QUESTION; My human keeps inviting other humans into my territory, the house. I don't like it. They turn up at all hours. She encourages them by feeding them cups of coffee and they vocalise endlessly. It seems like hours, and sometimes it is hours, before I get any privacy. It's my house, my core territory, and I wish I could stop her doing this. I don't invite stray cats into her territory. I keep them out. What does she think she is doing?
Ziggy
ANSWER
You have to try and be compassionate, Ziggy. A good pet owner, and I am sure you want to be one, tries to understand the needs of their pets. Human pets are obligate social animals. They have a dominance hierarchy (a loose one normally) and they spend a lot of time interacting with each other. It sounds as if your human lives alone. She will literally NEED other human company.
We cats don't do this. In wild conditions we hunt alone. We don't share our prey (like mice) with other cats, except when we are feeding our kittens. Sometimes we live in groups, if there is enough food going. But even in groups, we stay in little families. Some of us are true loners. But on the whole we are flexible. We can usually live with other unrelated cats, - maybe not as friends but as friendly acquaintances. But we don't need feline friends.
You have got to accept your human as she is. She hasn't got family in the house so she goes out and finds substitute family, brings them into the home, goes through the behaviour pattern of feeding kittens with them, and vocalises. Vocalisation for humans is a bit like grooming. They go in for mutual vocalisation. This motor pattern is part of the human ethogram.
The social company, kitten-feeding and vocalisation motor patterns are hard wired into them, Ziggy. You've got to allow her to do her instinctive behaviour. Just count yourself lucky that she's not seeking a mate. When humans go calling (for sex) it's incredibly difficult and embarassing for us cats! More on that later.
George
Yep, the human beans yammer all the time. I wonder if there's a muzzle for them. *snicker*
ReplyDeleteBy the way George, when you do that thing on humans and sex, you better put a warning label of it for grossness.
Purrrrrrrs,
your bud Pepi
I had my human nuetered. It keeps her from wandering and from mating behavior. Highly recommended. And happily, I found an antisocial one so she's not inclined to drag other humans home to invade my privacy.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't that just burn you up?! My humans do that ALL THE TIME! I get disgusted and leave, just walk right out of the house. Sometimes they give me a hard time because I want out of all the excitement. It's kinda like when my female human runs the vaccum cleaner. Now that is a problem!
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHH there's people coming over
ReplyDelete::scrambles up the stairs and under the bed::
call me when they leave
Sammy