There are several curiosities in cats’ behavior that sometimes we don’t have an explanation for why they occur. For example, why do cats eat grass or why do they touch the water before drinking? Usually, as a cat owner, we have these questions in mind but we don’t investigate further because we don’t consider them as important. However, it is important to understand our cat’s behavior and in some cases, try to change it.
Trying to learn our cat language is not that difficult. We can help our pets if we understand what is hidden behind them. As follows we will see some of the most common curiosities in cat behavior:
Cats touching the water with their paw before drinking it
This is a way to measure the deepness of the water. When cats move the water surface before drinking it, they create little waves which allow them to see exactly at what level the water is, this way avoiding putting their nose on it because of a “bad calculation” of distance.
This happens because the cat’s eye structure does not allow it to see what is exactly right in front of its nose and this is the area they want to protect from getting wet because they hate this feeling of having a wet nose.
Cats also like to drink moving water because that means it’s fresh water. Cats are very clean animals and they prefer to drink from the sink or from the toilet if they can. So if you don’t want your pet to drink from the faucet or from the toilet you will have to maintain your cat water bowl clean and fresh or get an automatic waterer.
Cats eating grass
Cats do this to create irritation in the intestinal tract so this way they try to induce themselves to vomit. They want to create this intestinal irritation to throw up hairballs or other non-digestible materials from the intestine; it’s the cat’s “natural way” to clean its stomach.
Eating plants is also a natural way for a cat to get folic acid in its diet. Folic acid is a very important vitamin for the cat’s bodily functions and also produces hemoglobin, which is the protein that moves oxygen in the cat’s blood. My cat Sophie loves eating grass so much to the point I was getting concerned about it, read my article “When cats eat too much grass” to learn more about this.
Cat’s Purr
Cats purr when they feel content and happy. If you are petting your cat and it starts purring it means your feline friend loves you and it’s happy that you are giving him love. Also, cats purr a lot when they miss you so if you have been absent from home for some days and you get back your cat will purr as much as he can expressing to you how much he missed you and how happy is to see you again.
However, purring is also a way for cats to comfort themselves in situations of stress, fear, or pain. This is due to the production of endorphins while purring. Endorphins relax and calm cats in situations of stress and also relieve pain. If you see your cat breathing faster than normal and hiding to lie down most of the day and purring, your pet may be experiencing pain due to an illness.
Why Do Cats Act Like Burying Their Food?
This is an instinctive behavior of cats to survive in the wild. The purpose of burying the food is to hide its smell which could attract predators to the territory where the cat lives. Also, the smell of the exposed food could alert potential prey from the presence of the feline which makes them leave the area, reducing the chances for the cat to hunt.
If your cat acts like burying its food don’t yell at him, just divert its attention with something else, your feline friend will forget what it was doing and will stop. Cats are very easy to distract, sometimes it just takes you to make a slight noise with your hand to get the cat’s attention.
Why do cats’ pupils get bigger when they are playful?
A very common characteristic of cats is to have dilated pupils during playtime. This means the cat is really excited and getting its vision to the best capacity. When pupils are bigger they are more capable to receive light from minimal sources which allows the feline to see better in the dark. During playtime cats become hunters so they need to see perfectly to pounce at small objects accurately.
Cat’s Curious Behavior That You Should Eliminate
Some cat behavior could pose a risk to you or your cat’s safety. The following behavior should be avoided in your cat.
If Your Cat Is Curious For Pills. Be Careful With Paracetamol Or Aspirin
Paracetamol or Aspirin is highly poisoning for cats. This is because cats’ livers can’t metabolize this medicine as humans do, so paracetamol could cause the cats’ liver to fail and eventually the death of your cat. Aspirins are not recommendable for them either, because cats keep Aspine’s active principles in the system longer than humans do, which can create hemorrhage in cats if not given the right doses.
The way to stop your cat from biting you
You should never allow your cat to bite you because if you do, in your cat’s body language you are accepting that you are its “toy”. One of the ways to stop your cat from biting you is to give a loud shriek when this happens so this way your cat will know you don’t like that. This is the way cats communicate pain to other cats when they are bitten too, so they perceive this noise as natural pain.
Another way to stop this from happening is to get fun toys for your cat to play with, increasing your pet’s activity by playing with them on a daily basis. Plan a “playing schedule” with your little friend so your pet will play with toys instead your hands and it will stop associating your hands with a toy.
If your cat shows aggressive behavior often, your kitty may not be happy with its environment so you should check your cat’s territory at home, making sure your pet has its own private areas where to hide, proper bedding, high places where to jump, etc. Cat’s aggression could also be a sign of a cat being anxious or depressed.
Cats are very unique animals and their curious behavior brings lots of questions about their meaning. But everything has a purpose in the world of felines, remember that nature is normal and felines are no exception.
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