August is Clear the Shelters Month, opens a new window. There’s never been a better month to adopt and learn about cats as pets!
For thousands of years, people have kept them as pets, but some owners still consider them mysterious. For an animal beloved as a favorite pet, cats have many qualities that make them unusual among domesticated animals. A cat can be shy, elusive, and temperamental, baffling the owner. But does a cat have to be a mystery? With books from CRRL’s collection, opens a new window and this article, you can understand what all your cat’s behaviors mean! This article explains the essentials of cat diets, socialization, and how best to move into a new residence with your cat.
Books about cat health, behavior, and other important information!
Cat Diet: What Makes Cats Unique?
There are many small wildcat species all over the world, but the domestic cat originates from a very specific one. The African wildcat, opens a new window (Felis silvestris lybica) is considered to be the cat that domestic cats originate from. Unlike some domestic animals like dogs, the cat only became domesticated once humans abandoned hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Once humans began living in farming settlements in the Fertile Crescent, opens a new window and North Africa, they attracted many rodents to their crops, which in turn brought the attention of cats! Cats with the least fear of humans chose to wander into human settlements, and they were allowed to hunt rats and mice by farm owners. Some of them had kittens on the farms, and these likely became the first pet cats. It’s well known that people have treated cats with affection for a long time. The oldest known cat with a name, Nedjem, opens a new window (“Sweetie”), lived during the reign of Thutmose III in Egypt during the 15th century BC. Of course, this was likely not the first pet cat with a name!
Since cats are solitary hunters that chose a life with humans, they have different diets from other pets that people often keep. Cats are considered obligate carnivores, opens a new window, which means they should only eat food high in animal protein. Their teeth and digestive system are built for eating meat and fish, not grain and bread, and they should be fed a diet that has as little kibble as possible. The recommended protein level, opens a new window for a cat for canned food is 40 percent or higher; carbs should be 10 percent or lower. Cats should not eat fruit and vegetables, which can potentially be toxic to them, and they should not eat dog food either.
Proper hydration is also an important part of a cat’s diet. Although people often think of cats drinking milk because of countless cartoons, adult cats should not drink milk; it is not healthy, opens a new window for adult cats and is too high in fat content. Instead, cats should drink about 8 ounces, opens a new window of water a day. Since cats were originally desert animals, they got much of their water from the animals they ate, so pet cats should ideally be fed canned cat food, which has more water in it. Some cats may be reluctant to drink water from their bowl, but there are methods, opens a new window to encourage cats to drink more from bowls. Try putting more than one bowl out, placing bowls in quiet areas to calm the cat, and use ceramic or stainless steel bowls if the cat has plastic allergies. A cat fountain, opens a new window may be a good solution for cats that dislike drinking from standing bodies of water. Many cats are naturally attracted to streams and waterfalls, and a running fountain may be more attractive to some cats than a standing bowl.
Of People and Cats
Unlike their solitary, opens a new window ancestors, pet cats must live and interact with humans on a daily basis…and possibly other cats as well. For cats and people to get along, proper socialization is a necessity, and it should begin very early in a cat’s life. The most important period in a cat’s life for socialization is between 3 to 9 weeks of age, opens a new window, just after their eyes open. Kittens should have as many positive interactions with people as possible during this time and ideally encounter people of different ages and genders as well. Doing so will mean the cat will not be fearful of men, women, or children. Beyond 9 weeks, it becomes increasingly more difficult to socialize a cat as time passes. Socializing kittens over 9 weeks old requires special attention, opens a new window, and socializing a cat over 6 months old is not advisable in most situations.
It will also be necessary to socialize your cat with other cats if you want to have a multi-cat household. Since cats are naturally solitary and mainly interact with other cats (their littermates and mom) while still kittens, you will need to take extra time and steps to make sure that adult cats introduced to each other will get along. The introduction should begin while the cats are separated, opens a new window with one cat in a different room or area of the house the other cat doesn’t use. Before the cats actually see each other, make them familiar with each other by scent-swapping, opens a new window. Allow the cats to smell items from each other’s environment (like a toy or scratching post) so that the scent of the other cat no longer seems “new” or “scary." Do not try to force the cats into the same room together; instead, allow them to become familiar, opens a new window with each other’s scent before they first see each other.
The cats should meet first behind a gate, fence, or some other barrier that allows them to see each other without being able to physically touch each other. It’s normal, opens a new window for cats to hiss or growl at each other during the early visual introduction; don’t scold or punish either cat if they become irritated at this time, as this will cause them to associate the other cat with their owner reprimanding them. Jealousy can be a powerful emotion. You can encourage positive associations instead by giving the cats food to eat (make sure they both have it at the same time) or their favorite toys to play with behind the barrier. After the cats have interacted this way at intervals for several days without hissing or swatting at each other, remove the barrier and let the cats physically touch each other.
Watch your cats very closely during this phase; if the cats start to growl or hiss at each other for a long time or do anything more violent, opens a new window than a brief, light swat, put the barrier back in place and try again another day. Positive behaviors to look for and reward during these sessions include rubbing their bodies and heads against each other, grooming, and gently mouthing (not biting) each other. When your cats have had several supervised play sessions with each other without any aggression being demonstrated, you can allow them unsupervised interaction with each other. Be sure that each cat has their own food and water bowls and toys to play with so they don’t become jealous and fight over resources.
Moving With a Cat
Cats tend to identify with specific places (like your house or apartment) as their territory. This can make moving into a new and unfamiliar house or apartment a stressful experience for a cat. Any major move calls for some special strategies to calm your cat and make the transition into a new living space successful. Before the actual move begins, prepare, opens a new window the cat by introducing boxes to the house (even if you’re not packing yet) and allowing your cat to enter the cat carrier. Instead of forcing the cat to accept new and stressful conditions over the course of a few days, devoting a few weeks to this habituation, if possible, will make the process seem less jarring to the cat’s routine. On moving day, you will absolutely need a carrier for your cat; having the cat simply ride with you in your vehicle is not advisable. Make sure that the carrier is comfortable, opens a new window for the cat; this means the carrier should ideally be large enough for your cat to stand and move in. Also include blankets and cat toys inside to make the carrier feel more like a lair for your cat. Above all, do not let your cat out of the carrier while moving! Most cats dislike car rides,, opens a new window and a sudden change, such as opening the carrier while the car is moving, may make your cat even more upset–or try to run away.
Once you get to the new house or apartment, you’ll have to introduce your cat to the new territory, which will not look or smell familiar at first. At the beginning, you should introduce, opens a new window the cat to one specific room and not let it out of the house. If taken outside early on, the cat may get the idea that it can simply run back to its old territory (the place you moved from), rather than stay in its unfamiliar new home. You may find that you’ll need to leave the carrier door open, keeping the carrier in the room while the cat gets used to its new surroundings, as the cat trusts its carrier more than the new room and will need more time to get used to it. In the new room, you should also create a hiding spot, opens a new window for your cat, so it will have somewhere to go if it feels especially anxious.
The cat should stay in the secure room for about 2 to 14 days to allow it to become more comfortable in its new home. When you notice your cat has become calm enough to display its normal behaviors, such as allowing you to pet it, as well as eating and drinking normally, and has become curious about leaving the room, you can open the door and allow your cat to explore the rest of the house. It’s recommended to allow even more time before allowing your cat out of the house, as the instinct to return to its “real territory” may remain longer; only let your cat outdoors once you are absolutely certain it sees your new home as its territory. Note that if you do let your cat roam, it may pose a danger to birds, opens a new window near your house…and be at risk from stray dogs, coyote, opens a new window or fox, opens a new window attacks itself. Because of these things, the topic of “outdoor cats” has become quite controversial.
Here are some additional titles on fun things you can do with your cat, as well as more information on their behavior and health:
"I'm not a cat person." Some not-cat-people are plagued with allergies. Others simply can not abide the aloof coolness of the feline gaze. But for those who -do- merit and enjoy the affection of pint-sized tiger, these books can be a source of delight.
