Feline Social Behaviour
Introduction
As a result of the depiction of cats in popular literature, and the results of early studies of cat behaviour, cats have been mistakenly characterised as solitary animals. This is a false perception that has persisted in the popular imagination. Whilst they do use distance-maintaining behaviour to avoid direct conflict with each other, the importance of social interaction in this species is clear from the presence of specific distance decreasing and affiliative behaviours.
Group Size
The tolerance of group size varies considerably within Felis silvestris, with some subspecies such as the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia) being almost completely solitary, and others such as the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) being more social and willing to live in groups. This may reflect climate differences in the locations where these subspecies evolved; in temperate and cold climates where human population density is also low, sources of food and shelter may be more sparse and subject to greater competition.
Observational studies by authors such as Leyhausen (1965)[1], Laundre (1977)[2] and Fagen (1978)[3] expanded knowledge of the social communication and organisation of cats, and revealed their capacity for group living. The work of authors such as Dards (1978[4], 1981[5], 1983[6]), who studied dockyard cats in the UK, and Denny et al. (2002)[7] have identified a now well recognised functional template for domestic cat organisation in which related female cats form social groups along with their offspring and juvenile cats. The function of the groups was to aid in successful kitten rearing. Males were loosely associated with these groups of females and roamed a much larger territory that encompassed the home ranges of several groups of females.
These groups of females form in areas where food and shelter resources are abundant, but group members still continue to act independently of one another. Unlike some species in which females are hostile to the offspring of conspecifics, nursing queens seem to show little discrimination when caregiving to kittens; they will feed and groom any kitten that approaches them[8]. This adaptation provides the basis for the formation of female social groups, as it enables kittens to be protected and cared for by members of the group whilst others are hunting. Even so, the only sharing of food between cats is between mothers and their kittens; meals are not shared between adult females.
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Until they are completely weaned and able to catch and kill their own prey, kittens are not a source of competition for resources with adult cats, because their nutritional requirements are met by the mother. Once young cats become fully independent, they do become potential competitors for food and shelter resources. If these are not sufficiently abundant then females may leave the group.
Whilst there are situations in which resources naturally occur in high density, human settlements appear to be a significant driving force behind the formation of more permanent feline groups[9]. Where people are absent, and locations of high resource density are therefore absent, cats favour a solitary lifestyle other than when they are raising kittens[10].
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Aggression is seen between females that are not members of the same social group, as there is competition between groups for access to food and shelter. However, juvenile cats are more receptive to social contact with unfamiliar individuals, which may favour the formation of new groups by young adult cats.
Male cats generally do not tolerate contact with each other, and will compete strongly for control over access to an area that encompasses the home ranges of groups, or individual, female cats. However, some authors report that well-matched males sharing a neighbourhood will occasionally stop fighting and form loose social relationships that are termed “brotherhoods”[1].
Neutering has an effect on the social behaviour of male cats, reducing their territory size and the level of inter-male conflict. This is observed in large suburban cat colonies in which neutered males participate equally with females.
Key points
- Cats are a discretionary social species; social groups are formed under certain circumstances, but this is not essential to the survival of the individual.
- The functional basis for the formation of social groups is kitten rearing by groups of related females.
- Groups form when resources are abundant, and break up when they dwindle.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Leyhausen, P. (1988) The tame and the wild- another Just-So-Story? In: D. C. Turner and P. Bateson (eds.). The Domestic Cat: the biology of its behavior., Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Laundre, J. (1977) The daytime behaviour of domestic cats in a free-roaming population. Animal Behaviour. 25, 990-998.
- ↑ Fagen, R. M. (1978) Population structure and social behavior in the domestic cat (Felis catus). Carnivore Genetics Newsletter 3(8): 276-281.
- ↑ Dards, J. L. (1978) Home ranges of feral cats in Portsmouth. Carnivore Genetics Newsletter. 3(7), 242-255.
- ↑ Dards, J. L. (1981) Habitat utilization by feral cats in Portsmouth dockyard. Pp. 30-49 In: The Ecology and Control of Feral Cats. Potters Bar: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.
- ↑ Dards, J. L. (1983) The behaviour of dockyard cats: interactions of adult males. Applied Animal Ethology. 10, 133-153.
- ↑ Denny, E., Yakovlevich, P., Eldridge, M.D.B., Dickman, D. (2002) Social and genetic analysis of a population of free-living cats (Felis catus L.) exploiting a resource-rich habitat. Wildlife Research. 45(4), 405-413.
- ↑ Ohkawa, N. and T. Hidaka. 1987. Communal nursing in the domestic cat, Felis catus. Journal of Ethology 5(2): 173-183.
- ↑ Kerby, G. & McDonald, D.W. (1988) Cat society and the consequences of colony size. In: D. C. Turner and P. Bateson (eds.). The Domestic Cat: the biology of its behavior., Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ van Aarde, R. J. (1978) Reproduction and population ecology in the house cat, Felis catus, on Marion Island. Carnivore Genetics Newsletter. 3(8), 288-316.
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