary mental health and behavioral care is covered extensively in the most current literature.

Example of a stationary food puzzle.

In this chapter, we review cats’ feeding behaviors, and discuss ways of feeding cats that promote physical and mental/behavioral health, while providing cats with choices that allow expression of preferences. We address the management of several feeding issues that cat owners may face, such as obesity, pickiness, begging for food, and feeding in multi-cat households. Food puzzles are one way to provide environmental enrichment for cats, and food can be used in multiple ways for behavior modification in the clinical setting, including counterconditioning and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors.

• Cats naturally eat several small meals per day, but cats in homes are typically either free-fed or fed twice daily.
• Foraging enrichment can encourage natural feeding behaviors, and food puzzles are advised as a form of mental stimulation and behavior modification.
• Free-feeding is likely necessary, but other factors also play a role in the development of obesity.
• Several recommendations for managing feeding issues in cats are offered.
• Diet and food intake have an important role not only in general health but also in mental and behavioral well-being.

Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Contributor Information

Mikel Delgado, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis.

Leticia M. S. Dantas, Behavioral Medicine Service, University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Diagnostic Imaging, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Research Paper

Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most well-known writers of the twentieth century who speaks about social and political problems using satire, acute irony, and black humor. Vonnegut is a science fiction writer who tells about Cold War fears and the threat of the Bomb, the lurking dangers of overpopulation and food shortage on the one hand, and on the other government’s efforts to assuage the population.

The threats to the individual, of being dehumanized in an anonymous technological world, of loss of identity, purpose, or power of choice, are implied repeatedly in even lightly humorous stories (Allen 65). Science fiction plots provide the perfect mode in allowing Vonnegut to treat these topics without becoming bogged down in the quagmires of logic that often inhibit their more serious discussion. His novel Cat’s Cradle (1963) vividly portrays his unique style of writing and vision of the world typical for Vonnegut. Critics underline that like many of his works, Cat’s Cradle is an autobiographical novel reflecting his life events and ideals.

Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 11, 1922. His pedants, Kurt Vonnegut, Sr, and Edith Lieber Vonnegut were third-generation Americans. Vonnegut was a son of an architect, and his family never suffered the severe hardships that affected many families during the Depression. Kurt Vonnegut’s earliest publications appeared in his high school and college newspapers. In themselves, they do not appear exceptional in the quality of either their prose style or their ideas (Allen 12). That is natural enough since they are intended primarily to entertain student readers by being catchy and topical.

He wrote for The Daily Echo and the Cornell Daily Sun . The suicide of his mother was a terrible event in his life that had a great impact on the themes and symbols used in many novels. During WWII, Vonnegut was imprisoned in Dresden and spent about a year gathering bodies for mass burial. These events had a profound impact on his themes and were reflected in the novel Slaughterhouse-Five. The novel Cat’s Cradle was accepted as his Master’s thesis.

After the war, he worked as a police reporter and further a teacher at the University of Iowa. The second wife of Vonnegut was a famous photographer, Jill Krementz. He had seven children, and four of them were adopted. He spent most of his life in Barnstable, Massachusetts (Allen 43). Vonnegut died in 2007 in Manhattan. Two of his children become writers. and a daughter became an artist.

Cat’s Cradle is centered on the themes of science, religion, and technology. The protagonist of the novel, John, describes that he was going to write a novel about Hiroshima, and during his research, he got acquainted with the family of Felix Hoenikker, a fictional developer of the atomic bomb. He develops a substance called ice-nine, but now it becomes a possession of his children, the events take place n a fictional Caribbean island ruled by a dictator.

Their religion, Bokononism, is based on irrational actions aimed to bright joy to the community. In order to save his life and receive ice-nine, the dictator kidnaps the son of Felix Hoenikker. Instead of recovery, the dictator turns into solid ice. Because of an airplane crash, Monzano’s frozen body sends into the sea, which immediately freezes along with most of the water on earth. Extinction of life on the Earth is inevitable. At the end of the story, Bokonon suggests that he would write “a history of human stupidity” (Vonnegut 287).

The main character of the novel is John or “Jonah”. Cat’s Cradle is presented as if told by an almost anonymous narrator, who begins by trying to write the history of total destruction, with which Vonnegut himself was still wrestling in vain. John-Jonah moves among the heirs who share the invention–old Hoenikker’s children, along with their lovers and friends–learning slowly, painfully how to become yet one more Vonnegut victim: the patsy and reluctant messiah of yet one more true, i.e., false, religion (Schatt 54).

At the book’s close, he lies frozen for all eternity, his thumb to his nose and history of the world clasped to his side. He has learned this sacred gesture of contempt for the God or not-God behind the universe from Bokonon, a Black Prophet who is Vonnegut’s most impressive rebel-guru; and who, just before his own suicide, composed the final sentence of his Scriptures, as if for John-Jonah’s special benefit:

Vonnegut portrays that Dr. Hoenikker’s children suffer from the failure of their father and his scientific discoveries. Three of them have some physical disabilities that are only the sign of psychic problems. they are depicted as weak characters unable to resists the temptation to use ice-nine.

The Prospero who regulates the actions of everyone else is dead before the fiction begins; a certain Dr. Felix Hoenikker referred to throughout as “the father of the Atomic Bomb”. “Hoenikker, father of a bomb, father of three children, father of ice-nine. He was a little person” (Vonnegut 114). Franklin “Frank” Hoenikker is depicted as a “fox-faced, immature young man,” and a “pinch-faced child” (80, 194). He is cruel and unsympathetic, light-minded. and egoistic character. Frank obtains power on San Lorenzo by giving its dictator ice-nine, a decision that leads to the end of life on the Earth.

Bokonon, a priest on the island, dreams to turn the island they found into a utopia. He created a religion of Bokononism, Vonnegut invents new languages and creates terms like karass and Boko-maru , which seem to survive, in the heads of his “readers, his plots and even his jokes” (Allen 43).

Bokonon understands that all religions are founded on lies, but he tries to find some good in order to attract followers. Bokonon is a debunker, a demystifier, a mocker, an alternative voice through which Vonnegut can find the freedom to be as iconoclastic as he pleases. Bokonon is perhaps both more cheerful and more cynical. His ultimate philanthropic gesture, while judged “insane” or at least highly eccentric by others in positions of power or responsibility when looked at in light of either its limited but positive results or its ethical implications, appears eminently sane and even highly commendable (Bloom 33).

The novel takes place largely on an island paradise in the Caribbean, which stirs in us once more memories of that Master of Illusion, Prospero. Vonnegut describes the island as perfectly rectangular as a township in Kansas. Any restless soul, any soul seeking to find what lay beyond…” (Vonnegut 74). It is possible to say that this perfect and ideal setting is used in opposition to anarchy and false morals existing in society.

The Pioneers’ Day parade is another setting that helps to unveil false values and traditions preached by society. There is stock humor in this story, such as the descriptions of the bodies amphibians choose and how they behave in them, the Pioneers’ Day parade, and the trial, with its parody of a McCarthy hearing. Science fiction is not always as benign in its comic contributions. Variable gravity is one of the science-fiction devices that set up much of the plot of the novel, much as Ice-Nine does in Cat’s Cradle . Both of these transformations of nature have their comic potential as well as their catastrophic consequences (Bloom 36).

The main symbol of the book is ice-nine can be interpreted as an atomic bomb that can destroy everything in a second. For John-Jonah, however, it was to be a book about Hiroshima rather than Dresden, and in the end, he does not even manage that–his imagination (and Vonnegut’s) pre-empted not by the Atomic Bomb, which did not quite end the world, but by Hoenikker’s next, posthumous invention, which did: not by the final fire, but the final ice–a kind of super-nice, called Ice-Nine , which melts at 114 degrees Fahrenheit, and with which Hoenikker was playing like a child at the moment of his death (Giannone 23). Vonnegut depicts the substance as “containing a seed of ice-nine, a new way for the atoms of water to stack and lock, to freeze” (47).

Bokononism can be seen as a symbol of false truth and values followed by society. Indeed, the not-quite nihilism of the book’s close is a product of the tension between the religion of Bokononism, which advocates formulating and believing sacred lies, and the vision granted to the dwarfed son of the Father of the Bomb of the emptiness behind all lies, however sacred (Reed 42). Vonnegut depicts the religion: “Bokonon’s theory … is what he called “Dynamic Tension,” his sense of a priceless equilibrium between good and evil….” (102).

At any rate, is revealed as having experienced two great joys before his tale is told: one slow and long-continued, as he learns who are the other members of his karass , the handful of others in the world with whom, willy-nilly, he must work out the pattern of his destiny: one intense and momentary, as he plays footsie with the blonde Negress, Mona, whom he, and everyone else, loves: their naked soles touching in the union called by Bokononists “ Boko-maru .” “One of the central ironies of Cat’s Cradle is that through “the bittersweet lies” of the true-false religion Bokononism, the novel thematically quizzes itself” (Schulz 19).

Cat’s Cradle symbolizes the ability of a human race to change and shape the world around, and transformations caused by our actions. Through all historical periods, people try to shape and structure the world using religion and science. Once again, the central science fiction ingredient in the plot of this story is a throwaway device (Schulz 7).

The few absentminded steps necessary to set the would-be amphibian walking out of a body have about the same plausibility as Barnhouse’s aligning his brain cells. at the end of the novel, Bokonon comments: “If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe… and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who” (Vonnegut 299). Vonnegut presents the unresolvable conflict of mutually exclusive theories; namely, the possibility of actual joy.

Writing books can be interpreted as a symbol of future hopes and the creation of history by humans. For instance, Bokonon, priest-philosopher writes his Books of Bokonon , whose tenets and calypsos are quoted frequently in the novel. He declares that all of his truths are shameless if harmless lies, once again raising the issue of the ethics of the writer. Bokonon invents versions of history and explanations of various of life’s mysteries with alacrity. In so doing he shares disregard for distinctions between fact and fiction (Goldsmith 87).

In many reviews, Cat’s Cradle is often described as a “black humor” novel in which Vonnegut created a new language and a new religion to convey how language and religion help to invent beliefs that provide meaning and purpose in the face of life’s paradox (Reed 45).

When the narrator begins the story with the quietly loaded statement, “Call me Jonah,” Vonnegut launches a literary irony of several dimensions. Critics (Giannone 43) admit that One aspect is of course that of the Old Testament prophet who was punished for his failure to carry God’s message of mercy to the Assyrians by being cast off a ship into a storm, swallowed by a whale, and then coughed up on dry land. Following Allen (69) Vonnegut touches upon issues of free will, population control with hyperbole and humor. He can thus express a philosophical point of view or make a moral judgment in a manner that may avoid the resistance argumentation might invite (Klinkowitz 45).

In sum, Cat’s Cradle does not offer readers a Happy Ending: the book begins and ends with a vision of the total destruction of mankind, to which only an eternal gesture of contempt is an adequate response. Vonnegut questions the role and importance of science in everyday life and its threats to humanity. Vonnegut seeks to make a fairly wide-ranging commentary in Cat’s Cradle , he faces the challenge of creating broad or multiple plot situations and categories of characters to permit his plausibly portraying many aspects of life. He minimizes the danger of the reader’s becoming confused and distracted. Cat’s Cradle vividly portrays the unique style of Vonnegut and his ability to join humor into the science fiction elements.

Works Cited

• Allen, William Rodney. Understanding Kurt Vonnegut . Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.
• Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views: Kurt Vonnegut . Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House, 2000.
• Giannone, Richard. Vonnegut: A Preface to His Novels . Port Washington, NY: Kennikat, 1977.
• Goldsmith, David H. Kurt Vonnegut: Fantasist of Fire and Ice . Bowling Green, KY: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1972.
• Klinkowitz, J. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and the Crime of His Times. Critique , 12 (1971). 38-53.
• Reed, Peter J., and Marc Leeds, eds. The Vonnegut Chronicles: Interviews and Essays . Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.
• Schatt, S. The World of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Critique , 12 (1971), 54-70.
• Schulz, M. F. The Unconfirmed Thesis: Kurt Vonnegut, Black Humor, and Contemporary Art. Critique 12 (1971), 5-26.
• Vonnegut, K. Cat’s Cradle . New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963, 1998.
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Bibliography

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