A Game of Cat and House: Spatial Patterns and Behavior of 14 Domestic Cats (Felis Catus) in the Home

Abstract

A descriptive study of the use of space and patterns of interaction of 14 unrelated, nonreproductive domestic cats (Felis catus) living together in a singlestory house was undertaken, since these behaviors have rarely been described for cats in this common situation.Within the house, the cats kept to overlapping but individually distinct home ranges. The home ranges of males tended to be slightly larger than those of females, a pattern similar to that found in studies of feral cats outdoors. Three male kittens showed dramatic reductions in home range at approximately one year of age.Almost all individuals had favored spots where they could predictably be found within the rooms they frequented. While some individuals had unique spots that only they used, more com-monly several individuals had the same favored spot within a room. Sharing of such spots was primarily the result of different individuals occupying the spots at different times, a kind of time-sharing rather than physical sharing. Time-sharing groups could be identified, some all female, some all male, some a mix.Certain individuals were identified as dominant or subordinant by their ability to control access to resources and/or by others conceding resources to them. However, overt aggression was rare, and there was no clear hierarchy.Tail positions could be identified and may have played an important role in helping this relatively large group occupy this relatively small home.Density calculations completed at the end of the study indicated that the group was living at approximately 50 times the highest densities observed in most studies of cats outdoors, yet stable groupings were maintained.

Human Perceptions of Coat Color as an Indicator of Domestic Cat Personality

“…To date, this common perception is not supported by the scientific literature. In reality, domestic cats have adapted to myriad living conditions ranging from sparsely populated rural open spaces, to densely inhabited urban city landscapes and indoor habitats of varying suitability (e.g., Bernstein and Strack 1996;Liberg et al 2000;Macdonald, Yamaguchi and Kerby 2000;Bernstein 2005;Pontier et al 2009). Additionally, cats can be found cohabiting and closely bonded with humans and a wide variety of species kept by these human caretakers (Bernstein 2005).…”

Comparative analysis of the mechanisms of attack and defense among higher brain animals

“…We investigate two different animal species, namely, the African mole-rat (family Bathyergidae, Cryptomys sp) and the domestic cat (Felis sp). In Felis sp, several aspects of its behavior have been investigated [11,12]. While in the African mole-rat, many aspects of its behavior including aggressive behavior have not been studied extensively.…”

Behavior of Single Cats and Groups in the Home

“…A group of cats in a home mimic this pattern in many ways; for example, individuals that came into the house together as kittens, whether related or not, often maintain close relationships, sharing space, and allogrooming one another. 19 Subsequently, introducing one or more new cats into a stable group can be a major problem. Based on the feral cat research, Crowell-Davis, et al 15 recommend that pet owners who want more than one cat adopt small groups of related or young individuals, such as a mother and two kittens or a small group of related or unrelated kittens, at broad intervals.…”

“…15 Because signals are subtle and fighting rare in these populations, owners often have a perception one cat is dominant and often can identify it but cannot explain their rationale. 19 However, having a highranking cat that often displays classic dominance behavior (i.e., threatening, supplanting, taking resources away from others) may lead to serious intercat aggression, extremely submissive "pariah" cats, and feeding and elimination problems when a dominant cat blocks access to important resources. 15 In these cases, owners can be advised that this is overt dominance behavior, and they may be able to help the situation by working with the contested resources.…”

“…Home range was defined as the number of specific rooms used regularly by the cats. 19 Although the entire house was open to all individuals, they did not use all areas. Individuals had overlapping but individually distinct home ranges and males tended to have slightly larger home ranges than females (i.e., used slightly more rooms on a regular basis than females did), similar to feral cat groups.…”