Chat to your Cat E-Book

Martina Braun

• Herausgeber: Cadmos Publishing
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Seitenzahl: 101

Beschreibung

Cat language is both complex and multifaceted: cats do much more than just miaow, hiss and purr! Find out what your little tiger is really saying with all its many different sounds, facial expression and gestures, body posture and little behavioural quirks. Once you understand your cat better, you can get to grips with some of the typical problems of living together, and develop an even closer bond with your moggy. It contains: The whole range of cat sounds, from purring to wailing. Facial expressions, gestures, posture and body language. How cats live and socialise. The territory of outdoor and indoor cats. Conflict behaviour under stress. Play behaviour and hunting for prey.

Leseprobe

Chat to your Cat

Lessons in Cat Conversation

By Martina Braun

Imprint

Copyright of original edition © 2008 by Cadmos Verlag GmbH,

Schwarzenbek, Germany

Copyright of this edition © 2009 by Cadmos Books, Great Britain

Translation: Andrea Höfling

Cover design and layout OF THE PRINT EDITION: Ravenstein + Partner

Cover and all other photos: Fotonatur.de, Urs Preisig, Ulrike Schanz

Editorial: Anneke Bosse and Christopher Long

E-Book conversion: Satzweiss.com Print Web Software GmbH

All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-3-86127-966-2

eISBN 978-0-85788-656-9

www.cadmos.co.uk

Foreword

With her book Chat to your Cat – Lessons in Cat Conversation, Martina Braun has made an informative and entertaining contribution to further our understanding of cats, and also the understanding between cats and humans. In order to build and sustain a harmonious relationship – between two species or within the same species – every potential cat owner has to develop an understanding of the behaviour and the nature of these predators, who share their lives with us to a large degree of their own free will. This understanding is a prerequisite for dealing with these pets in a responsible, trustworthy manner. Equally, ethologists and animal psychologists have the responsibility to further the dissemination among cat owners of science- based new findings – and ensure a layperson can understand them. This, too, Martina Braun has succeeded in doing in her book.  Dr Dennis C. Turner PhD Director of the Institute of Practical Ethology and Animal Psychology (Institut für angewandte Ethologie und Tierpsychologie, I.E.T.), Hirzel/Schwitzerland.  

Introduction

Hello. My name is Sala!

(Photo: Preisig)

May I introduce myself? I am Sala, the recurring thread on four paws who will accompany you throughout this book. I’m sure my human co-author will do her best to acquaint you with cat behaviour and our other idiosyncrasies. However, she’s only human, and not a cat, after all! Therefore it is absolutely essential that I supervise the whole project in my capacity as a genuine tom cat to ensure that things aren’t lost in translation. There have already been so many misunderstandings throughout the history of my species!

A long time ago (in about 2600 BC), for a period of 1,300 years, humans thought of we cats as divine beings. From the cats’ perspective it was purely a symbiotic relationship from which both sides were able to benefit. In no way had we ever given up our freedom and independence! We cats kept the grain stores free from those pesky rodents that were causing a lot of damage. The humans kept their grain, while we cats developed comfortably plump tummies due to the rich pickings of rats and mice. Bastet, the goddess of cats, was regarded as the goddess of fertility, joy, dance and festivities, as well as the protectress of pregnant women. As a result, cats, too, came to be adored and revered as divine beings. But this privilege came at a very high price. The priests of Bastet bred and then sold us to all and sundry. Destined to serve as sacrifices, our smaller brethren had their necks wrung, while larger and stronger specimens had their skulls smashed. Then, their bodies were mummified and sacrificed to Bastet. Many years later, thousands of my fellow cats were found in the Valley of the Kings in a mummified state. I ask you: was this really necessary? Of course, we are divine beings! Who could ever doubt that?! But honestly, that’s no reason to kill and mummify anyone!

As humans became explorers and traders, we cats too conquered the whole world, and this is how we arrived in Europe. My ancestors were in raptures! But human stupidity soon caught up with us. When Christianity established itself as a religion between the 11th and 14th Centuries, we were unfortunate enough to be caught up in its machinations.

Even before that time, there was an old Celtic belief that cats had once been human, and had been changed into felines to punish them for their wicked ways. Later, Catholic culture latched on to those old pagan superstitions, and the cat became thought of as the witch's familiar.

The Inquisition came down upon cats and witches with a vengeance, and from the 13th Century onwards, horrible atrocities were committed against felines and humans alike. Black cats in particular were believed to be agents of the devil, especially if owned by elderly women.

Cats and witches have had a long association with Hallowe’en. Because we cats are nocturnal creatures, we came to be seen as the evil servants of the witches, out to do their bidding under cover of darkness. Some humans even believed that witches had the power to change into cats in order to carry out their wicked deeds more easily and escape detection.

Because we cats were accused of being in cahoots with Satan and witchcraft, my ancestors were shunned, and right up to the middle of the 18th Century, many tens of thousands of us were burned all over Europe. Honestly, I ask you: who was the villain of this deplorable episode in history? To me, it looks suspiciously like whoever it was, it wasn’t the cat.

Fortunately, nowadays we cats are well-loved as pets, but we still evoke overwhelming feelings of either love or hatred in humans. Many humans still aren’t able to interpret our behaviour correctly.

So in order that we may understand each other even better in future, this book is going to attempt to teach the reader a little bit of our cat ‘lingo’. I will teach you humans yet!

Enjoy!

Yours, Sala

The sounds

(Photo: Schanz)

When thinking about communication between living beings, that in the form of sound often springs to mind first. The term ‘communication’ (Latin, communicare: sharing, conveying, participating, acting jointly, uniting) is the comprehensive term for a mutual exchange of thoughts and feelings, not just by using sound (acoustic), but also via body language, gestures and facial expression (visual) and depositing odours (olfactory).

When individuals communicate, they relate to each other. The reaction of one depends very much on the actions of the other, and vice versa. This highlights the importance of communication in establishing common ground and avoiding serious conflicts. The tools available to the cat for this purpose are manifold. Bearing in mind what effective hunters cats are, any misunderstanding can create the risks of serious injury to both parties. In fact, it is the large number of subtle nuances and facets the cat has at his disposal that make it so difficult for we humans to interpret them correctly. Let’s start with the one aspect of language through which humans understand each other best: communication via sound.

In the past, many efforts have been made to count and classify the individual sounds that cats produce. We now distinguish between six basic sounds: purring, miaowing, level one hissing, level two hissing, screaming and growling. Further scientific research has concluded that domesticated cats have 16 different sounds at their disposal, and has categorised them into three different groups:

• Murmuring (sounds made while the mouth is closed);

• Vocal sounds (for communication purposes with the cat’s human, produced while the mouth is being gradually closed); and

• Sounds of high intensity (sounds produced with an open mouth, while the size of the mouth opening varies). This is mainly reserved for communication with other cats.

The different sounds are not always easily distinguishable. When a cat is cornered by a human or by a pushy cat, he may start showing his displeasure by sounding an irritated miaow. If that’s not enough, this miaow may seamlessly merge into a hissing or growling sound, and if the tormentor still doesn’t back off, the whole thing may escalate into an angry rumbling. The type as well as the intensity of the sound varies according to the situation, and the transition from one sound to another is flowing. As a result, any attempt to list these sounds, including the one that follows here, can only be a rough outline of the acoustic communication signals of which a cat is capable.

Whimpering

The first sound that a kitten makes is whimpering, which serves to trigger the mother’s maternal affections and care. The feline behaviourist Paul Leyhausen has proved that the maternal action of carrying kittens back to the nest can only be triggered by the kitten’s whimpering sounds. If a kitten has fallen out of the nest and is crawling about, but doesn’t whimper, the mother takes no action. Only when the kitten sounds his ‘meeeh’ will the mother carry him back. Why? Well, bringing up kittens is a strenuous activity, for both parties. In order not to needlessly waste energy and effort, a clear marker or trigger is necessary. The whimpering puts a lot of stress on the little lungs, so this guarantees that a kitten only whimpers when it is absolutely necessary. The mother’s behaviour is adapted with according efficiency. She will only carry him back to the nest when he cries for help.

Like purring, these initial, very early sounds belong with the group of ‘vocal touch sounds’ and are primarily designed to build and reinforce social attachments. You could say the animals use a ‘vocal’ touch either when the physical touch is absent, or in order to reinforce it.

Purring

The kittens’ first purring sounds can be heard, albeit very quietly, almost straight after birth when they suckle from their mother. A kitten is able to swallow, suckle and purr all at the same time. By using this particular vocal touch sound, he conveys to his mother a sense of well-being. This way she knows that the little one is well without having to get up and thereby perhaps interrupting the feeding process. The purring is answered. The mother also purrs while she is nursing her young. In doing so, she soothes her offspring, as well as herself.

All cat-like animals (felines) have the ability to purr, not just domestic cats. Adult cats living in the wild purr almost exclusively when they have young. The domestication of the cat basically led to a permanent state of adolescence. As a result of living with humans, our domestic cats have kept their ability to purr, and to signal well-being, into adulthood.

Purring is a vibrating sound at a low frequency between 27 and 44 hertz. Cats also purr when they are in pain, and when they are sick or dying. Therefore it is assumed that they have the ability to calm themselves by purring. Adolescent cats that are playing with other adult cats sometimes purr in order to emphasise the peaceful nature of their playing towards the superior playmate, and to calm themselves. Only extremely anxious and frightened cats, or cats in an extremely aggressive mood, don’t purr.

By the way, there is a good reason why kittens are born with hair, but blind and deaf. If they were already able at this point to perceive all the stimuli of their environment with their eyes and ears, they’d be frightened and confused, maybe curious, but definitely distracted from the main issue: suckling. Their life would be over in a matter of hours.

The little tyke has to attract mums attention by whimpering for her to carry him back to the nest. (Photo: Fotonatur.de/Askani)