minding the menagerie

Ten Minutes to a Happy Cat

Often when we think of cats, we picture the mighty hunter, living alone and wanting nothing more. Contrary to that image, cats are actually quite social. Just because they hunt alone doesn’t mean they play alone.

The housecat is a close relative to felis silvesteris lybica, better known as the African wildcat. Some argue that there is so little genetic difference between this species and felis silvestris catus (the domestic cat), that they are not truly different species. This may explain the reason why abandoned cats can so easily become feral, taking on a wild nature including a patent distrust of humans.

Feral cats naturally form colonies. In these colonies, they mate, play, and bond with each other. If you have a cat, you are familiar with the ways they solicit touching. Rubbing the sides of the head on objects may indeed be a scent-marking behavior, but the straight on head-bop is truly a bonding act. Cats use this behavior to greet members of their tribe, to pick up the scent of friends and offer a gesture of camaraderie. Cats will sleep near each other not unlike a pile of kittens. It’s actually quite amazing how deeply subconscious this simple touch of security really is. The first time I volunteered at a feral cat spaying and neutering clinic, it took me by surprise. These feral cats, who’d never met before, who just minutes ago were spitting and hissing at each other from behind their cage doors, changed significantly following their surgery. Slowly waking from the fog of anesthesia, these cats would wrap their arms around each other, nuzzling each other’s fur. Of course, the moment they began to wake up enough to look at each other in a confused stupor they had to be separated again, but I still find it amazing how their subconscious longs for gentle touch no less than our own.

We are busy people and, too often, brush past our pets in a hectic blur. Stopping for ten minutes a day to focus on our cats and share a loving pat can reconnect ourselves with our pets. It offers a moment of peace I like to refer to as cat-petting-mediation. Slow your breathing, stroke her fur, and remember what you love about her. Clear your mind or picture the peaceful moments you’ve spent together. Brush her if you like, or gently massage her muscles. Practice this ritual daily and you should see an improvement in your relationship and likely the added bonus of behavioral improvements. I have witnessed vast reductions in undesirable behavior, such as spraying, when just ten minutes a day were spent offering a cat undivided attention and a little gentle petting.

Veronica Noechel is a trainer and cat consultant for Sylvie’s K9 Solutions and president of 3R Rescues: Raleigh Rodent Rescue. She is the author of several books of poetry and the Yummy for Dogs Cookbook. Reach Veronica at ratgirl@raleighrodentrescue.org.

To learn more about the power of touch for our feline companions, these books are sure to elicit a purr:

Getting in TTouch with Your Cat by Linda Tellington-Jones
Cat Massage by MaryJean Ballner

Appeared in the April/May 2007 issue of Innerchange.