What cats think about their owners. How cats think - how to understand a cat and make her happy? Cats need to sniff out food for a long time before choosily rejecting it.

Man has always wanted to know what others think about him. Don’t believe it if someone says that they don’t care about the opinions of friends, acquaintances or even strangers. We all want to know what they think about us, although many people hide it.

But how many of us worry about what our cats think of them? Cats, not dogs or hamsters. Look at the cat - she is free and independent. If you feed her, this does not mean that she will be grateful to you to the end of her life. You are obligated to feed her - that’s what the cat thinks. Simply because you have to and that’s it, but gratitude still needs to be earned, and believe me, getting real gratitude from a cat is not so easy.

A cat's thoughts are not as simple as you think. We approach cats and cats with our own idea of ​​the world and try to understand the mind, which functions according to different rules. Our values ​​are very different from a cat's. A simple example. Place a gold telephone and a piece of fish or a regular rubber ball in front of the kitten. The kitten didn’t care about your trinket. And we? Well, why do we need Verta for 10 thousand dollars, if any Android phone for 5 thousand will be more convenient and functional? For a cat there are no such questions. She thinks in simple categories - she can eat it or not, she can play with it or not, she can lie on it or not.

Look at cats - they are like us, but more practical and perhaps wiser. Someone says that they don’t think, they only have instincts? You are deeply mistaken. A cat thinks and often acts not just because it is programmed that way, but simply because it is interesting to her. A simple example is hunting.

Just ask a hunter why he goes hunting from the city, with a crowd of people just like him. They will tell you the devil knows what - and, they say, they have instincts, and they are breadwinners - they will far-fetch a whole philosophy. But the answer is very simple - because you want it and that’s it.

If you ask what a domestic cat is thinking about when it hunts rats, there can be two answers, depending on the circumstances and environment. The first answer is that rats need to be killed because they can be dangerous to the offspring and they also steal food. And if rats are not a threat and the cat goes hunting for them a kilometer from the house and she doesn’t eat them, but only sometimes she can bring them and put them on the threshold of the house to show off. Do you know why she goes hunting in this case? Simply because she wants to do it. And it’s not a matter of instinct - you can’t force many cats to approach even a dead rat at a cannon shot, since you can’t force many to go somewhere and shoot at animals they don’t need.

And what do cats think about us, such impractical creatures from their point of view? Sometimes they love us and think about how nothing would happen to us, they feel our pain and try to help us get rid of it. Have you noticed that if something hurts, then the cat who loves you will definitely come and lie in that place, if she can, and the pain may subside. Or it might go away completely. She doesn't just think she can help us, she knows how to do it.

We are an interesting object of observation for cats. I once watched how our cat watched the guests and how thoughts were reflected on his important mustachioed face. I'll try to convey what he thought. Of course, I can’t vouch for the accuracy, but the time we lived together taught us to understand what we think – me and the cat.

So, the guests came to the birthday party and settled down in our living room. The cat specially came from the bedroom and lay down on the ottoman near the door to the veranda to watch people - he loves to do this, and even if he is very busy with something, he will appear if there are more than two unfamiliar people in the room. Next I will try to tell the story from the first person.

Look, the hostess’s friend has arrived - now I wasn’t expecting anyone. Last time she said that she was allergic to cat fur. Her eyes were red, she was wincing and her nose was turning up at me. Yeah, it’s an allergy, of course, otherwise I can’t smell that she chewed a hundred mint gums to hide the smell of fumes - she drinks like the neighbor’s dog. You're the one telling the owners lies, but you can't fool my nose - you're an alcoholic.

What kind of fruit is this? Hmm, he smells like a dog and looks like an unshaven bulldog. Here's how to make friends with a bull terrier. The owner must be warned - he is an aggressive and stupid guy, just like his dog, probably.

My dears, the owner's sister came up - now the evening will definitely be interesting - now she will start telling how a man ran away from her once again, then she will get drunk and cry that no one loves her, and finally she will ask for money. As always. Get a cat, not a man. The cat will always be able to figure out which guy is normal and which one will run away in a week.

Akhtung, it's time to get away, a couple of human offspring have noticed me and are heading here. So we leave with dignity, we leave, we run, damn it, before they grab us and bawl.

This, or almost this, is how cats and cats think about us. They sometimes know more about us than we know about ourselves. We sometimes don’t notice them and carry everything we miss, and what is necessary, and what is worth not saying, and what is not even worth thinking about. But cats hear everything, understand everything and can form a very accurate opinion about us - a very large amount of information. And if, despite all our ignorance, stupidity and carelessness, they still love us, then we are not completely lost creatures for this world.

Photo source: www.sxc.hu

All of us, cat owners, periodically ask ourselves this question. So John Bradshaw, the author of several books about cats, who spent 25 years studying their behavioral reactions, tried to answer it. And this is what he managed to find out.

A cat perceives a person not as a friend or owner, but as a similar creature. Only big, not graceful enough and clumsy, capable of tripping over a cat several times a day, missing the moment of its appearance underfoot.

All thoughts of cats are determined by their natural needs. Their thinking is situational. If a cat wants to eat, she builds her behavior in such a way as to get what she wants as quickly as possible, and uses the usual methods: she gives her voice to the owner, spins around, approaches the bowl and meows persistently. She doesn’t think about how to better beg for something tasty, but acts based on the situation.

The behavior of an animal largely depends on its upbringing: some will start jumping on the table or stealing food from a set table, while others will patiently wait for the person to take out the food and fill the bowl. A hungry animal can express its joy and pleasure at what is happening by rubbing itself against our legs and purring loudly.

By the way, rubbing against a part of the body indicates the cat’s disposition towards you. Not everyone receives this honor. The cat has an idea of ​​someone as a friend, while someone is indifferent to her, or even serves as a hindrance.

Living in an apartment, the cat thinks that this is its full habitat. It is very difficult to convince her otherwise; you can only correct her behavior using educational methods. For example, stop him from climbing on the table or sharpening his claws on the upholstery of the sofa.

A cat thinks of a person as a stable element of its living space. This differs from dogs, whose thinking lacks “object constancy.” That is, when a person disappears from a dog’s sight, it is a lot of stress for her; she does not understand where he disappeared, whether he will return or not. The cat is not tormented by such thoughts precisely because of its ability to perceive its familiar environment as a constant value.

Wanting to get their share of affection, cats climb on us, touch us with their paws and purr. This is exactly what they do with the mother cat; they did not invent any new ways to attract a person’s attention.

Cats have well-developed cognitive abilities. They often copy the behavior of people, becoming like them. If in a family every action is accompanied by a comment, then the cat will most likely also comment on its actions and movements, making characteristic sounds.

Cunning furry creatures easily remember how to get food by watching a person. Therefore, if necessary, they themselves open cabinets with edible supplies.

Cats think that the territory of the apartment is their undivided use, therefore, playing hunters, they do not think twice about destroying flowers, vases or other interior items. This is what the game requires, they don’t feel any regrets or guilt. They guess the seriousness of what they have done only by the stern tone of the person. Many cat owners are confident that their pet is even capable of apologizing for what happened, but, most likely, the cat is driven not by repentance, but by the risk of being left without food or the usual portion of affection.

Despite their outward independence, cats become attached to us and undoubtedly love us. They are not as emotional as dogs, who each time they return again experience deep joy from meeting each other. Cats realize that humans are a constant quantity, so they show their emotions in doses, depending on their mood.

What do they think?! And do they even think

Cats learn much better than dogs: if a dog remembers only after 7-8 repetitions, then a cat learns the same thing in 2-3 attempts. However, their attitude towards training reveals a truly cat-like character: “Well, I understand what you want,” the cat says to itself, “but why would I, like a fool, repeat all this?” Cats (except very hungry ones, which is what Kuklachev’s simple technique is based on) hate to reveal their skills and knowledge - they are above this. “I love pigs,” said Winston Churchill. “Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” A very deep aphorism that is also relevant to our discussion. So, a cat’s intelligence is an indisputable thing, but difficult to prove and completely unpredictable. An elderly mother of one of my friends, at a time of post-perestroika lack of money, suggested getting rid of Vaska’s cat, because “he’s eating us up.” After that, the cat began to bring mice from the street and put them at the old woman’s feet! And after Vasya’s immediate owner, in a fit of despair, announced that they would soon have nothing to eat and they would all die of hunger, Vasya began to pile the caught mice in front of her! The solution to the problem is impeccable, like a cat.

This case reveals a striking feature in the attitude of cats towards us, their owners. When your home hunter brings you a mouse, don’t think that he is bragging about his hunting successes or inviting you to treat him, such a fine fellow who guards your property by the sweat of his brow, with something tasty. No, he is drawn by nobler motives! He wants to teach you, a helpless little fellow, to hunt and get food for yourself in the most win-win way, from his point of view. He doesn’t understand where and how you get it; What if your cornucopia ever runs dry? By the way, the mentioned cat Vaska has achieved great results in her education: his owner, a biology teacher struck down by a crisis, has since made great progress, moving into the category of a prosperous businesswoman. The case is very instructive, I would insert it into a manual on everyday psychology: if your cat wants to tell you something, think about it before dismissing it. Maybe her advice is smarter than all those you will have the good fortune to listen to for the rest of your days.

A cat's intelligence is directly proportional to hunting activity: the skinniest tattered forest cat in terms of brain volume will give odds to a sleek apartment cat, since there is a direct connection between brain volume and the complexity of motor functions. By the way, stealing from cats is a special type of prohibited hunting, i.e. poaching, and they are well aware of this! But the temptation, as you understand, is too great. The hunting territory of cats begins fifty meters from the house and has a radius of three hundred meters, while for cats the distance is calculated in kilometers. You can easily meet your pet quite far from home, and, moreover, you have a chance to be completely ignored by him; if you try to pick him up, you may encounter a hostile reaction: your affectionate pussy will suddenly turn into a wild animal and scratch you! What black ingratitude! - you will think. I'm hunting, but she (he) bothers me! - your pet will think. You might have spooked his prey (or maybe you did), so what other technique should you count on? All hunting areas are strictly divided and marked, and private property rights are guarded tooth and nail. The hunting territory is the cat's main value, so she will never approve of your idea of ​​moving. Stories about cats and cats returning home from distant places can be multiplied indefinitely, and stubborn travelers are driven by the desire to regain their lost property, and not by any sentimental impulse of love for their native lands.

On the other hand, there are cases when cats caught up with their owners who had left. For example, one New York cat followed his owner to California: he covered 3,500 km in five months. Such phenomena are much more difficult to explain, and I’m not going to try! Cats are mysterious and capricious animals, they love freedom and walk on their own. And if one of them decided to walk across America, then he had good reasons, that’s all! Much more interesting are cases of foresight, which are not uncommon in cats. A friend of mine, a student, has a cat that sits in front of the front door exactly 15 minutes before the owner arrives - that is, at the moment when she gets off the bus at the stop, from which, you guessed it, is a 15-minute walk. The girl returns home at different times, therefore, her cat does not navigate by time, but picks up biocurrents or something like that. Many cats start jumping, running or doing something else before guests arrive, thus warning their owners. During World War II, English cats knew about the start of the bombing long before the enemy was detected by radar. Without waiting for the sirens to wail, the animals dragged their owners to the nearest bomb shelter. There were so many examples of this that the British government established a special cat medal with the words “We also serve our Motherland.”

The above shows that cats are no worse than dogs at being loyal; but they are also capable of very creative revenge! To bite or scratch - it doesn’t require much intelligence, cats know how to hurt with inimitable deceit and humor. One cat I know, being punished for stealing, usually climbed onto the curtain and blew a long, stinking stream across the curtains, which (he knew!) the owners valued very much. My cat Marquis, a seasoned owner of the entrance and the surrounding area, mercilessly chased his opponent - an inexperienced undergrowth who was brought in by neighbors on the site. One day he drove him onto the roof of the balcony - the young enemy jumped there from a nearby tree in the apogee of horror, but could not get down and screamed pitifully. The Marquis lay down on his favorite windowsill (just opposite that balcony) and squinted with satisfaction, looking at the helpless (morally destroyed!) enemy - by God, there was a real sarcastic grin on his face. By the way, scientists have proven that a cat’s face is capable of expressing the greatest number of emotions and their shades, in comparison with any other animal, and this is another fact confirming the high degree of intellectual development of cats.

Why are they still needed?

Indeed, all the cat does is eat and sleep - she sleeps 16 hours a day! - and so sweet that you could die of envy. It would seem that a more meaningless existence is difficult to imagine - and yet the feasibility of cooperation with the cat family has been proven by both centuries-old experience and science. In short, a cat can be used for a wide variety of purposes; Let's look at them in chronological order. The ancient Egyptians, who were the first to domesticate the cat 6 thousand years ago, used it as a posthumous refuge: they believed that the soul of the deceased mistress of the house was hidden in the body of the cat, so in the event of a fire, first the cat was taken out of the house, and then things. After the death of a cat, the family declared mourning and trimmed their eyebrows as a sign of sadness. The dead cat was embalmed and placed in a coffin. Many cat mummies are found in ancient Egyptian temples and burial places, and in the tombs of the pharaohs there are thousands of such mummies! For the ancient Egyptians, the cat was a symbol of Bastet - the goddess of the night, fertility, birth and hunting, who was depicted with a cat's head. The Persian king conquered Egypt by ordering his soldiers to tie cats to their shields: the Egyptians did not dare raise their hands against the sacred animals and surrendered without a fight. The feeling of one’s involvement in nature and the animal world was vital for ancient man (as has been proven by modern science in the person of Lévy-Bruhl, Jung, etc.), therefore the sacralization of a cat can be considered a completely legitimate method of treating it.

In addition, from ancient times to the present day, cats have been used to protect supplies from rodents. In Ancient Rome, where they knew nothing about cats, mice were caught by boas and snakes, as well as tame weasels. But the mice multiplied at a faster rate than they were eaten: for boas, grass snakes and weasels, they are not the favorite dish. Only cats prefer them to everything else, but the export of cats from Egypt in those days was prohibited under threat of death. However, it is human nature to crave the forbidden fruit, and therefore smugglers always have something to do. The cat, as a smuggled commodity, entered Ancient Rome in the 1st century AD, and in the 11th century it had already spread throughout Europe. Cats were even found on Viking ships, and in Ancient Rus', for one cat they gave 3 horses, or 4 cows, or 30 sheep, or 60 piglets! One can imagine how the Russians took care of cats, and valued them primarily for their hunting qualities: cats guarded grain in barns, for which they received an honestly earned bowl of milk. The same was true throughout Europe, but the obvious and ineradicable asociality of cats haunted some humble Christians: in the Middle Ages, Pope Innocent IV, with a special bull, declared that cats (especially black ones, but indeed all of them) are servants of the devil. The extermination of cats was unprecedented and merciless, and God's punishment was not long in coming: in place of the cats, hordes of rats and mice appeared, which easily devoured the entire harvest, causing famine and pestilence in many areas. After which cats began to be bred again, despising the papal instructions on this matter.

The cats that survived the cataclysm bred again, while the mouse populations melted before our eyes. Since the laws of biocenosis prevent them from completely melting away, the need for cat labor is always present. Cats, like love, settle everywhere: in a hut and in a palace. 12 cats lived in the apartments of Cardinal Richelieu, and in the Winter Palace - about 600 representatives of the feline species, who kept a constant watch in the august chambers. For 130 years, the English postal service has included cats to protect mail from rodents. They receive a weekly salary for food and care, carefully increased to take into account inflation. Several years ago, the most famous English cat, Wilberforce, died in London: he was picked up on the street in 1973 and brought to the Prime Minister's residence, where mice had infested. Since then, the cat has regularly destroyed mice, serving four prime ministers and even having the honor of attending cabinet meetings. M. Thatcher especially loved him: she brought him exotic treats from her trips abroad. As long as there are mice, we need cats, and it seems we need them more than they need us!

A cat can also be used for the exact opposite purposes - as a starting product for preparing gourmet dishes! In Vietnam, cat meat is still considered a delicacy; It was only recently that Minister-President Fan Van Hai ordered the closure of numerous restaurants called "Little Tiger": since they opened, domestic cats have become rare in the country, which has led to an increase in the number of rats destroying rice supplies. And he’s right: it’s better to eat rice than cats, any Greenpeace member or vegetarian will tell you this! In addition, cats can be used to predict the weather: French fishermen, for example, believe that if a cat passes its paw behind its ear while washing, it will rain, if it cleans its nose, then there will be wind, and if it lies on the ground and begins to spin, it means bad weather ends. If a cat hides its nose in its paws or tail when sleeping, the cold will last for a long time.

An old English proverb says: “If there is a black cat in the house, there will be no shortage of lovers in it.” A cat is a symbol of sexual attractiveness: the crowd of admiring cats surrounding her, according to our ancestors, is equal in number to the crowd of males surrounding the cat’s owner. The same Englishmen discovered that the tail of a black cat cures styes on the eye if you apply it to the eyelid, but to treat warts you need the tail of a calico cat. Be that as it may, the medicinal properties of cats have been proven by modern science: by petting a cat, you can lower your blood pressure. American scientists have determined that cats, unlike dogs, saturate the air with negative ions, which are beneficial for human health. In addition, stroking a cat relieves stress and calms the nerves. Still would! What other animal is so greedy for affection? It’s as if cats were specially created to be petted! As V. Hugo said, “God created the cat so that man would have a tiger that he could pet.” However, we must not forget that cats are not always ready to be stroked. They only do what they want! “When a cat and I play, the question is who is playing with whom—I’m with her or she’s playing with me,” said M. Montaigne. A cat is independent and will only respect you in return for the same respect from you. Perhaps this is its most attractive feature: if you look at the human race, armed with healthy pessimism, you will perhaps find that mutual respect among people sometimes exists only in the imagination or in an ideal postulated, but not existing in reality. This is why communication with a cat is so necessary for a person - precisely in order to feel like a human being! A cat always feels like a cat and regardless of the circumstances: it accepts gifts and blows of fate stoically and with such a sense of self-esteem that it is not a sin to learn.

Based on materials from Katerina Stasina

Man domesticated the cat 9.5 thousand years ago. Since then he has become the most popular pet. The number of cats on the planet is 3 times greater than the number of dogs. At the same time, despite such a long joint history, the thoughts and inner world of their pets still remain a mystery to people. Some owners are especially interested in what their furry creatures think of them.

Animal psychology expert John Bradshaw from the University of Bristol conducted extensive research into the behavior of cats, the results of which he outlined in his book Cat Sense. For a long time he observed groups of homeless purrs, studied their hierarchy and social structure. It turns out to be quite complex, involving complex rituals and interactions.

The behavior of stray cats was compared with the behavior of domestic cats. The scientific work was based on a survey of owners and observation of the relationship between cats and humans.

As it turns out, cats perceive their owners differently than dogs. Dogs realize that a person belongs to a different species. This becomes clear when watching dogs playing with each other. As soon as a person appears next to them, they immediately change their behavior. A self-respecting dog will never play and communicate with people the way he does with his own kind.

At the same time, cats do not change their behavior in the presence of humans. When communicating with their owner, they use the same arsenal of gestures as with their relatives.

Cats realize that humans are much larger, but this does not change their behavior as if they met another large animal. When communicating with them, cats raise their tails, rub against their legs, sit next to them and sometimes even lick their owner, that is, they do everything they do with other cats.

Stray cats in large groups never show such signs of attention to inferior and less respected individuals. This debunks the myth that purrs consider humans inferior to them in the pack hierarchy. At the same time, they understand that people are not as agile as themselves. A cat will never trip over a person, but the same person, on the contrary, often steps on his furry friend.

Recently, there has been a lot of research to better understand cat psychology. It turned out that four-legged animals have many psychological problems. Their main source is difficulties in communicating with fellow tribesmen.

Many people believe that constant territorial fighting is normal for adult cats, but this is not entirely true. When animals find themselves on the street for some reason, they form packs with fellow sufferers.

If domestic cats cannot find a common language with their homeless colleagues, they become stressed. This in turn leads to bladder inflammation and hair loss, the most common conditions for which people visit a veterinarian.

The ailments go away when the concentration of stress hormones in the cat’s body decreases. Instead of drug treatment, it is advisable to minimize stress-forming factors and separate the warring animals into different rooms, starting to feed them separately.

Owners often wonder why cats meow when they are in an empty room. This happens because they understand the cause-and-effect relationship between their cries and the behavior of the owner. Having mastered several vocal techniques, the tailed sly one begins to use them to his advantage. When the owner is not around, they can start meowing so that he will come and keep them company.

Cats are also able to distinguish the character and habits of different people. They know absolutely exactly who they can beg for breakfast early in the morning, and who prefers to lie in bed longer. When a cat massages a person, he demonstrates towards him the behavior that he showed in deep childhood towards his mother. It is then that the kitten learns to purr, caress and massage.

Owners of cats should understand that although they are social animals, they are still not as social as dogs. Often people want to have two or more cats, without thinking about how the pet itself will react to this. When purchasing a second pet, you need to be very careful, and at the same time, you need to leave the possibility of returning it back if the first pet does not accept it.

Any problem in a pet's behavior can be solved if you understand how cats think - why they act this way and not otherwise. But this is precisely where problems arise. To many, the behavior of cats seems very mysterious and unpredictable, while everything is much simpler and more complex at the same time - as always, when the human factor comes to the fore.

How do cats learn?

Cats, like all other living beings, have innate and acquired skills. The former exist in forms of instinctive behavior, while the latter the animal learns throughout its life based on its own experience. If the actions lead to a positive result, the animal will try to repeat them again and vice versa.

For example, if a cat once jumped onto its owner’s lap and was showered with caresses and kisses, then most likely it will climb into its owner’s arms again and again. If it was roughly thrown to the floor, then the animal will not soon try to repeat its attempt.

Everything seems clear with this example, but sometimes strange things happen. For example, it is often noticed that after suffering from urinary tract infections, cats begin to go to the toilet in the wrong places.

The reason is that when animals experience pain when urinating, they begin to associate it with the tray and look for more “painless” places to relieve their natural needs. Since the disease, especially if you successfully treat it, gradually passes, sooner or later there will be a place that “will not cause” pain to the cat.

Trial and error method

The American scientist Edward Thorndike, at about the same time when our Ivan Pavlov was studying salivation in dogs, experimentally found out how cats think, or rather, which learning method is the main one for them.

Thorndike put cats in a cage that could only be opened by pulling a rope loop. Outside, the scientist placed a piece of fish and watched as the animals tried to get out of captivity and eat the bait.

It turned out that cats cannot learn by imitation, that is, they do not repeat the actions of their brothers who have already learned to get out of the cage. Also, the demonstration method does not help them at all. When the scientist took the cat's paw and pulled the rope loop with it, opening the door, the poor thing had no idea what to do to get out.

But all the cats, without exception, when they got into the cage for the first time, performed approximately the same set of actions, which can be called “not washing, but rolling.” The cats tried to squeeze into all possible cracks, scratched the floor of the cage, bit the bars with their teeth and pulled the bars with their claws, stuck their paws between them, trying to reach the fish, etc.

Eventually, sooner or later, the cat would accidentally get its paw into the rope loop and open the door. Naturally, the second time she needed a little time for this, and from the third or fourth time the cat went straight into the rope to open the door.

This is how the trial and error method works, posing many mysteries to owners who cannot explain many of the “oddities” in the behavior of cats and attribute supernatural tricks to them.

Cats think differently

Cats have a better memory than, for example, dogs, and this helps them not only return home from long journeys, but also remember the first time the consequences of this or that action, so that later they can either try to repeat it, or, conversely, , avoid.

And this is how they literally train us, achieving the actions they desire. If you give your cat a treat every time you approach the closet where they are, then is it any wonder that the pet will instantly be nearby with a heart-rending meow.

If you, swearing and cursing everything in the world, still get up at five in the morning to give the cat something to eat, then she will wake you up at this time every day, exactly repeating the actions that have already led to success, or even strengthening them.

Who is manipulating whom?

It seems to people that cats think like you and me, choosing the most correct and effective method of action to achieve their goals. But in fact, as numerous experiments by Thorndike and other scientists prove not only with cats, but also with dogs, these animals learn by blind trials, successful action is fixed in their behavior, but is not comprehended in any way!

Animals do not understand the situation, and they do not see the logic between their action and the result. This is easy to prove, you just need to change the conditions of the described experiment. For example, moving the door to another place in the cage, and everything will be repeated all over again - rushing around in search of a solution, as if its optimal option under similar conditions had not already been found.

Thus, it is not cats who manipulate us, but we ourselves manipulate ourselves with the help of cats! As soon as you change the “conditions of the experiment” - do not get up at five in the morning to feed your pet, move the “painful” tray to another place or buy another one, the cat will again begin to look for a way out by trial and error, and your task is to organize the situation so that the result is favorable for both of you.