A FEW QUESTIONS COMMONLY ASKED
ABOUT CAT’S BEHAVIOUR…
How many hours a day does a cat sleep?
As all the felidae, the cat is a heavy sleeper. As an average, it usually sleeps 16 hours a day, divided in several different periods. A cat is generally more active at sunrise and at sunset. The seasons also have a great influence on its sleeping cycles: it is more active in summer than in winter
Its level of activity depends mainly on its environment. An outdoor cat is much more watchful and alert than an indoor cat. Outside, the cat sleeps “ with one eye open ” and even a light noise gets it awake. On the contrary, a cat that never goes out has a tendency to sleep longer and deeper.
Should I worry about a cat that sleeps too much?
It depends on the age. A kitten normally sleeps at least 20 hours a day, and suckling is the only reason why he gets awake. Disturbing it too much is harmful for its growth and its sensorial develomment.`
Concerning an adult cat, it is actually good to stimulate it from time to time, and to make it play. It has to maintain a minimal physical activity, necessary to prevent the settlement of weight in excess.
Over 10 years old, a cat is naturally less dynamic, more apathic. Let’s it get old in peace!
Is the behaviour of a sterilized cat different from the behaviour of an intact cat?
Yes. As it does not look for sexual partners anymore, the sterilized cat becomes more sedentary, less agressive towards other cats. It is less tempted to run away, and gets closer to its owners.
Consequences:
- there are less injuries due to fighting with other cats,
- there is less risk to be hurt by a car;
- as contacts with other cats are less frequent, the risk of transmission of contagious diseases is also limited.
Finally, uterine infections, mammary carcinoma, that are very common in reproducing queens become exceptional in sterilized cats. With the diminution of all these vital risks, the life expentancy of a sterilized cat stretches: it is about twice as long compared to an intact cat’s.
Intact males and females in heat are tempted to mark their territory by spotting around urine deposits. This behaviour usually stops with the sterilization, such as hasty mewing produced by queens in heat.
Sterilized cats also have a tendency to eat more, and to profit better from what they eat. The critical period mainly takes place during 2 months after the surgery. Without a dietary control, a 4 kg cat can easily gets 2 kg within 9-10 weeks. The humane equivalent would be a 60 kg man that would gain 30 kg within the same period!
To keep the cat slim, it has to be fed with a low-fat, high-fiber diet, and the daily ration has to be limited. The owner must calculate the optimal daily amount; he will give it in several little meals, but without going over even if the cat claims for it.
A cat that rubs against its owner, is it showing its love?
Actually, the cat has got some glands on each side of the head, that secrete substances called pheromones. When it rubs against its master, it deposits these pheromones, which means that it considers him as a familiar person, and that it does have any hostile intention towards him. It is a “ peace ritual ” that often means: “ I am your friend, give me something to eat ”! Somehow, the kitten shows the same behaviour towards its mother when it claims for food.
When a cat does the same towards objects or furniture pieces of its environment, it lets a kind of signature around it, that marks its territory.
Be careful not to be caught in the trap : by accepting to feed the cat when it does that, one conditionates it to get to eat as soon as it begs for it! It is better to stroke it and not to give it anything, or the cat will become unbearable.
Why do cats often eat grass?
This behaviour is very common and is not alarming at all. In the wild, carnivorous do not eat only meat: their diet also includes some plants, to balance the diet and to supply a bulk source. By eating grass, the cat reproduces an ancestral behaviour, even if its diet is perfectly balanced. Maybe it is also attracted by some smells and tastes that exist in the grass.
However, even if people usually say that grass is a purgative, it does not prevent the owner to worm his animal regularly to get rid of the intestinal parasites.
Donated by the Borg Cardona and Co. Ltd. visit Borg Cardona website
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