First Things First.

Having a cat in your home is a tremendous privilege, and the charisma of cats is irresistible.

This book is for every cat lover--whether you work with cats on a daily basis or have a couple of sweet kitties at home.

Whether you've been caught by the cat bug for years or have only just adopted a kitten, this book will inspire you to better understand your cat and make small adaptations in your home and your own behavior that will see your cat become happier every day.

Because optimal harmony between cats and their owners leads to greater well-being, happier owners, and fewer cats in animal shelters.

As a behavioral therapist for cats, I have had hundreds of consultations with owners whose cats were displaying undesirable behavior. These problems are often caused by misunderstandings and because people tend to interpret the cat's behavior from a human perspective.

Over the years, many different and interesting patterns arose, which I would like to share with you. Solving and improving this undesired behavior generates insight into how it could have been prevented.

This book is a culmination of insights and tips that I have tried and tested over the years.

On the one hand, the aim of this book is to better understand cat behavior by explaining the theory behind their behavior, thereby improving their well-being. On the other hand, we want to increase your pleasure as a cat owner by providing practical tips that will make your cat happier and improve the relationship you share together.

Therefore, this book is filled with useful and practical tips based on scientific info and years of experience that will make your cat happier. Allow yourself to be inspired, but don't be discouraged. There's no need to do everything in this book (straight away) :).

In relation to the advice I give as a behaviorist, I think it's important that the tips are realistic and affordable and that you are able to see changes in your cat's behavior within four to six weeks.

You probably already have a happy cat, but with our advice and tips, your cat could become even happier.

Maybe you've been observing tension between your cats or you're not sure whether your cat is really happy. In this book, you will undoubtedly find a wealth of new insights on what drives your mysterious little tiger.

There are many different opinions and philosophies concerning cats and their behavior, and that's perfectly alright (although some insights are more scientifically supported than others). We always try to remain respectful toward the choices people make, their budgets, motivation, and their available time. This book will assist you to make better supported choices and to feel more confident about how you treat your cat and meet its needs.

Whatever your feelings are while reading this book, follow your gut instinct. You know your cat best. If your gut instinct tells you an instruction in this book won't work for your cat, or, if after trying something out, you conclude things were better before, follow your instincts!

As a final note before we get started: While the aim of this book is to optimize your cat's life, we must make sure to implement changes in a calm manner. That's why we ask you to only "add" modifications at home, so don't suddenly start removing and replacing things! This can be very alarming for your cat. Do you want to experiment? Leave everything the way it was and only add things to other locations. Use the upcoming weeks to find out what works, and then gradually remove those items that are no longer being used. Don't go through your house in a whirlwind. Instead, implement changes slowly.

Have fun reading this book! And I promise you that your relationship with your cat will never be the same again.

Anneleen Bru
MSc in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling
(University of Southampton, UK)
Feline Behaviourist
Felinova Animal Behaviour Consulting

CRAZY CAT LADIES ARE OUT, HAPPY CAT LADIES ARE IN!

#happycatlady #ilovehappycats

BACKGROUND CHECK OF YOUR CAT

Felis sylvestris ... come again?

The domestic cat is descended from the African wildcat (Felis sylvestris lybica). We know this through extensive research into their DNA and behavior. Our cat's ancestor inhabits North Africa and the Middle East and is a highly territorial, solitary, and opportunistic hunter with quite a repertoire of quirks and unusual habits.

Like any successful hunter, this wild cat developed a specific range of communication forms, ways of dealing with conflicts, hunting skills, and behaviors that are adapted to life in various habitats (steppe, savannah, forest, desert) and varying conditions and circumstances.

However, the African wildcat also has its limitations. Most notably, it has difficulty dealing with other cats, because it did not evolve in a group and its adaptive capacity falls short in this area. This has in part resulted in the fact that as members of the Felis sylvestris family, cats are incredibly sensitive to stress.

It is important to know that, sharing the same instincts, needs, preferences, and expectations, your domestic cat and its ancestor are like two peas in a pod. So, whether your cat is a British Shorthair, a blue-eyed Birman, or a fabulous shelter cat, it has the same basic programming.

The (self-)domestication of the domestic cat is a fairly recent process, in which the cat has gradually traded its rugged, solitary existence with few resources for an abundance of food.

In exchange, the cat must adopt a tolerant attitude toward other cats and people. And this is perfectly possible, albeit with variations among individuals.

In fact, if all environmental factors are optimal, cats can even establish strong social ties with other cats.

Curriculum vitae of the African wildcat

* Highly territorial animal

* Solitary hunter

* Shy character, prone to hiding

* Victim to larger predators

* Only has social contact during mating season

* Quickly adapts to its environment

* Predominantly active at nighttime and during dusk and dawn

* Drinking is not a priority due to the high moisture content in its prey

* Highly vulnerable as solitary hunters, so don't easily display pain

The characteristics that our domestic cat have inherited from its ancestors express themselves in small, subtle behavior that often appears strange to people, but is often heavily programmed, even though they may no longer seem relevant to us.

A few examples are:

* Deeply burying excrement in the litter tray, because these smells could attract predators.

* Scraping around the bowl to "bury" biscuits for the same reason.

* Staring at enemies.

* Experiencing other, unknown cats as hostile.

*Eating small meals an average of 10 to 20 times a day.

*Feeling highly vulnerable while drinking and visiting the litter tray.

* Possessing a highly limited repertoire of social signals toward other cats.

* No social appeasement behavior toward each other; in the desert, cats would simply retreat.

* Working through certain daily routines to keep their habitat recognizable by releasing pheromones.

* Prone to stress due to changes and new or unfamiliar things.

* Bringing themselves to safety.

* Not displaying obvious signs of pain.

Preferences they've inherited from their great-uncle lybica:

* Soft sand to do their business in, like in the desert.

* High positions to keep watch from and to bring themselves to safety.

* Soft, malleable surfaces, like wood and bark, to scratch their claws on.

* Moving prey instead of stationary prey.

* Flowing water instead of stagnant water.

* Large surfaces to eat and drink from, so that their whiskers don't touch anything.

* Small spaces to hide in.

HOW YOUR CAT PERCEIVES THE WORLD

Your cat doesn't see what you see

Cats have sharper vision than humans, but they see fewer colors. We have one cone on our retina (to perceive color) to every four rods (to perceive the difference between light and dark; in other words, sharpness). Cats have one cone to every twenty rods, allowing them to see even the smallest movements in the distance. This is highly efficient for their chances of survival and to catch prey.

Cats perceive blue, green, and a little bit of yellow. Colors like red, pink, brown, and orange are like different shades of grey to them. They also distinguish between more shades of grey than humans. Therefore, the color of a prey is not at all relevant to them.

Instead, movements, sounds, and smells are very important to them. What does play a role for cats is the contrast between an object of prey and the surface. If you have a light floor, it's best to use dark toys. If you have a dark floor, it's better to use light toys.

Cats can also see incredibly well in the dark and only need one sixth of the amount of light humans need to see. They also have a reflective layer behind their eyeball (the tapetum lucidum) that reflects even the smallest glimmers of light. Thus, their eyes do need a bit of light. Cats are also unable to see in complete darkness.

Cats are slightly farsighted, and can only sharply see objects that are at least three feet removed from their noses. They cannot focus on objects that are closer than one foot, instead using their whiskers and paws to measure things like distance, location, and mobility. This means that many owners do not play with their cats in the most suitable way when they dangle their toys right in front of their noses. The cat merely experiences a fuzzy image and, as a result, isn't triggered to really play with the object.

Sometimes, owners incorrectly reach the conclusion that their cat doesn't like to play, which is a shame, because they do. Cats prefer to follow something moving away from them at a distance of several feet. This triggers their hunting instinct!

INSIGHT - Do you remember those YouTube videos in which cucumbers were placed behind eating cats, causing them to jump out of their skin? As professionals, they were very hard for us to watch, because the cucumbers scared them to death. Myself and colleagues around the globe immediately called upon cat owners NOT to do this, however funny it may seem.

This is because the cat is safely eating in its core area (more about this later), which it expects to be entirely predictable. Cats don't see clearly at less than three feet, so these cucumbers were simply large, unclear objects creeping up on them, ready to strike. Your cat isn't merely frightened once, but instead learns that its core area is no longer safe. This can stimulate behaviors like fear, spraying, and generally restless behavior. So don't do it!

Recent studies have shown us that it is highly likely that cats can also perceive vision in ultraviolet. Quite interesting if you consider that cats can secrete pheromones and scent trails in their environment, often paired with urine, like with spraying. It could therefore be the case that the animals not only give off a scent signal, but also secrete visual signal, thereby further enhancing the effect of the communication.

You cannot hear what your cat hears

The hearing of a cat is fine-tuned to detect prey. People hear sounds between 5 and 20 kHz, depending on their age. Cats can perceive sounds up to 60 kHz, which is an important fact. Consider all those electronic devices that are active in and around your house that generate inaudible sounds to us, but are clearly audible to them. Because of this, in consultations, I sometimes ask people to unplug all devices to see if there is a change in the cat's behavior. This is because electrical noise can have an incredibly overstimulating effect on some cats, causing them to become frustrated and/or stressed. Although cats can hear more wavelengths than us, this does not mean cats hear the sounds we hear more strongly. They are simply capable of perceiving a wider range of frequencies.

Cats not only perceive the strength of sounds but also their pitch and depth. They can determine whether sounds are close to each other or not, while also distinguishing between sounds close to each other. This is because it is vital for cats to detect small prey and hear danger coming.

Colors do not matter to cats

Walk into an average pet shop and you are overwhelmed with cat toys in all shapes and colors. However, these colors are not at all important for your cat. The shape could play a role, as well as the material from which a toy is made. What cats also think is very important is how prey animals or toys smell, sound (fluttering, chirping), and move.

Therefore, pretty colors are irrelevant and are mostly there to attract people and to stimulate us to buy the nice toys. You should, as previously mentioned, consider the contrast between the toy and the surface on which the cat will be playing with it.

The fur, oh so sensitive

Your cat has highly sensitive fur, with a host of receptors that respond to touch, pressure, movement, pain, and temperature. As solitary hunters, cats do not have a lot of physical contact with other cats and use their fur and whiskers to obtain information from their environment.

A cat's fur is so incredibly sensitive and therefore not all cats like for us to rub and pet them. A single rub or stroke (too many) can trigger a cat to show rather aggressive signals like biting or scratching, as they have no subtle signals to ask us to stop. You might say: "But she came and asked me to rub her by purring and headbumping." Think again, she came to ask for attention and affection, but that does not automatically mean being rubbed or petted.

The phenomenon of stroking, therefore, is not something cats inherently enjoy, unless they were accustomed to it at an early age (between two and seven weeks), preferably while suckling from their mother, since this creates a positive association. We will return to this later on in the book.

Cuddling and stroking is something we as people do consider important as they are human ways of showing affection. It is best to adapt our expectations toward our cats, as well as how we stroke them. Stick to a few strokes, preferably on the head, and then stop. Cats prefer little and more often. Does the cat itself ask for more? Then you can stroke again, but always stroke in blocks of no more than two or three strokes. Remember that we as humans are naturally more intense in showing our affection.

And this is how we arrive at stories of "mean cats." If by now we understand that as solitary hunters cats do not have many ways of saying "stop" or "enough," they will need to quickly switch to clear signals (like biting, scratching, or striking with a paw) to indicate that you have stroked them enough and it's time for you to stop.

The whiskers, more important than you might think

Have you ever properly looked at your cat's whiskers? They're not just an excellent part of the cat's body for a person to see how it's feeling, but also an important tool to use to collect information. A cat's whiskers are thin toward their tips and become thicker closer to the skin.

Cats use them to locate prey at distances of less than three feet, because they only have blurry vision within that area, remember?

Thus, whiskers are antennae, and so sensitive that they can pass on quite a bit of information to the brain. And in this way, despite their blurry vision at short distances, cats can still locate their prey exceptionally well, and respond extraordinarily quickly to any small movement.

Cats also use their whiskers to detect whether their prey still has a pulse. On top of that, absorbing and secreting smells is facilitated with the use of their whiskers.

Additionally, they also use their feelers to check whether their entire body will fit through an opening. If their whiskers don't touch the edges of a gap they want to fit through, then they will fit through entirely; another reason to make sure your cat maintains a healthy weight and body condition score (Google it). Obese cats can't use their whiskers to judge whether they can fit through a gap.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOR

Cat personalities?

Cats display individual differences in their behavior. And however much we would like to speak of cat "personalities," it is nearly impossible. This is because having a personality means a certain living being will display fixed, consistent behavior over time and in different situations, despite varying influences.