BEHAVIOR

If youve been saying that your cat has lots of spunk, is retiring, or lazy, give yourself credit - her behavior apparently has a lot to do with your own personality traits.

Zooming. Splaying. Kneading…Lets face it: cats can be weird. Or seem weird, if you dont understand why they engage in certain behaviors. In this article, we demystify some of their so-called oddball antics.

Ever wonder what inspires your cat to lift her rump, wiggle it back and forth in place, eyes black with excitement, and then pounce? It may well be an instinctive hunting behavior she shares with lions, tigers, and jaguars even though domesticated cats split off from their big cousins eons ago.

You know those spikes in the ground as you leave the airport car rental parking lot with the signs telling you not to back up? Thats an approximation of the hundreds of hooked spikes on a cats tongue that face backwards, toward the throat, giving it its rough feel. And now scientists are getting a better understanding of why these tiny claw-like tongue spikes are there.

The day may very well come when your cat cannot take in enough water by mouth or urinates excessively, and your veterinarian tells you to combat the threat of dehydration through your pets skin. After all, a number of diseases that befall cats can rob their bodies of fluid. These include diabetes, liver disease, pancreatitis, and chronic kidney failure. Chronic kidney disease alone affects half of all cats between the ages of 10 and 15 and almost 70 percent of cats over age 15, according to research conducted at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Despite their reputation for liking only dry land, a surprising number of domesticated cats not only tolerate but love pawing water or even swimming. Some like to play in standing water; others are fascinated by running water and prefer to drink from a faucet rather than a cat dish.

Last month we covered litter box aversion, one of the main behavioral reasons cats wont go where theyre supposed to. This month we will cover another behavioral reason for a cats failing to urinate where she should - stress. Its something to consider if your veterinarian says theres no medical cause for the problem and if litter box aversion has also been ruled out.

Popular thinking has it that, like Greto Garbo, cats vant to be alone. But a new study out of Oregon State University shows thats not true. In a two-pronged experiment involving pet cats and shelter cats, both types of felines spent much more time with a stranger sitting on the floor when that person called out to them and pet them as they approached, as opposed to having no attention paid to them.

I have a male cat and a female cat, and normally they get along very well. The female has been spayed and the male neutered, so they kind of get on as brother and sister. Once in a while, though, the male jumps on the back of the female and bites her neck. Hissing and crying ensue, and I often have to break it up. Whats going on?

My cat is driving me crazy with the scratching. She has ruined not just upholstered furniture but also the wooden legs on my piano. Would it really be inhumane to have her declawed? Shes a house cat and doesnt need her nails to defend herself outside.

When a cat will not relieve herself in her litter box, its either for a medical or a behavioral reason.

If your cat gets into your dogs food here and there, its not something to be alarmed about. But dog food is most certainly not appropriate as the mainstay of a cats diet and should never be fed instead of cat food. In fact, a dog could much more easily get by on cat food than a cat on dog food (although both cats and dogs should be fed diets prepared with their own species in mind). Here are some of cats unique dietary needs that make dog food the wrong - and unsafe - choice as a cats meat and potatoes, so to speak.