Life Span:  15-20 years + or – for indoor only cats.  Life span is considerably decreased for cats allowed to roam outside.

Activity Level:  Free roaming house cats will adjust their own activity levels.

Cats are a preDATOR species. 

Social Patterns:  Unlike dogs, cats’ social systems are not as similar to humans' social systems.  The focus of a cat group is a female (queen), and her kittens.  Other cats in the group are other females, often related to the queen, and their offspring.  Some reproductive males may also be attached to the group. Cats choose human companionship on their own terms.  However, they consider their humans as part of the family as demonstrated by bringing prey, playing with, and treating their human like their mother. Cats are hierarchical and assert dominance.  They enforce their dominant position by occupying specific spaces and posturing.

Normal Physical & Behavioral Characteristics:  Cats’ sense of smell is many times greater than that of humans but does not match the capabilities of dogs.  They can hear two octaves higher than humans as well as higher than dogs.  They have excellent night vision allowing them to see well in dim light.  They have fewer taste buds than humans. Cats are territorial and scent-mark their turf with urine, feces, and scent glands.  They do this by rubbing, urine-spraying, clawing, and scratching.  They also claw and scratch to sharpen their claws.   While cats are easier to keep than many other companion animals, they are not maintenance free.  They require regular love and attention from their human, health maintenance, and vet care.  Research with cats has identified cat personality types as social/confident/trusting, timid/nervous/shy, active/aggressive, and friendly/play/petting.  Weaning:  7 weeks.  Puberty:  10 months.

Cats communicate by body position, position of ears, neck, plane of shoulders, posture of mouth and nares, shape and size of pupils.  Verbal communication consists of purrs, chirrs, calls, meows, growls/snarls/hisses.

SPAY/NEUTER INFO:   Cats can have two litters per year.  The gestation period is 63 days. Litter size is 1-10 kittens. (mean 4.5).  Age for S/N is about 5 months but can be done as early as 8 weeks. 

MOST COMMON PROBLEMS:  scratch furniture, eat houseplants, aggressive to other cats and/or people, steal food on a regular basis, house soiling, vocalize at undesirable times, chew fabric, hiss at people, skittish, overly affectionate, play too roughly.