by Brenda Nelson

Created on: June 17, 2010

Why do house cats act the way they do? If we want to understand our pets behavior we have to look at cats in nature. By studying wild cats we can see why house cats behave the way they do.

-Leave Me Alone

Although our house cats enjoy some company they are not pack animals in the way dogs are. If we look at wild cats we see lions are one of the few wild felines that enjoy living in close company with other cats. Most wild cats live relatively solitary lives. As such we may find that our house cat is not too happy when we bring it home a “friend”. They can adjust, but are often quite happy alone, it is just that in our human world we do not see being alone as a thing of pleasure.

-May I Walk on the Counter?

Our house cats do not know what furniture is, they simply think of everything as another surface for them to climb up on. When we look at most wild cats we see many enjoy being high up, either on a tree limb or raised rock. This is a safe place to be as well as an opportune vantage point for hunting. Our house cats also enjoy being up high, and this might mean they want to climb on our furniture and counter tops. To keep harmony in the house it is a good idea not only to train the cat to stay off our counter tops, but to provide them with a place where they can be up high, such as a raised cat tower, or the back of a sofa.

-You Expect Me to Pee in that?

Cats in the wild do not return to the same place for urination (except for marking territory) and defecation, yet in our homes we expect them to use the same litter box. When the litter box becomes dirty the cat does what it would do in nature, it looks for a different location. They also tend to prefer litter that has a soft, sand-like texture and is odor free. Why would we think cats want perfumed litter?

-This is My House

Cats mark their territory because it is natural for them. This is very common in make cats that have not been neutered, particularly when other cats are in the area. You will note that spraying is different than simple urination. A spraying cat will back up to a spot and twitch its tail as it marks a location with extra smelly urine. As we already mentioned above, cats are often solitary animals, and the threat of other cats is handled by them in this natural way.

-Where am I?

Indeed it is important to note that cats bond to places, not people. They become very stressed when their owners move to a new home and may even try to retrace their steps back to their old home. When

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