- As anyone who has spent time with cats knows, our kitten mates are far more mysterious than other members of the furry family. Here, John Bradshaw - author of "Cat Sense" (Basic Books, 2013) - presents a set of questions sent by the editors of Scientific American and Twitter followers about many of the strange features of cats. Veterinary at the University of Bristol in England, where he studies the behavior and welfare of cats and dogs, as well as their interactions with humans.
- Are cats less domesticated than dogs?
Will cats that eat meat evolve into a more diversified range of foods, just as dogs do?
- Cats and dogs belong to a group of mammals known as Carnivora carnivores, and the ancestors of both species were primarily feeding on meat. Recent DNA analyzes indicate that dogs throughout their development have acquired more copies of the gene known as the amylase gene, which secretes an enzyme that helps digest starch. Having more copies of this gene allowed dogs to eat more types of food. In contrast, the cat family - known as Felidae - lost genes that encode many essential enzymes - including those that make vitamin A, prostaglandins, and the amino acid Turin - at an early stage of their development. To expand the cat's diet, she will have to develop physiological features that allow her to synthesize these substances and other essential nutrients from plant foods. This ability did not appear within 10 million years of cat development, so it seems unlikely that it will automatically appear in domestic cats that we raise in our homes.
- Cats fall back because they have something to say, which can be roughly translated into "Please stay still, and pay attention to me." Pet cats purr to persuade their mothers to keep feeding and caring for them, and pet cats purr when they want to foreplay. There is no doubt that the vibrations caused by the purr have a calming effect on people. Therefore, purring does not always mean "I'm happy." Some researchers have claimed that vibrations caused by purring may help heal bone damage in an infected cat.
- Purring is an unusual sound that results in the clumping of vocal cords together rather than shaking them by pushing air through them, which is how cats - and humans - produce all of their other sounds. This is why cats can purr during and inhale. Most types of wild cats can purr, including the hunter leopard. An exception is the large cats - such as the lion, tiger, and mottled tiger - whose throats have evolved so that they can roar.
- Domestic cats are more bothersome than wild cats, although they have fewer voices than some other species. For example, Asian forest cats have a few extra sounds that are out of stock for the kittens' voices, namely “Ao” and the “Gurr” sound. As for the distinctive sound of domestic cats, the sound of "meow", it is hardly heard in wild cat colonies, except sometimes when mothers communicate with their kittens. Wild cats are constantly watching and coming, so they do not need to announce their presence. But cats that live with humans learn that the meow is a good way to attract our attention. Only our domestic pets find us staring in a book or screen, so they resort to the meow as a way to get our attention. Some domestic cats develop a "special language" of the meow that only those who acquire them will understand, as each acoustic signal indicates something different that the cat needs. When a cat lives in a family of cats, the youngsters rub their bodies in their mothers, females in males, and smaller cats in larger cats. The opposite is rarely the case, which indicates a slight imbalance of power in each of these relationships.
- Cats feel a natural affection for those who feed, care for and play with them, although they do not always express this clearly. But winning the confidence of cats can be more difficult, because some cats are nervous. One trick to gaining this confidence is to always allow the cat to get close to you, rather than imposing yourself on it when you want it to. When the cat approaches, reward her with a few gifts, and let her go as soon as she wants. And you will find that every time it comes to you after less time, it stays a little longer
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