How to understand cats?
Section
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
Date
December 28th, 2022
We all enjoy an ethologist talk on the behavior of cats, as British and PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, Desmond Morris (1928) does in his book
Observe your cat.
When discussing cats, Morris highlights their "special way of making you love them" through their elegance, composure, and intentional independence that distinguishes them from dogs.
Desmond Morris recounts the history of different eras to describe how humans changed their relationship with cats by first considering their sacred animals to treating them as merchandise; advertising them as “exotic species” in British courts to “styling” them for international competitions.
Proof exists that what Morris refers to as the “perfect companion” was already domesticated in Egypt during the Old Kingdom.
Morris refers to the Neolithic period when the development of agriculture made it possible for humans to settle in the Nile Valley. However, the land was flooded by excess water and people had to protect their crops in silos. These silos inevitably attracted rodents.
Due to their character as innate hunters, cats were able to approach the first societies where their skills were highly appreciated by the settlers.
To pique your curiosity, we have taken some of the questions and answers that Desmond Morris discusses in his book
Observe your cat.
“Why are cat caregivers healthier on average?
Relationships between humans and cats are active and reciprocal. The cat rubs against the caregiver´s body and the caregiver pets and soothes the cat’s fur.
When these caregivers are subjected to laboratory tests to check their psychological responses, we find that their body systems calm down when they pet their cats. Their tension eases and their bodies relax. […]”.
“How do cats find their way back home?
[...] Because each cat has excellent visual memory, recognizing familiar scents will take them back home
The iron particles that occur naturally in animal tissues are vital clue to the biological and innate compass of those individuals that know how to return home.”
“Why does a cat licks its muzzle without being thirsty?
[…] a quick touch of the tongue to the lips is one of the best-known signs that a cat is starting to feel agitated, but at the same time, it could mean something fascinates or intrigues him.
If the licks are short and strong, with a quick sweep of the tongue but not in the usual way in which it is groomed; it is equivalent to the human gesture of scratching the head when feeling perplexed or irritated. [...]"
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What is it like to be a dog?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How can we learn about the language of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What is it like to be a dog?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How to understand cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the origin of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the domestication of cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How can we learn about the language of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the domestication of cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How to understand cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What is it like to be a dog?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the origin of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
Section
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
Date
December 28th, 2022
We all enjoy an ethologist talk on the behavior of cats, as British and PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, Desmond Morris (1928) does in his book Observe your cat.
When discussing cats, Morris highlights their "special way of making you love them" through their elegance, composure, and intentional independence that distinguishes them from dogs.
Desmond Morris recounts the history of different eras to describe how humans changed their relationship with cats by first considering their sacred animals to treating them as merchandise; advertising them as “exotic species” in British courts to “styling” them for international competitions.
Proof exists that what Morris refers to as the “perfect companion” was already domesticated in Egypt during the Old Kingdom.
Morris refers to the Neolithic period when the development of agriculture made it possible for humans to settle in the Nile Valley. However, the land was flooded by excess water and people had to protect their crops in silos. These silos inevitably attracted rodents.
Due to their character as innate hunters, cats were able to approach the first societies where their skills were highly appreciated by the settlers.
To pique your curiosity, we have taken some of the questions and answers that Desmond Morris discusses in his book
Observe your cat.
“Why are cat caregivers healthier on average?
Relationships between humans and cats are active and reciprocal. The cat rubs against the caregiver´s body and the caregiver pets and soothes the cat’s fur.
When these caregivers are subjected to laboratory tests to check their psychological responses, we find that their body systems calm down when they pet their cats. Their tension eases and their bodies relax. […]”.
“How do cats find their way back home?
[...] Because each cat has excellent visual memory, recognizing familiar scents will take them back home
The iron particles that occur naturally in animal tissues are vital clue to the biological and innate compass of those individuals that know how to return home.”
“Why does a cat licks its muzzle without being thirsty?
[…] a quick touch of the tongue to the lips is one of the best-known signs that a cat is starting to feel agitated, but at the same time, it could mean something fascinates or intrigues him.
If the licks are short and strong, with a quick sweep of the tongue but not in the usual way in which it is groomed; it is equivalent to the human gesture of scratching the head when feeling perplexed or irritated. [...]"
What do you think about this article?
Leave us a comment
What is it like to be a dog?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How can we learn about the language of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What is it like to be a dog?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How to understand cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the origin of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the domestication of cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How can we learn about the language of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the domestication of cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
How to understand cats?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What is it like to be a dog?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
What do we know about the origin of dogs?
#AllAboutDogsAndCats
