So I’m watching this documentery about domestic cats the other day.
A guy on there who I assume is some sort of autority on cats states that when a cat rubs up against you, when you’re walking or what not, it isn’t displaying submission but rather saying the cat accepts you as an equal.
Being a cat lover I so want this to be true but I don’t know. How the hell does that guy know what a cat is really thinking?
[FTR: I’m not talking about that bit cats do where they rub the sides of their mouth on you to leave their scent. I’m talking about how they rub the sides of their body on you almost causing one to fall down the stairs as has happened with me one time.]
Call me a cynic, but what he/she is thinking is “It’s been about half an hour since I was last fed. If I pretend to like this guy he might feed me again”
She does it just after she’s been fed. And also comes up and goes “meep!” which means “is it can be hugs tiem now pleez?” I genuinely believe they exhibit affection, and I think the side rub is one example.
Cats are nature’s opportunists. They know how to soften us up to get what they want.
The relationship between humans and cats is purely on a business basis. It goes like this:
You provide me with food, warmth, petting and cuddling WHEN I WANT IT - NOT WHEN YOU WANT TO, nice soft furniture to scratch, soft laps to sit on, ailurophobes to terrorise and I will catch your rodents and reptiles, and generally look decorative and adoring.
Should you fail for an instant to honour in all ways this binding contract, then I will pee in your slippers, or leave disgusting deposits where you least expect.
However, for as long as you honour the contract, with no backsliding, I will leave you to form your mistaken, sentimental and anthropomorphic opinions that I might even like you.
THE CAT
This is why I like cats over dogs. You know what your are getting.
To actually answer the OP, a scientist could make this assertion by studying cats in the way they study social relations between any other social animal:[ol][]Study interactions in larger groups of cats.[]Figure out which ones are generally socially dominant and which ones are socially submissive. Derive a rough social hierarchy.[*]Observe other behaviours, like rubbing, between cats. Figure out which ones are done between equally-ranking cats, higher-ranking cats, or lower-ranking cats.[/ol]I can’t vouch for the accuracy ofthis article, other than noting that I’ve heard from other sources that cat social groupings have in recent years been found to be more complex than previously thought.
To actually answer the OP, a scientist could make this assertion by studying cats in the way they study social relations between any other social animal:[ol][li]Study interactions in larger groups of cats.[]Figure out which ones are generally socially dominant and which ones are socially submissive. Derive a rough social hierarchy.[]Observe other behaviours, like rubbing, between cats. Figure out which ones are done between equally-ranking cats, higher-ranking cats, or lower-ranking cats.[/ol]I can’t vouch for the accuracy ofthis article, other than noting that I’ve heard from other sources that cat social groupings have in recent years been found to be more complex than previously thought.[/li][/QUOTE]
Thank you! I was really hoping for a serious answer.
I suspect that the scent-marking answer is true, for the simple fact that cats do the rubbing-past-thing with furniture as well as other members of their social group.
I doubt that they are trying to indicate to a chair that they slowly brush past: “Me and you’s equals”
I believe the cat is saying “I was selectively bred over the course of millennia to show this trait of apparent friendliness that is met with favorably by humans.”
