Cat Facts : Ten Facts About Social Behavior

I hope you enjoy this collection of cat facts. It's about a very important element of cat behavior to understand; social behavior and interaction. I've tried to include facts that I think are helpful.

We often love cats for their independence. When they pay us some attention, we usually feel honored. A cat that asks for a belly scratch should be given your full attention.

If you often wonder what your cat is thinking, you're not alone. Cats are mysterious creatures and we're often not sure why they behave the way they do.

As a good pet owner, though, one of your responsibilities is to learn how to better care for your cat. Here are some unique cat facts that may help you better understand your feline friend.

1. Leave me alone. Unlike dogs, domestic cats do not form packs. When forced to live closer to other cats than they normally would in the wild, cats will often time share their territory when possible.

2. Kitten's get their friendly traits from their father's genes (mostly), and their mother's teachings.

3. When a kitten is between two and seven weeks old is the most important time to instill proper socialization.

4. When recovering from a trauma, such as a car accident, cats can go through a second socialization process. This can sometimes result in the cat becoming more social after the fact. In other cases, felines can become withdrawn after experiencing trauma.

5. Descending from solitary creatures that stake out a territory and hunt alone, domestic cats have a limited set of body language skills.

6. In order to make up for a limited set of communication skills, cats need to use scent markings to send and receive messages. They also need to be fast and agile!

7. Your cats will leave their scent in strategic places all over their territory. They'll also leave their scent on you and other animals in the house. This creates a communal scent, and provides your cats with comfort knowing that these animals are part of the same social group.

8. When you scratch your cat's back, you'll notice that she will raise her back end up so as to better scent your hand. She'll also very often stiffen her tail while keeping it bent.

9. The tail up is a sign of happiness. It is also used as a greeting. If people had tails they could raise, cats would like us more.

10. If the front paws are curled up and tucked in, your cat feels comfortable and safe. A relaxed cat will often also extend the back feet out to the side while tucking in the front paws.

My hope is that at least some of these cat facts surprise you a little. At the very least I hope you enjoyed reading them. If you read into things a bit, this information will allow you to better understand your cat.