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Feline Aggression - Overview (view source)
Revision as of 09:40, 8 September 2014
, 09:40, 8 September 2014→Aggressive signals
==Aggressive signals==
==Aggressive signals==
Feline aggressive signalling shares some similarities with other species; for example, staring eye contact, and body postures that attempt to make the individual look larger and more threatening by '''increasing its apparent stature''' (piloerection, sideways body arched posture). A cat may alternatively attempt to reduce the threat it poses by '''flattening onto the ground''' and adopting a self-defensive posture. Whole body postures are a reliable indicator of the cat’s attitude to a situation but because it takes tome to short from one body posture to another, and therefore do not indicate the moment-by-moment shift in the cat’s reaction. For this it is better to look at facial signals such as head and ear position, and other expressions involving the mouth and eyes. The '''transition from a defensive posture to an attack may be very sudden''' in cats. It is therefore very important to be able to read and appropriately respond to changes in facial signalling that indicate the cat’s increasing sense of vulnerability which may precede an aggressive outburst.
Feline aggressive signalling shares some similarities with other species; for example, staring eye contact, and body postures that attempt to make the individual look larger and more threatening by '''increasing its apparent stature''' (piloerection, sideways body arched posture). A cat may alternatively attempt to reduce the threat it poses by '''flattening onto the ground''' and adopting a self-defensive posture. Whole body postures are a reliable indicator of the cat’s attitude to a situation but because it takes tome to short from one body posture to another, and therefore do not indicate the moment-by-moment shift in the cat’s reaction. For this it is better to look at facial signals such as head and ear position, and other expressions involving the mouth and eyes.
'''Important warning signs''' include:
'''Important warning signs''' include:
It is very important that owners do not attempt to soothe or calm a cat when it is showing this behaviour (they must not pick the cat up, for example). Cats that are frozen in a self-defensive crouch are very close to launching an attack if provoked. It is best to break eyes contact, move away and allow the cat to settle.
It is very important that owners do not attempt to soothe or calm a cat when it is showing this behaviour (they must not pick the cat up, for example). Cats that are frozen in a self-defensive crouch are very close to launching an attack if provoked. It is best to break eyes contact, move away and allow the cat to settle.
In dogs there is a recognisable continuum of escalating aggressive signalling behaviours, starting with body tension and moving up through changes in eye contact, growling, snarling and ultimately leading to a bite if the signal recipient does not respond appropriately. A failure to deliver signals in this manner, for example jumping from body tension to a bite, is regarded as evidence of impulsivity in dogs, and is commonly associated with problems such as owner-directed aggression in dogs. The same gradual escalation is not as apparent in cats, as their behaviour has evolved to avoid face to face confrontation. So, '''transition from a defensive posture to an attack may be very sudden''' in cats. It is therefore very important to be able to read and appropriately respond to changes in facial signalling that indicate the cat’s increasing sense of vulnerability which may precede an aggressive outburst.
==Classification==
==Classification==