To know them is to love them

MISUNDERSTOOD Many owners do not understand cats’ behaviours and needs.

Ask the Vet
Esther Van Luipen

I have to be honest: I have always been a dog person. When I was young I had a lovely black Labrador and I used to keep chickens and pigeons. Now and then one of my birds or their chicks went missing, and after a search I would find a heap of feathers. Needless to say I did not like cats … until I got to know them.
The more I see of them and the more I learn about them, the more I appreciate them. Here are a few cat facts that you might not know.
Cats have little scent glands on their cheeks. When they are head-butting your legs they actually deposit the scent from their glands onto your legs. This way they mark you as one of their personal belongings. Most cat owners see this behaviour as a sign of affection and welcome it.
Cats need to sharpen their claws, but they also have scent glands on their paws. Cats scratch places to sharpen their claws, but also to deposit their scent onto that object. Cats that live in the house tend to scratch furniture in prominent places that are touched frequently by us as we walk passed it or sit on it. This is to replace the scent that we have left on these objects.
If this scratching behaviour is causing problems you can try giving your cat a scratching post. There is no point putting the post in a corner. Place it in a prominent area and when the cat starts to use it you can then move it little by little to a place where you want it.
Meowing is a cat’s form of communication with humans specifically. Kittens also meow to their mother to get their attention. Later in life cats don’t communicate with each other by meowing anymore, so meowing is a language that cats use to talk to us. If you like your cat to ‘talk to you’ you can encourage it by talking back to them. If you find the meowing annoying, just ignore the cat when it meows and only talk to it when it is quiet.
Cats ‘knead’ before relaxing. They can knead your lap before sitting down on it. This kneading is lovely … until the claws come out. Kneading is a behaviour that stems from the time that your cat was a kitten and the kneading was done on the mammary glands of ‘Momma Kitty’ to stimulate the release of the milk. This is also a time that ‘Momma Kitty’ releases pheromones, which make it into an intensely pleasant, blissful experience.
When your cat is kneading on your lap, it could be trying to recreate that relaxing, happy experience. It will also deposit some of the scent from the scent glands onto your lap. If claws are a problem, try putting a thick blanket on your lap when the cat jumps up, so you won’t feel them.
Cats are often misunderstood and hence they may be poorly treated. An organisation called Feline Friends tries to educate the public about the care for cats. A registered charity, it is dedicated to relieving the suffering and distress of cats in need of care and attention, be it due to sickness, bad treatment or poor circumstances.
If you would like to find out more about care for your cat, log on to their website, www.feline-friends-academy.com. In the next couple of months they are going to release a cat-care webinar every month, available to listen back to any time. Topics covered so far this year include caring for a sick cat and caring for older cats.

Esther van Luipen is a veterinary surgeon in Claremorris Small Animal Practice. She can be contacted at 094 9373955 or at living@mayonews.ie.