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The Sociability of a Domesticated Feline
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By:
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marywolfe09
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Mood:
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confused
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Date:
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12/20/2009 22:09:21
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Music:
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None
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One of the most liked domestic pets in our homes is cats. They are treated second most loved animal in the house next to man’s best friend. You can see them running wildly chasing their worst enemies or purring ecstatically between the feet of their masters. Either way their cuteness or the ability to make people love them easily are undeniable. A house is made homier by having a feline companion because cats would tend to stay longer if they are treated very nicely.
Cats are social species that form feline groups but unlike wild animals that also form groups like lions and jaguars, they hunt alone. They are very territorial animals wherein they would mark their territories by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands and by defecation. Although cats are social species, they do not have social survival strategy which is known as an act of cooperation between animals for food and survival. A background check with the feline society shows that cats does not have a pack mentality because of their territorial attitude on the vicinity where they usually roam around. They are extremely sensitive of the scope and boundaries of their territories that a stranger cat would be forced to leave immediately through the territory holder’s staring, hissing and growling; and in worse conditions if the stray cat could not be moved, a short but noisy violent attack would be initiated by the “owner” of the territory.
Part of being a social animal, body language and grooming are parts of feline communication and interaction. The position of tails and ears, kneading of paws and relaxation of the body indicate mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal, with a raised tail acting as a friendly greeting. Tail raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate animals. Nose-touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head. It is true that by nature cats are extremely fastidious when it comes to cleanliness. You might have seen a kitty wash herself several times a day. Grooming for cats has gone a long way from the traditional to the trend of technology. It is not unusual to hear about a salon or beauty clinic for cats wherein its services range from the bathing of the cat to the brushing of its fur. However, since cats are only second best to some other domestic pets, it is a reality that most cats are neglected and are never cared about.
To be able to cope with their sociability, cats conserve their energy by sleeping a lot. According to a background check with this species, they tend to sleep more than most animals especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually 12–16 hours, with 13–14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24-hour period. The term cat nap refers to the cat's ability to fall asleep for a brief period and has entered the English lexicon—someone who nods off for a few minutes is said to be "taking a cat nap".
It can be said that cats are a little more like humans when it comes to socializing. These feline friends of ours maybe adorable in one minute and they can be aggressive and vicious attacker the next. Whatever it could be in the minds of both cats and humans, it is for the surest thing—to use socialization to survive.
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