Either the cats rub heads, flanks and sometimes still-raised tails before separating, or they engage in mutual grooming, which has profound social significance in many animals. Once an exchange of tail-ups has been established, one of two things occurs. Adult wildcats do not raise their tails to each other. The tail-up signal almost certainly evolved during domestication, arising from a posture wildcat kittens use when greeting their mothers. In colonies, when two cats are working out whether to approach each other, one usually raises its tail if the other is happy to approach, it raises its tail, too. And this is precisely what happened.įor domestic cats, my research has shown that the key signal is the straight-up tail. For an animal as well-armored as a cat, a tiff might escalate into a dangerous fight unless a system of signaling evolved that allows cats to assess others’ moods and intentions. The switch to social living required a quantum leap in communication as cats became domesticated. Cats seem to be incapable of sustaining a large number of friendly relationships or of forming alliances between family groups in the way that primates do negotiation skills this sophisticated lie beyond their capabilities. Where colonies consist of more than one family, these groups compete with one another. Mothers often drive away their male offspring after a few months to avoid inbreeding, leaving them to lead solitary lives. In these colonies, society tends to be based on cooperation between genetically related females. Colonies can build up until several hundred cats are living close to one another. Any cat that maintained its antagonism toward other cats would have put itself at a disadvantage when exploiting this resource.Įven today, wherever there is a regular source of food, a colony of feral cats will spring up, assuming local people allow it. Social behavior probably started to evolve as soon as cats began to congregate around granaries. However, the demands of domestication - the need to live with other cats, and then the forming of bonds with people - extended cats’ social repertoire. Domestic cats’ default position on other cats remains one of suspicion, even fear. This stems from their evolutionary past: Wildcats are largely solitary and regard most other cats as rivals. No one has bred cats to guard houses, herd livestock or assist hunters.Ĭats can be very affectionate, but they are choosy. Unlike dogs, only a small minority of cats has ever been intentionally bred by people. Most go where they please and when they please and, crucially, choose their own mates. In contrast to almost every other domestic animal, cats retain remarkable control over their own lives. Yet cats still have three paws firmly planted in the wild. Their appealing features, soft fur and ability to learn to become affectionate toward us led to their adoption as pets. Of course, the cat’s other qualities probably did not go unnoticed. They would have been more like today’s urban foxes, able to adapt to a human environment while retaining their essential wildness. Realizing how useful this was - cats, after all, had no interest in eating grain - people probably encouraged them to hang around. Wildcats probably moved in to exploit this new resource. As such, they were also the first people to be bedeviled by a new pest: the grain-loving house mouse. It is likely that the first people to tame wildcats were the Natufians, who inhabited the Levant from about 13,000 to 10,000 years ago and are widely regarded as the inventors of agriculture. The cues are noticeable, says John Bradshaw. Why are cats so choosy about their objects of affection? And what does it mean when they hold their tail straight up? Read on.Ĭertain behavior is indicative of affection. But science has begun to provide some answers, especially about their relationship to humans. I’ve studied cats for years and shared my home with quite a few, but I don’t feel that this has taught me very much about what they are really like. Cats, on the other hand, demand we accept them on their terms but never quite reveal what those terms might be. Dogs tend to be open, honest and biddable. This popularity is undoubtedly helped by the fact that cats are simultaneously affectionate and self-reliant: They need virtually no training they groom themselves they can be left alone without pining for their owners, but most nonetheless greet us affectionately when we get home.Įven so, cats remain aloof and inscrutable. Cats are the world’s most popular pets, outnumbering dogs by as many as three to one.
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