Those of us of a certain age remember being titilated by zoologist Desmond Morris' The Naked Ape, a frank study of the human being as animal. Morris has published other works (The Human Zoo, Intimate Behavior) focused on humans, but has continued to write about animals qua animals as well.
If you share a home with cats, you will be delighted by the insight Morris has provided into their behavior, needs and even communication in Cat Watching. Why do cats purr? What leads a cat to knead our laps, or present its rear, tail up, when we stroke it? Why does your house cat invariably choose your favorite chair to destroy with its claws? What does it really mean when cats hiss? Lay their ears back? Open their pupils wide in bright daylight?
Is the solitary cat, even when domesticated, a sociable creature?
Living in cities and towns, ... cats show a remarkable and unexpected degree of sociability. Anyone doubting this must remember that to a cat, humans are just big cats..."
Desmond Morris gives us a fascinating window into the minds of these intimate aliens we feed, pet, and welcome into our hearts.
Paul Corey does not achieve the same scientific distance with the subjects of his observation in Do Cats Think? Notes of a Cat-Watcher. Yet the anecdotal tales he uses to illustrate his opinions of cats' emotions, behavior and real communication are not less powerful for that.
In fact, I found this book sweeter—more poignant—than Cat Watching because the incidents Corey describes involved cats he loved.
The following Monday we visited [Leo Secundus], arriving early while the vet was still at breakfast... We saw cages of cats and dogs, but no Sec. We called his name. Instantly we heard his loud, desperate cry. We... found him in the cardboard box we'd brought him in...
///He pushed himself up with his front legs when he saw us... Huge tears formed in his eyes and ran down his cheeks.
///Maybe they weren't tears of emotion at all. It was a chilly September morning. He had heard familiar voices [that] excited him. The sudden blood heat meeting the cold air on the surface had made his tear ducts water. As simple as that.
///And were the tears running down my cheeks caused the same way?
The hardbound version is occasionally available on eBay; it is beautifully illustrated with color photos. The trade-size paperback is also available in bookstores and sometimes on eBay.
With both these books, you will be well equipped to interpret what the heck your cats are doing, and why.
Article comments
1 - RJ
Great post.
As a cat-lover, I am purchasing at least one of these books via Amazon.com right now.
And Eric appreciates that... ;)
Merry Christmas!
2 - DrPat
Well, The Naked Ape won't help much with your cats - but it IS a fascinating book. If you enjoy that one, there are two others (The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond and The Killer Ape by Robert Ardrey) that you might like. Be aware that Ardrey's work is based on articles by South African Dr. Raymond Dart which are generally not accepted by paleoanthropologists.
Cat Watching's page at Amazon.com has a couple of other good suggestions for cat lovers.
3 - Mr5bag
Please read, this is a true story!!I think my neighbor's kids put a firecracker in my cats ass and now she won't crap and hasn't for day's. The reason I think it was a firecracker is because they were shooting them and she came running home crying out and constantly licking her bunghole. The Vet also found some slight bleeding and burns but offered little suggestions. She really hasn't crpped in several days and her belly is starting to swell.
4 - Mr5bag
Can anyone please offer any suggestions on the above. I'm certain that's what happened because she even had that trademark firecracker/gunpowder smell on her. I've already spent more than $300.00 to no avail. Are you really a Vet or Doc?
5 - Eric Olsen
the cat would be dead - go to the vet
6 - Mr5bag
She's been to the Vet. The damage wasn't the most severe but she still won't shit. I'm continuing to give her kitty milk from the pet store. No solid food. That's what I was told to do.
7 - Mr5bag
The burns are mostly on the underside of her tail and butt. Luckily I don't think the firecracker was all the way in. She is in decent spirit's with the obviuos discomfort and constantly liking her bunghole. I'll give it a couple more days. In the mean time I am going to trick the little bastard in to confessing then bring criminal charges against the little son of a bitch. His parents too.
Thanks.
8 - Eric Berlin
Thanks for spreading the news on these books. I've heard explanations for cat behavior over the years (rubbing your leg means they are laying claim to you, tail in the air means they are happy, etc.). I wonder how much of what I think I know would be dispelled or enhanced by these books.
~ Eric B.
9 - //kikbwoy//@!
Aaaahh,poor Mr Whiskers. My most sincere
wishes go out to you and your kitty kat
in his recovery,Mr5Bag.
To help the healing process(physical and
spiritual)along,I would suggest a bottle
of Seagrams Seven,a handful of Vicodins,
a 19 year old Nicaraugan nurse(or just a
19 year old Nicaraguan babe in a nurses
uniform),black latex gloves & a soothing
balm(preferably organic).
What to do about Kitty kat's poor sore
little bottom is anyones guess.I hope ya
find this helpful.
10 - DrPat
NickelBag - alas, my title is honorary and based on healing non-living things (remember ARCnet?). But as the co-tenant of cats, I know dealing with your kitty's pain can be a real downer.
You may need a second opinion from a real vet.
11 - //kikbwoy//@!
So,a guy walks into a Vet's office one
day. He tells the Vet: "My cat is sick
& I need a 2nd opinion". So the Vet says
"OK, he's ugly too"...
Sorry, Henny.
12 - Mr5bag
I think my first Vet maybe right. I'm a little wigged out. Pissed at the little bastard who did ti. I think most of the damage was to the outside of her butt. However I'll still take the Vicodin and the Nurse for myself and the balm for my cat.
13 - DrPat
Eric B, I know I was surprised to learn (from Cat Watching) that each nursing kitten has its own preferred nipple, and that is why you see the do-see-do of nursing babies at the beginning of each feeding.
It explained (in retrospect) why a pair of abandoned kittens we nursed by bottle years ago would refuse the plastic nipple if the other kitten had already nursed from it. We always had to change the nipple on the bottle between kittens.
14 - Victor Plenty
It's said good things, as well as trouble, ought to come in threes. For wide-ranging insight on cats (and on humans), it's hard to find a better third for the above two books than The Tribe of Tiger : Cats and Their Culture by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.
15 - DrPat
I thought I recognised the author's name. This is the same person who wrote The Secret Life of Cats, which I enjoyed several years ago. Thanks for the reference, I hadn't realized she'd written another book.
16 - Pat Cummings
The above [soon-to-be vanished] spam is the LAST kind of comment we want on BC! It's bizarre how little connection it takes to attract such trash.
17 - bhw
Cats are cool.
18 - jarboy
some people take this cat stuff way too seriously. perspective, folks.