PSYCO403 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Dander, Illuminance, Visual System
5 Apr 2016
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Free-living (has had human contact) and feral cats (no human contact) Cat behaviour basics: senses, social organization and dominance hierarchies, communication, sexual behaviour, maternal-offspring behaviour, the catnip response. 30-37% of all homes have a cat: (stats from american pet products association national pet owners survey) Almost half of cat-owning homes include multiple. Antagonistic relationships between cats one of the biggest reasons for cat surrender. Related to dogs: both within order carnivora, common ancestor: miacis (miacidae, split 30-40 mill years ago caniformia-feliformia split. Cats started to become domesticated around 10,000-4500 years ago. Came from ancestor species felis silvertris lybica, the middle eastern wildcat (early ancestor of african wildcat) First a natural process (dump scavenging/grain silos), accidental. Then an artificial process (selective breeding), intentional. Is a solitary species and by nature is extremely shy of humans. Adults live completely separate lives and use established territories to advertise their presence and prevent contact with others.
