Happy Pets

A cat’s sunning spots or favourite indoor resting places are high on the list of those to which it claims an inalienable right. However, with the demands of other cats in a multi-cat household, or of many close neighbours outdoors, it may not be able to establish an exclusive claim and has to accept that its rights are on a time-share basis, valid only at certain hours.

An animal’s territorial claims are closely related to its food requirements — the hunter must have a wide enough range to provide it with sufficient prey. Both farm cats and ferals in cities usually need a fairly large territory, although their diet may be topped up with snacks from friendly humans or by scavenging in dustbins. (more…)

The female has a loud and piercing mating call, often used to effect at two o’clock in the morning under your bedroom window. It is especially excruciating in the Siamese, which often has a rather raucous voice anyway. Like the scent of the female in season, it can carry far — no matter how deep under the bedclothes you may go. Not to be second- bested, males make an equally loud noise that used to be thought an equivalent mating call, but evidence now suggests that groups of cats may actually gather together to ’sing to the moon’ in a caterwauling concert that has nothing immediately to do with sexual competition. They usually gather on territory not claimed by any particular cat, so, if your cat is allowed out, they probably won’t be in your backyard but plaguing someone else. The male’s courtship voice is, by contrast, a soft and seductive cooing sound. (more…)