Happy National Love Your Pet Day! Here's 7 quirky cat behaviors and what they mean
Amanda Macias/Business Insider
Happy National Love Your Pet Day!
Nearly 100 million cats are kept as pets in the US.
My temperamental calico cat, Harlem, is one of them.
And while she's the only one I have, she embodies many of the most common, and most perplexing, cat stereotypes.
So why does she — and the tens of millions of cats like her — act that way?
Here are some explanations, backed by cat researchers, for why our feline friends behave the way they do.
1. Why do cats sometimes suddenly bite or scratch the person who is petting them?
It seems you missed the warning signs that your cat has had enough affection if you are suddenly nursing a scratch or bite on your hand.
According to cat expert Arden Moore's book "The Cat Behavior Answer Book," your cat is trying to say, "kindly stop petting me or I will bite harder."
"While some cats can tolerate being petted, others feel overstimulated by the sensation and automatically react by lashing out," Moore wrote.
According to "Cat Sense" author Dr. John Bradshaw, who specializes in anthrozoology (the study of interaction between humans and other animals), your cue to stop petting a cat may include, tail lashing, flattened ears, dilated pupils, and tense muscles.
Bradshaw also notes, that most cats like to be stroked on their heads and fewer than one in 10 cats like to be stroked on their belly or around their tail.
Source: Cat Sense, The Cat Behavior Answer Book, Scientific American Special Editions, September 2015
2. Why do cats intentionally knock objects off tables?
Source: Scientific American Special Editions, September 2015
3. Why do cats look you straight in the eye and then slow blink?
Source: Cat Sense, The Cat Behavior Answer Book, Petful
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