Are there many science knows about the behavior of domestic cats

Cats long been among the most common pets, and even conquered the internet because of its cute appearance and can not be yourself, but we have yet to learn to understand them habits.

The behavior of cats is not easy to learn by virtue of their smaller, compared with dogs, attachment to the person - they are quite reluctant to participate in experiments. Nevertheless, something about how cats were domesticated by the structure of the cat society and build our pets whether evil plans, as we know.

Domesticated themselves

If you ever see a wild cat, you know that this is a real predator-single, which is unlikely to be glad you try to cuddle. For example, about Pallas cat say it can be stroked only twice - right hand and left hand. Yet today, many cats live side by side with a man, bring him to the prey, and was not averse pomurlykat sitting on his lap. How did it happen?

Since cats - very independent animals, they did everything themselves. And, of course, is not just so, and for their own benefit. When a man about 10 thousand years ago began to engage in agriculture in the Fertile Crescent region, he has created a need for storage facilities for grain. Barns were extremely attractive to mice and rats as a food source.

The abundance of rodents, gathered in one place, in turn, seemed attractive to cats. However, they are faced with a real dilemma. From the nature of these animals do not tend to associate in flocks, except only count the lions. This is partly explained by their appetites: the size of cats prey is too small to divide it into two even individuals, and in the wild cats can eatTips & Resources for Feeding Your Cat up to 10 small servings of food per day. Cooperation for them unprofitable.

However, due to human activities rodent enough for all, and cats have changed the style of behavior of competition in cooperation. This does not mean that they have learned to live together in groups (scientists say It is almost impossible to herd cats, thanks to evolutionThat cats and now do not see much use in the pool), but to get along after all learned.

The proximity to each other was the first step towards domestication so familiar to us today pets.

Gradually, the animals are accustomed to the man, who later himself imbued with sympathy for them, and even I began to encourage their presence near the settlement - after all, help to get rid of the cat pests.

A major genetic studyThe palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world More than 200 representatives of the species, including cats remains, lived in ancient Rome, the Egyptian mummies and African steppe cats found that cats spread around the world in two big waves. First swept the Fertile Crescent and the surrounding area: domestic cat with settled farmers from Anatolia throughout the Middle East.

Several thousand years later, a second wave came out of Egypt, covered almost all of Europe and North Africa. This flowering of "cat empire" fell on classical antiquity, when the cats were moved together with the person on the Mediterranean trade routes.

It is important to note that the relationship between man and the cat has long formed on the basis of mutual benefit, visual appeal of these animals people interested enough.

This is evidenced byStriped cats originated in Ottoman Empire, new genetic study says the late appearance of striped color, is common in domestic cats today. Striped cat appearedThe Ascent of Cat Breeds: Genetic Evaluations of Breeds and Worldwide Random Bred Populations in the Ottoman Empire in the XIV century, and in Europe became widespread only in the XIX century.

Around the same time people have become engaged and breeding of individual species - most of them have appeared in the last 150 years. Why is this? Again, the independence of cats. Unlike dogs, they do not give in to training and are reluctant to perform tasks people, so to select them according to certain attributes do not make much sense.

Society cats

Despite the fact that the wild cats - loners, the researchers note that they are able to organize the so-called colonies. And here, as in ancient times, it plays a major roleDomestic cats (Felis catus) do not show causal understanding in a string-pulling task food source, which usually occurs around the pool. Moreover, the willingness to cooperate depends also on a cover and sexual partners. But at the same time the behavior of cats in relation to each other can be very different.

Already in ancient times it was observed that cats can abandon their kittens and cats - to kill someone else's offspring.

One such case was described in the ancient Egyptian papyrusInv. 21358, Köln, Papyrussammlung the end of the III and the beginning of the II century BC, deciphered and published last year. By the way, in ancient Egypt, cats were related to the trembling, and the vagaries of cat psychology sometimes depended the lives of people, as can be seen from this case.

Already Herodotus wrote that the cat can kill other people's cats. According to the ancient Greek historian, he does it to mate with their mother and thus leave their own offspring. It is interesting that so behave like a cat and other - for example, lions also kill the cubs of other males to females were not busy feeding them and could produce new offspring.

However, not always the relationship between cats so cruel. In fact some of them may prevail and commitment to each other, affection and care. For example, as shownDo Cat Families Have a Hierarchical Structure? observation of the colonies cats can take care of each other during childbirth, as well as take care of other people's newborn kittens and repulse them hunting cats.

Interestingly, the cat's group also showed similarity linear hierarchy, but what determines leadership, scientists have not yet determinedPatterns of Social Interaction in Cats (Felis Domestica). In addition, the relationships within the colony can be quite difficult, because the level of "sympathy" to each other in different cats variesThe social structure of cat life. To establish friendships, animals often rubDo Cat Families Have a Hierarchical Structure? each other, to their odors mingled. By the way, to determine the position of cats in the community as possible, watch the way she builds a tactile relationship with other individuals.

If the low status of the animal, it will be more likely to rub against the other, if a high - then rub will have on him.

In addition to tactile contact, the position of the cat in the hierarchy can indicate the tail movement - more dominant animals raisedThe social function of tail up in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) it rarely. Cats in general are paying much attention to the body language in communication. Pressed ears, for example, indicateThe social function of tail up in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) hostility, and raised tail - a friendly mood. But the plaintive, sometimes heart-rending meowing was invented solely for the person and is considered a hallmark of domestic cats. Just in a different way, we do not understand them.

It's not like we

People tend to endow the surrounding objects, animals, and even natural phenomena are human qualities - in psychology this is called anthropomorphism. Not escaped this fate and cats, which is sometimes called the Internet, and the vengeful and treacherous, and cunning. But they really are?

Let's start with the fact that a good memory is required for bearing evil plan - and it is in cats. experiments showOne-trial visual recognition in catsThat they have long-term memory is well developed. For example, if the animals have learned to perform some task, they will be able to repeat it even in ten minutes.

but workingWhat are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? memory, thanks to which we can not put the same ingredient in the dish twice and did not err in other daily activities, the cat is not too good. In one experiment, 24 animals were observed, as a researcher hides the subject into one of four boxes. Then the cats had to wait for 0, 10, 30 or 60 seconds before they can begin to search for the object. After 30 seconds, many subjects have found it difficult to find a hidden object, and after 60 seconds, the search results are close to random.

The fact is, you do not need long-term working memory in the nature of a cat - because the chances that potential prey for a minute will stay in place until a predator getting ready to attack her, not so great.

Further, treachery suggests the appropriate character - yet not every creature is able to trick or revenge. Works devoted to the types of "personality" in cats, not so much, but mostly they show that the cat's character is formed at a very early age. Small differences in the behavior of the kittens are already observed on the fifth or sixth day after birth, and after 3-4 weeks they appear relatively stable traits.

on the basis of experiments experts in domestic cats isolatedThe behaviour of the domestic cat they have three types of "individual":. "social, confident, good-natured," "shy, nervous" and "aggressive" However, the relationship between a cat and a human form in many waysThe impact of paternity and early socialisation on the development of cats' behaviour to people and novel objects at an early age of the animal. The kitten, who is being held in his arms for 40 minutes a day, will be a greater interest and calm concern to people than the kitten, who is being held in the hands of 15 minutes a day (not to mention the kitten, who grew up on the street and with any persons not in contact at all - in adulthood tame it will be virtually impossible). So arrange your pet once you can to him.

The final component required to create insidious plan - is, of course, logic. Some of the simplest laws of logic (and physics) cats are known. In one experiment,There's no ball without noise: cats' prediction of an object from noise Japanese felinologists placed in a wooden box three metal balls that are rolling on the bottom, made loud noises. In half the cases, when the scientists turned the box, balls were held at the bottom by a magnet, and fell to the ground. Cats, monitor the actions of experimenters longer looked at the box, when the result is "illogical" - that is, balls are noisy, do not fall out, or, conversely, from the box fell beads, not previously published NO sounds. Of animal behavior, scientists have concluded that they understand the concept of gravity (of course, in a very simplified form) and a simple cause-and-effect relationships.

However, experiments with more complex conditions do not always yield reliable results. In one study, scientists tied to a string reward: to get the treat, the cat had to draw for her. Animals coped well with the task until the rope was one, but if there were two (one without refreshments), subjects could not choose the right. The authors were not able to clearly explainDomestic cats (Felis catus) do not show causal understanding in a string-pulling task its results: perhaps cats do not understand the logical connections, or perhaps they just like to play with ropes and the process itself brings them pleasure.

Nevertheless felinologists say it should not be too complicate the behavior of cats. Of course, they, like people, are capable of emotions, but their emotional spectrum is much less broad, and such complex feelings as revenge or remorse, these animals are not able to because of the lack of abstract thinking. "Insidious" cat's behavior is usually associated with stress, so in the first place, it is necessary to eliminate the source. Then your life together will be really nice.

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