Cats are fascinating creatures. They tend to exhibit a variety of behaviors that are not always easy to interpret. Even though we don’t get what the cats are doing, they always try to communicate with us. Starting from the early morning snuggles to midnight howling, they keep telling the owners about what they feel or how they feel. Some owners even feel frustrated, often compliant about how confusing or frustrating it is about when the cats don’t communicate properly. Well! If you are also one of those owners, this article is for you.
Do you remember the first time when you brought the kittens’ home? It would have been challenging to understand the signs that they show. You would not have been able to differentiate between purring and meowing. In the vocalization itself, they offer numerous variations that have taken time for you to understand them in depth. But look at you now. You have come along this long way where you at least know half of them. Therefore, it is not as complicated as you think.
The following article is to highlight the common cat behaviors that are weird for humans to understand. These are not random behavior, but there is a meaning to anything they do. Here is a guide to know your cat better.
Why does it feel like the cats are weird?
Even though cats are bred for domestic, they come from the species of wild animals. Hence, spending a lot of time with humans is not part of their genetics, and therefore their behaviors may seem a little unusual when compared to other domestic animals. If you are new to raise a cat, you should know that cats take a lot of time in being responsive to human commands. You need to frequently attempt to interact or involve with the communication so that they process it eventually. Some limitations are bound to the instincts of the cats. However, they do become friends and show typical characteristics of being a pet animal after a point of time. Therefore, do not umbrella them under “Weird” but give them some time to respond.
What does the study show?
In 2005, the studies at the animal behavior analysis demonstrated that cats follow the gestures of humans to accommodate the basic needs of their life. For food and shelter, they become vulnerable, but their instincts remain inside them. The research subsequently put the question of whether cats ever try to help humans. But later, the other theories were proposed, where it broke the entire idea of cats not being a preferable pet. However, it justified the fact that cats are not known for ‘Social Referencing.’ There is always an exception to this case, but widely, it is a pattern that they do not show normal social behaviors as other pets do.
For example, someone dressed up as a clown may look terrifying to the kids in the initial stages, but later, the fear is gone. Similarly, human behavior may look fearful for the cats, but their survival instincts push them to adapt the human nature. A social experiment was considered where a fan of potential force was kept with streamers. The owner brought the cat to the room and left the cat in that place. When the fans were switched on, the cat started looking at the fans and the owner. Almost 79% of the cats showcased the same behavior. Thus, it proved that cats do show an emotional response to the owner. It isn’t easy to know how they interpret this. It gave many possibilities like whether cats wanted security from the owner, or they were showing a helpless sign or checking if the owner was terrified.
Despite all the proposals, one thing was evident that cats do communicate to humans in the most unpredictable ways. It broke many of the previous theories of considering the cat’s behavior as weird or unusual. It proved that at any given point, cats communicate with their owners. To make it simpler, if you read further, you can understand the most common behaviors that cats show daily. During eating, hunting, and while they wanted to show emotion, you are connected with them.
Cat eating behaviors
Cats love eating as much as they love sleeping. It may seem like they are always hungry for food. Many eating habits would differ from cat to cat. And here are the three everyday most eating habits. Let us know them by understanding the background of exhibiting such behaviors.
Cat eating behavior |
Reasons |
What can you do about it? |
| Guzzle and Gallop: Few cats tend to eat very greedily. They won’t even wait until you fill the bowl. They would keep chewing at bay and will only gulp food. | Before knowing the “why?” be sure about the “when?” they show this behavior. If your cat is doing it occasionally, it might just be because your cat is hungry. But if you find it is like a routine, then there might be various reasons behind it. | Know the exact feeding protocol for your cat, depending on its needs. Make sure you give a balanced diet. Feed both wet and dry foods. |
| Being Kittenish while Feeding: Kittens being playful is not an unusual thing. But if your cat is being too notorious even during feeding and showing lethargy to the food will be annoying. It is quite a challenging scenario. | Your cat is either not liking the food you make or not liking the eating practice at all. It is just a mannerism in a few cats. It can also be because you are feeding your cat too much that the cat’s tummy is always satiated and thus develop resistance for food. | There will not be any medical conditions leading to this behavior, mostly. So, don’t be too concerned. Try feeding the cat some other food and note the behavioral changes. |
| Constantly hungry: Few cats tend to roam between your legs throughout the time they are hungry and keep demanding food. | The constant hunger of your cat can be of two significant reasons. It can either be physiological or psychological. The various physiological reasons include intestinal parasites, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, bowel troubles, acromegaly, malignancy, age-oriented issues, and so on. | Watch the behaviors keenly to differentiate between physiological trouble and psychological trouble, especially if overeating is accompanied by other complaints like frequent diarrhea, vomiting, etc. It is evident that your cat is struggling with some condition.
Either way, it is best to pay a visit to your vet and know about its wellbeing precisely. |
Even though the cats may seem different when it comes to feeding, all you need to understand is they connect the food to emotions. Depending upon how you feed them, their behavior automatically changes. For instance, some owners had registered that when you feed the cats by sitting near them or by hands, they show a behavioral change. While if you are not watching them or leaving the food as such for them to eat, they offer different behavior. Hence when you feed them, always allocate some time to spend with them.
Things you have to keep in mind while observing the eating habits
- If you notice that cat is perfectly fine but still overeats and appears to be quiet, it might be because your pet cat is cranky and is seeking your attention. It would be so desperate that soon after finishing a meal, it would signal with a loud meow for more, or within ten minutes, it would demand food once again. In this case, you can offer Check Heung Cat snacking licking ball that is solid and nutritious.
- Because of this playful nature, the cats won’t eat properly and thus will lack nutrients or will eat the food very lately, leaving it open for hours and thus ending up eating contaminated food. You can also make the feeding time into a fun activity by offering some puzzle toys. If there is more than one pet, feed them together so that they don’t get tempted and motivated to eat well.
- Take your cat to the vet if you find something unusual. Lastly, if all the possible reasons are ruled out, and your cat is still adamant with the behavior, you have to take action. It especially happens when you adopt cats from the streets or through the center. They are practiced eating with no time constraints, and they are desperate for food. At that time, it is your call to make things straight with the behavior.
- Either you’re feeding your feline with adequate food or providing imbalanced nutrition in a large quantity that is merely stomach fillers, or the cat is not getting the necessary nutrients, which is eventually increasing the appetite and food demands.
- Psychological causes are depression, solitude, bad mood, etc. If you wonder how psychology affects your cat’s eating, then let us tell you that psychological problems will tend to cause different kinds of obsessions in cats just like in humans & out of which food is predominant. Sometimes it might be because of the fondness of eating.
Next comes the hunting behavior in cats. As you know, however, you practice them to be a domestic cat; their hunting instincts can’t be changed. However, there is a significant level of instincts that differ from cat to cat, which you will understand by reading further.
Hunting behaviors
Though cats are one among the domestic animals, the fact that they are carnivores by gene can’t be denied. So, hunting habits will persist in a cat even if it gets adopted and fed without any effort. The difference is, wild and homeless cats hunt for prey, while pet cats hunt to play with a natural skill of them. There is nothing much you can do about it, but sit back and admire and monitor if your cat is hunting harmless insects or a poisonous one. In some cases, if you prefer your cat to be vegan, you can continuously distract it while hunting and then reward it with some tasty veg food every time it stops hunting in response to you.
Cats hunting habit |
What does it mean? |
| Chasing flies and chattering | The buzzing of flies and birds are likely to catch the attention of cats. They will tempt to chase and hunt them down. Hunting down little flies is easy for cats, so they would effortlessly do that. But the desperation to hunt the birds flying in the sky and the disappointment of not being able to do that will reflect as chattering.
This chattering will accompany by strange noises like loud meows, hissing, etc. If you own both a cat and a pet bird, you are more likely to get into trouble as the bird will always be frightened about your cat, and on the other hand, your cat will still be trying ways to hunt down your beloved bird. |
| Hunting and hiding | As already mentioned, domestic cats tend to receive their food on time without a need to hunt. But despite this, they would pursue to satisfy their skills and play. If their tummy is full or they don’t feel the need to eat at that moment, they will save those hunted prey for later and will neither fail to guard that safely.
Make sure your cat is not consuming days old rotten meat as that might cause them to stomach upset or any other such ailments. It is also important to note if any other harmful of comparatively strong predators are nearing your pet cat because of those saved prey. If this habit of hunting and saving it for later persists quite often, it might end up as an invite to other animals, mammals, reptiles, etc. |
| Feline fishing | Felines will too fond of fish that they get driven just by the smell of fish cooked at home. When it comes to fishing, they will become overly enthusiastic. Although, it must be considered as one of the skills as not all cats can fish properly, and few might even fail. But most of them would know to scoop the fishes with either single paw or double paws. Cats who feed themselves by hunting are more likely to be healthy than other cats of their age and breed. Because fresh fish provides them most of the required nutrients in their natural form and also hunting them is an excellent physical and mental activity for a cat. |
We are sure that now you would have got the answers to a lot of questions because this is one part where most cat parents fail to understand their pets. Keeping this all side, the most important thing is to understand what are the emotional behaviors that the cat show to the owners. By knowing this better, you can establish a strong relationship with the cats.
Emotional behaviors of cats
Cats will own many habits reflecting their basic cute nature. Few will be very easy to understand, while few will remain a mystery forever, but either way, it will be admirable. Out too many such habits, there are four commonest yet puzzling actions cats do. Let us try to solve those riddles now and enlighten your confused mind.
Kneading and scratching
The behavior of kneading or scratching is part of their life. And it is the one thing that would annoy the pet parents to an extent. Because this would spoil the furniture and other expensive and favorite things of yours, but you have to understand that your feline is not being cruel and offensive but just trying to tell you cheers as even your cat also likes that furniture or thing you want. Yes, if a cat likes a place or something, they would knead and scratch on it.
The cat’s paws will consist of specific pheromones. By kneading and scratching on things, they will mark those things with the pheromones in their paws. They don’t do this on random things but only on places and things they like. This way, they will feel secure whenever they are in that place again.
Tail wagging
Cats won’t wag their tail as commonly or frequently as dogs do. Also, tail wagging in cats and dogs are not of similar meaning. If your cat is wagging tail noticeably, then it is time for you to pay attention keenly. If the wagging is slow and steady, it indicates that your cat is not liking something happening around it, but the cat still chooses to ignore it and stay calm.
If the wagging is fast and furious, it means that the cat is anxious and is already annoyed a lot. In the latter case, take immediate action by knowing the reason behind the discomfort and change it, as this might lead to depression or aggression if ignored.
Staring
Cats can be so affectionate than your partner that they can sit and stare you six hours straight, doing absolutely nothing. It might even make you way too uncomfortable. But all that your cat is expecting in return to this sweet and warm gesture is some attention, love, care, and cuddle.
What is the joy in pet parenting if you don’t play with your pet? But there can also be other reasons like hunger or physiological discomfort they couldn’t express. Make sure you give proper attention and interpret the reason behind your cat’s eyes glued on you.
Different Vocalizations
Cats are known for their meows. But that is not the only sound they produce. They will purr, hiss, or at the least would meow loudly. To be precise, each of these sounds means certain things. Though ‘Meow’ is a mere communication by the cats, louder meows are indications for certain other things than just communication like distress, annoyance, worry, attention-seeking, hunger, solitude, or sometimes as defense note when your kitten is caught with a mightier creature than her.
Sometimes cats do this when they suffer from dementia (an eye problem) due to aging. It can also be considered as a mating signal that is given for other cats. A hissing sound indicates that your cat is seeking your attention.
Sometimes felines will hiss to express their emotions like fear and unhappiness. They also hiss to warn their foes and indicate it that if it doesn’t back off, they will attack.
The extroverted felines would always prefer to express themselves, so they are the ones who are more likely to hiss than the introverts as these would instead choose to hide. Purring is also a form of attention-seeking and expressing emotions sound. But the only way it differs is, a stressed cat is more likely to purr, and the reason is not attention-seeking always, but the act of purring seems to calm down the cat naturally.
Now, this would have helped to connect to your cat deeply. Isn’t it? All these while they had tried to set a connection with you, which you may have never understood. But we are sure that these could have helped you better in knowing the cats.
Understanding cat behavior
The behavior, as mentioned above of cats, is very common, despite their breed or age. Only when you deeply notice and spend time with them, you may observe these behaviors in detail. Even some may look unusual; you will get used to them. After a certain period, when cats don’t perform any such activity, it will feel strange, and you can find out that there is something wrong with them. Therefore, it is always recommended that when you bring a cat home, rather than just considering them as a creature to chase away the rats, consider spending time with them. They can be an exception pet if you allow them to communicate with you.
Conclusion
Although the cats may seem very hard to understand, it can be the best companion. Regardless of what your cat does and doesn’t, petting a cat requires a lot of care, time, and attention. You need not observe these behaviors and feel concerned always. You can admire them and be entertained at the same time.
