Cats have evolved an elegant and formal protocol for greeting each other as well as greeting members of other animal species. Respecting and following these protocols when meeting a cat for the first time and when greeting a cat that you haven’t shared company with for awhile will encourage pleasant interactions and build trust.

Unfortunately many adults and lots of children do not follow the greeting protocol. Sometimes cats are chased in misguided efforts towards friendships; sometimes they are grabbed and picked up. This usually results in a cat avoiding the human or if cornered sometimes scratching or biting the perpetrator. Cats prefer a traditional, formal greeting that will allow them to find out something about the greeter and to build trust.

Properly greeting a cat is simple. First, never chase or try to pick up a cat. Instead extend your index finger towards the cat at about cat-nose level. Anywhere from 1-5 feet away from the cat will work. The initial greeting distance depends on the individual cat and their circumstances. If you know the cat, and the cat knows you, the distance can be decreased. If you are both strangers to each other, the distance should be increased.

It’s now up to the cat to make the next move. When she’s ready to say “hello” she will walk up to your extended finger and touch it with her nose. Next she will move her head so that your finger is on her mouth and then she’ll move her head so that your finger is on her cheek. If she wants to continue with the meeting, she will rub your finger and your hand with her cheek, marking you. Cats have scent glands on their cheeks that produce “friendly pheromones”. This is similar to us shaking hands. After she marks you, you can now gently pet her under her chin, on the side of her head and then on top of her head.

Try it with your own cats. Extend your index finger towards your cat buddy and say hello.

Poor Kingsley is facing some challenges right now. Kingsley, a Norwegian Forest Cat was very bonded to Bok Choi, the Bengal who crossed over a few weeks ago. Kingsley and Bok Choi were never more then a few feet away from each other. Where one went, the other followed. These two kitties were in love with each other. I knew that Bok Choi’s passing would have an affect on Kingsley. I just didn’t know how it would affect him.

All of the cats in my household are either Bengals or Savannahs. Kingsley is the only domestic cat without any recent wild blood in him. He doesn’t quite fit in. He’s a very smart boy but he doesn’t always get the joke. Bengals and Savannahs are like finely-tuned, high speed race cars, Norwegian Forest Cats are content to stick to the speed limit.

The Bengals and the Savannah have an established, yet dynamic hierarchy. The colony is established and it works. They are very bonded to each other and hang out with each other. The dynamic social structure they’ve established works very well. When Sudan, the large Savannah, decides he’s unhappy with someone, he simply sits on them. Very easy to do when you are twice the weight and height of everyone else. Kingsley has always mingled with the other cats, but he always preferred to keep company with Bok Choi. When Bok Choi lived with us, it was common to see Kingsley and him in the same room with the rest of the gang, sitting together, but apart from the others.

It’s taken Kingsley a couple of weeks to adjust to life without his buddy. Now he wants to find his place in the existing Cat Club.  Kingsley has never felt he should have second seating. He has always sat at the head of the table. That place is already taken. 

His biggest challenges are at night and before meal times. He first challenged Sudan, the very large Savannah. Sudan demobilized him by sitting on him.  Now he’s chasing two of my Bengal girls. There’s lots of vocalizing and stalking, no injuries except hurt feelings.

I am putting Kingsley on a tight activity schedule. He loves to be groomed, so he’s being groomed everyday on the bed. He loves the bed and is very happy sleeping and snuggling in faux leopard fur covers.  I’m adding another cat tree in the bedroom, one that is easy for him to climb. Doors are also a necessity. When it looks like Kingsley has his panties in a knot, I herd him into his room and close the door.

Poor Kingsley, I hope he finds his place in The Cat Club and that he settles down and stops trying to throw his weight around.

Kingsley

I’m very proud of my movie star cats. I feel like one of those parents who can’t stop talking about their talented progeny. Maybe my car should wear a bumper sticker that proclaims that my cats are honor students.  

Maulee and two of her buddies, Sudan and Jinniyha were on network TV last night helping solve the mystery of the purr. Thanks to modern technology, you can see them unravel the mystery on the web at CBS 5  .

The segment is called: Why Do Cats Purr?  

Cats are designed perfectly, are nature’s example of “form following function”. Look at their paws. The shape and size, the pads on the bottom, even the tufts of hair between the toes are there to serve a function. Some cats have webs between their toes, others have giant paws, and still others have extra digits on their paws. These paw attributes, in their entirety, have a function. I wonder if the American sculptor Greenbough was looking at a cat when he thought of the phrase “form follows function”.

Originally I was going to write a treatise on paw functions, instead I’m going to post a few pictures of cat paws. That’s more fun.

A composite of cat paws

Part Three:  The Anatomy of a Purr

The anatomy of a purr is shrouded in controversy. There are many diverse theories about how a purr is created. One theory is that purring is produced through a combination of the laryngeal, diaphragmatic muscles and a neural oscillator.  This theory probably makes the most sense because when a cat suffers from laryngeal paralysis, he can’t purr. Another theory claims that the vibrations come from the hyoid bone, a small bone located between the skull and the larynx. Still another veterinarian argues that purrs are initiated from the central nervous system. A long time ago people believed purrs were the result of blood rushing through the vena cava (large vein that carries blood to the heart).

Domestic cats don’t have the monopoly on purring, though they are one of the only animals who purr both while inhaling and exhaling. Servals, Cheetahs and Ocelots purr. Not all members of the Felidae Family purr though. Big cats that are members of the sub family Pantherinae are supposed to not purr. These include Lions, Tigers, Jaguars and Snow Leopards, along with other big cats. Though it has been reported that lions make a noise that may be kind of purr like. Other residents in the animal kingdom also purr. I read that Hyenas, Civet Cats and even Elephants purr.  I wonder if an Elephant really purrs. I would like to know in what circumstances these other animals purr. Does an Elephant purr when he’s feeling contented and safe? Does a Hyena purr when he’s stressed out? Is the mechanism behind these purrs the same as in our domestic cats?

I conclude my musings on purrs with more questions then answers…