VMD 513: Pet animal Breeding, Management, Nutrition and Health Care (1+1)

HABITAT, HABITS AND BEHAVIOUR 

Habitat

• Cats are a cosmopolitan species and are found across much of the world.
• They are extremely adaptable and are now present on all the continents (including Antarctica) and on 118 of 131 main groups of islands.
• Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas and wetlands.
• Their habitats even include small oceanic islands with no human inhabitants.
• However, this ability to thrive in almost any terrestrial habitat has led the cat's designation as one of the world's worst invasive species.
• Despite this general adaptability, the close relatives of domestic cats, the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) and the Arabian Sand cat (Felis margarita) both inhabit desert environments, and domestic cats still show similar adaptations and behaviour.

Behaviour

Activity

• Free ranging cats are active both night and day and they tend to more active during night times.
• House cats are more active during morning and evening and it mostly relates with human activity.
• Cats conserve their energy by sleeping in most of the time, particularly they if they are aged.
• The average sleeping time ranges between 13 and 14 hours.

Territorial

• House cat spend most of the time in the vicinity of their home which ranges some hundred meters from the central point.
• They show scent rubbing / spraying urine as a primary behaviour to claim ownership, mostly male cat spray and female cat do not spray.
• When male cat is neutered the scent rubbing or spraying will stop.

Socialization

• Kittens scared of people first and if handled and cared it will develop attachment within 16 weeks post kittening.
• To decrease the odds of a cat being unsocial or hostile to wards humans, kittens should be socialized at an early age.
• Cats can be good companions.
• The strength of the cat-human bond usually depends on the human behavior, whether the human is always gentle and considerate, takes time for affection when the cat wants and knows when to stop when the cat grows tired of it, responds to the cat's needs and wants, and appreciates the cat.
• The formula for a successful relationship thus has much in common with human to human relationships.