Mary Allen
For some people, cats are evil, wrong, insidious, deceitful if they first cuddle and then bite. We often just don’t understand the language of the animals.
She lets herself be petted and then the velvet paw that has just been purring turns into a tigress in a flash and claws into the human hand. Apparently for no reason. Many cat owners are familiar with this behavior and it has established the animals’ reputation for being very unpredictable. But does the cat really have no reason for this behavior? Is that pure wantonness? “No,” says Katrin Schuster (*), who, as an animal psychologist, helps people and animals to eliminate misunderstandings. “Most of the time, the animal sends body signals that we humans don’t recognize or recognize too late.” As animals that live largely solitarily, cats have different communication behavior than those that depend on social groups, such as dogs. This means that the body signals of the cats are often subtle and not always immediately recognizable for humans.
“Purring, for example, is not just a sound that signals well-being,” says Katrin Schuster. “Cats also purr when they are in pain, and perhaps the human has accidentally touched a spot where the animal is uncomfortable.” In general, aggression often has to do with pain or fear. The cats do not express themselves with loud wails, but with retreat – or attack if they feel threatened.
But there can also be other reasons for the “incomprehensible” behavior: Many cats love to be petted – but only in certain places and for no longer than five minutes. Then suddenly the tail begins to twitch and the body tenses, the cat becomes restless. “The tail is really something like a mood barometer,” explains the cat expert. The twitching and escalation of it, the violent flicking of the tail, indicates a state of arousal. “And that has nothing to do with joy, as some people think, but with tension.” An attentive owner registers such non-verbal signals and reacts accordingly by respecting the animal’s wishes and stopping petting.
Hands and Feet as a Substitute for Prey
“The cat is evil,” Katrin Schuster often hears during her consultations. For example, because an animal hisses and puts its ears firmly against its head. These are clear signs of fear-based defense response, so these signals have nothing to do with malignancy,” she explains. If a kitty feels harassed by members of its species or people or is in a hopeless situation, it hisses. If this signal is ignored, the cat will eventually try to defend itself with paw slaps and mock attacks. Here it is better to maintain or increase the distance so that the animal can calm down.
Sometimes, however, it is simply a cat’s pronounced urge to play, which is misunderstood by humans: you get out of bed in the morning, still barefoot, and your kitty, who has been lurking somewhere, is immediately attacked by you. For non-cat owners, this sounds involuntarily funny – for those affected it is less so. “For the animal, however, this lurking and grabbing is a substitute for hunting, and feet that suddenly appear are ideal prey,” says the animal psychologist. “If the person then also behaves accordingly by screaming and running away, then that really stimulates the hunting behavior.” The cat owners unintentionally reinforce their animal’s playful attacks. It’s better not to make too much of a fuss about it, as this “game” will quickly get boring for the cat.
It is the same with the hands. From the perspective of the velvet paws, they can also be prey that is wonderful to grab and hold on to. And if you’ve always had a wild fight with your young animal, you shouldn’t be surprised if the adult cat also bites violently while playing. If the human pulls his hand away in the pain reflex, the cat will only grab it all the more tightly. Playful activity is very important for the animals, especially for indoor cats, says Katrin Schuster. But every wild game phase should also be followed by a cool down. In addition, there are other ways to exercise the cats’ minds and bodies – including those that are not just about prey. For example, tasks that have to be solved and promise rewards.