About Cats

Cats can fend for themselves in the wild . . .


	Anyone who has ever lived with a cat can describe this animal's ability to transform: at the sight of potential prey, whether a live mouse or a feather toy, a house cat can go from placid pet to feral hunter in the blink of an eye. We may live with them, feed them, and give them affection, but cats still remain mysterious, independent creatures. As you see in the NATURE program CATS, no matter how domesticated cats are, there will always be something fundamentally wild about them.


	While cats have been around for about three million years, they did not begin to live with people until around 2000 B.C.E. In contrast, dogs have been domesticated for at least 10,000 years. Dogs have been tamed out of their wild state, but cats have retained almost all of their wild instincts. This has led some to characterize cats as aloof, unmoved by human love. As many cat owners might tell you, nothing is further from the truth.

. . . but still enjoy human affection.


	As we learn in NATURE, cats are dependent on their mothers from birth until about eight weeks of age. After that, they go off to lead solitary lives. But by giving domestic cats the food, shelter, and affection that their mothers once provided them, we extend cats' kittenhood on through the rest of their lives. In a way, adult cats even look at us as their mothers -- begging us for food, enjoying contact like scratching and stroking, and greeting us with purrs and body rubs when we walk in the door.

Kittens cannot see or hear for days after birth.


	The brief relationship between a mother and her kittens is a close and crucial one. Kittens are born blind and nearly deaf, and the mother cat protects her kittens fiercely. Almost totally helpless, kittens must be taught how to do everything, from finding meals to keeping themselves clean. To teach her kittens the finer points of hunting, a mother cat fetches live prey back to her litter and lets the animals loose so the kittens can practice. The kittens watch and imitate her every move.

It is during these weeks that the degree of a cat's attachment to people is established. Unless a kitten is held, talked to, and fed by a human in that time, it will probably remain suspicious of people for the rest of its life. The cat's veneer of domestication is very thin, and it does not take much for a cat to return to the wild state from which it came. Cats that have reverted to a wild state are called feral cats.

Conversely, a scene in CATS in which a mouse mixes fearlessly with a litter of kittens demonstrates that socialization cuts two ways: a kitten who is introduced to a mouse at an early age as a friend, not a predator, will probably not grow up to be an efficient hunter.


		A cat may learn almost every skill from its mother, but some things a cat is born with: its incredible senses of smell, taste and hearing; its nearly perfect sense of balance; the ability to judge distances, allowing a cat to leap from the floor to the top of a dresser without stumbling. The cat's most famous trick is an instinctive one as well: the ability to turn itself around mid-fall and land on its feet. The Cat's Meow wanted to bring your attention to the vaccination poster campaign that Jeff and Coleen Kremer have undertaken in memory of their wonderful kitty, Sylvia. It is their hope that the posters they've developed will inform the public of the risks of vaccination and will allow them to make a positive difference in the battle against vaccine-associated sarcomas. Please visit their website www.catshots.com and see what you can do to help them and to keep yourself informed. disclaimer the information provided within these pages is not intended to replace or override the advice of your veterinarian. Both the authors and the site owner assume that this information will be used to work with your vet in planning the best treatment plan for your cat. This website and the Cat's Meow mailing list are enterprises created to help people who want to treat their cats holistically