Is your cat a social butterfly?
Many people also get cats because they believe that they’re independent souls. Unlike dogs, cats aren’t pack animals. They’re solitary hunters, and they don’t form packs . . . or do they?
According to “Social Cats“:
The third species in which long standing social groupings are found is that of feral domestic cats - domestic cats who are no longer ‘cared for’ by humans and have reverted to a wild lifestyle. By no means all feral cats are social, but in certain locations studies have found communal living in large non-overlapping territories, similar to that of the lion. Here there is often collective rearing of kittens by females as well as the sharing of prey - however, unlike the lion, feral cats do not hunt together and in many cases scavenge the majority of their food supply.
The bottom line is that if you get a cat because you think they won’t have much need for you (which begs the question of why you want a cat in the first place), you may be in for a rude awakening.
Most cats are much more social than people realize. My boys, both in their own individual way, have a great need to be near me. They aren’t outdoor cats, but they have free access to a good-sized outdoor kennel during the day. Yet they choose to spend most of their day inside, preferably close to me.
Every morning I get up between 5 and 6 am. This allows me to spend some time with the cats Chester-free. The first thing I do when I get up is open the cat flap that allows the boys to go out into the kennel. They usually do go right out, too: they must check out their territory and make sure there are no birds ripe for the plucking, after all.
In the cooler months, they usually come in after just a few minutes outside. Then the stalking commences. I’m busy making some tea and getting something to eat. Often I have both of them following me around as I do this. They are jockeying for position: who will get on the recliner with me first?
Usually it’s Gizmo. Gizmo has taken to laying on top of the recliner while I’m getting my tea ready, just so he can get first crack at my lap. It usually works.
But Simba will often come and hover on the footrest. While I’ve occasionally had both of them laying in my lap at the same time (25 lb of cat gets pretty warm!), usually if Simba gets on my lap when Giz is already there, Gizmo takes flight. So I usually try to hold him off to give Gizmo some lap time. Sometimes I have to keep shoving my magazine in Simba’s face to keep him from climbing into my lap. He can be a pretty determined cat.
I spend most of my day in my home office (when I’m not outside with Chester). This was my elderly cat’s room. Sadly, Puss lost her battle with CRF this past summer at age 21. Still, she spent the last few years laying at my feet on her special pillow, in my office. I think that’s the reason the boys spend little time here. I think they still viewed it as Puss’s room, and of course, now Chester is here when I’m here.
However, when I leave my office to go watch tv or knit on the couch in the living room, Simba often mysteriously materializes. He will curl up next to me or in the catbed next to me, if Chester isn’t already occupying it. The interesting thing about that is that Simba rarely chooses to lay on the couch unless one of us is there first.
In “The Secret Life of Pets“, Rebeccar Clarren writes about a couple who wrote about the cats in their cat shelter in Cat Culture: The Social World of a Cat Shelter
“Cats can maintain community and form close bonds with humans and with each other. After four years of observing cats in captivity, the Algers found that the felines actively initiated ways of running the shelter, were very social and weren’t aggressive, despite the shelter’s tight quarters. “
So yes, cats are much less work than dogs. But don’t let that fool you. Cats need more than just food and a clean litterbox. They need companionship, playtime, and mental stimulation. Otherwise, just like dogs, cats will find something to do — and I guarantee you it won’t be something you want them to do!
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July 19th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Great post, really illustrates how easily people misunderstand cats’ personalities. I have three cats, one of which was from a feral cat colony. She isn’t social with me, like my other two are, but she is in love with my male cat, and they pal around together all the time, like your two cats. All creatures seek out love, and cats are no exception.