How to Cat: An owner’s cheatsheet on cats

Antreas Antoniou

Content

1. Brief intro
2. Cat history
3. Nutrition
4. Psychology - Neurobiology:
1. The raw cat and its priorities
2. Training
3. Achieving more desirable behaviours
4. Playing
5. Neutering/Spaying: Pros and Cons
6. Multi-cat household
• Introduction of cats
• Space sharing
7. Personal Experience - Mental health and hanging out with cat flatmates
8. Cat show and Q/A session with me and my cats (if they decide to hang around)

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1. Feline balls of fur and where to find them

What are cats, why are they so popular, where can I see one?

2a. Cat Evolutionary History - Where do these gorgeous, efficient and effective survival machines come from?

The Felidae family have been split into three genera:

• Panthera (cats that roar – lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards and jaguars)
• Acinonyx (the Cheetah)
• Felis (all other ‘small’ cats)

2b. Humans and their cats or Cats and their humans? This is the question. Well. How about BOTH?

TLDR;

1. Humans invented farming and storage of grains.
2. Mouse population exploded in human settlements.
3. Cats attracted to mice in human settlements.
4. Humans attracted to not dying of mouse infested food and snake venom, and to hanging out cute kitties that can do the PURRs.
5. ???
6. Profit?

2c. Profit indeed: Enter the era of the domesticated cat

3. Nutrition: Cat-human relations have always been revolving around food. So.. What should we feed them?

First things first.

Cats are OBLIGATE carnivores.

Current standard cat foods:

1. Dry food.
2. Wet food.
3. Home cooked food.
4. Raw(r) food.

3a. Nutrition: Dry Food

Pros:

• Rarely spoils
• Requires no refrigeration
• Rarely causes a mess
• Little to no chances of infections to humans

Cons:

• Quality of ingredients usually very low
• Almost never grain free
• Meat is processed multiple times, much of the nutritional value being destroyed in the process
• Extremely low in moisture
• Can contribute strongly to fatal health problems (kidney disease, thyroid issues and diabetes) in mid-life of a cat, and general inflammation and malnutrition in general life
• Started as dog food that received little to no modifications as a means to generate financial profit

3b. Nutrition: Wet food

Pros:

• High in moisture
• Far less processed than dry food
• High in nutritional value
• Can be of very high meat quality and proportion (100% human grade can be found)
• Very good for cat health outcomes

Cons:

• Spoils once removed from can
• Often requires refrigeration
• Can cause a mess in the house
• Careful research is needed to choose the right source.
• Exposed meat, for longer periods of time than recommended can cause infections to humans -- like all meat sources.

3c. Nutrition: Home cooked food

Pros:

• Meat quality almost always human grade
• Excellent for cat health outcomes
• High in moisture and lightly processed
• Can be bought by innovative cat-health startups (e.g. Katkin and Blink)

Cons:

• Requires refrigeration
• Spoils within a couple of hours outside the fridge
• Harder to procure, as it requires an online order/subscription -- not available in supermarkets
• Can cause a mess, and can cause infections if not handled properly

3d. Nutrition: Raw Diet

Pros:

• Meat in format identical to one cats evolved on
• High nutritional value
• High in moisture content
• Excellent cat health outcomes (less studies than other diets -- more investigation is needed)
• Lately becoming more common, with good startups offering high quality solutions (e.g. Purrform)

Cons:

• Can cause infections in humans and spread viral particles everywhere in your home
• Requires refrigeration
• Can cause a mess in the house
• Needs to be handled with serious care to avoid hygiene issues
• Careful research is required if you wish to make your own raw food at home -- risk is very high

3e. Nutrition: Which diet is right for YOUR pet?

TLDR;

1. Not an exact science.
2. Do your research, make a decision.
3. Trial and error with your cat.
4. In some cases cats won’t accept dry food, and will only eat wet/raw, and in other cases they will eat only dry, and never touch wet.
5. Some breeds have strong food sensitivities that make it difficult for them to ingest certain types of diet.

3f. Nutrition: Free feeding vs Meal scheduling

Free feeding:

Pros:

• You don’t have to spend time two or three times a day to feed your cats.
• Easier for newly introduced cats to avoid under-eating

Cons:

• Can contribute to diabetes and obesity
• Lowers cat activity levels
• Cat is harder to train because it is always satiated
• Continual access to food not what cats evolved with
• Can only be achieved with dry food (which is objectively the worse diet type)

3g. Nutrition: Free feeding vs Meal scheduling

Meal Scheduling:

Pros:

• Cat is more active, and via play can engage in the hunt, catch, kill, eat cycle that it was evolved to engage in
• Easier to train your cat, since it is in search of food, and treats look a lot more yummy to them
• Lowers risk for obesity and diabetes

Cons:

• Requires to keep a strict schedule and spend time a few times a day to feed your cat
• If your cat has not adapted to their environment, more likely to result in under feeding

4. Psychology - Neurobiology:

Who is your cat, really?

1. It’s both a predator, and prey. Not an apex.
2. It gains confidence by having a clearly marked territory.
3. It gains confidence by successful hunting, catching, and eating in that territory consistently.
4. Cats are also overly possessive of their things, often being perceived as having ‘Napoleon Complex’ by us. They have a need to know that they own things, and that everybody else knows that.
5. They are very social animals. In general they may not be as affectionate as dogs, but they appreciate our presence in silence just as much.
6. If the cat is not neutered/spayed, they also have a need to seek and acquire mating partners. This often means fighting between male cats. It also means lots of maddening meowing and spraying all over the place (for male cats), and continuous attempts to escape (by both sexes).
7. They want a safe place to sleep.

4a. Psychology: Territory

What do cats consider as territory?

• The house they live in, and if ground floor a good 20 meters radius outside it.
• In the house, they appreciate exclusivity. Wall cat shelves, cat capsules, cat trees, boxes, castles made of boxes etc.
• Outside, they appreciate neighbouring cats/foxes/dogs not having access to areas they can’t access. They need to let everyone know what is theirs, and they do that via leaving scent.

4b. Hunting, Catching and ‘Killing’

• Many cat owners complain about their cat destroying couches, floor mats, curtains.
• Sometimes they may also show aggression towards human feet.
• Both of these can be caused from pent up energy which is there to hunt, catch and kill.
• Cats sleep a lot to build up the energy for explosive hunting. If they get none of it, they begin acting out.
• PLAYING with your cat is absolutely key for their health and your sanity.

4c. Psychology: How do I play with my cat?

• Self-play toys
• Automated toys
• Interactive toys

5. Training and persuading for better behaviour

• Cats place vast importance on their emotions and immediate pain sensing
• They possess far less ability to think and understand underlying dynamics of the world
• Three main ways to persuade a cat towards more desirable behaviour:
• The ‘Do this instead of that’ compromise -- offering a suitable, and better alternative for your cat
• Training via positive reinforcement: Excellent for your cats health and your relationship with it. Takes time
• Training via negative reinforcement: Can hurt your relationship with your cat, and might cause stress and mental health issues. Must be used only as a last resort to prevent the cat from behaviours that need to be stopped fast because they may threaten their lives (e.g. jumping on the stove)

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5a. How to train your cat: Positive Reinforcement via Clicker association and treats

1. Buy a pet training clicker.
2. Buy an assortment of treats (I recommend freeze dried chicken).
3. Click and provide treat.
4. Repeat 3 for a good 10 minutes every day for a week, and every time before a training session in the future.
5. Now your cat associates the click with a receiving treats, therefore making it feel positive emotions once you click.
6. Use your newfound power to train your cat.

5b. Example: Train your cat to go to where you point.

1. Point somewhere with your index finger
2. Try to get your cat to approach the area you are pointing at. One way is to have a treat in your hand that points.
3. Once your cat goes to the desired area, or at least starts to do *something* that is closer to what you want it to do, reward with treat and click.
4. Repeat until cat goes to where you point even without any treats being present.
5. Remember to refresh the training with treats, so that your cat remembers it.

5c. “Don’t do this, but do that” behavioural correction

1. Identify behaviours that you want your cat to not do as often.
2. Find suitable alternatives that ‘scratch’ the same itch in your cats brain.
3. Offer alternatives and reward with treats when the cats choose them.

Not this

Do this instead

5d. Negative Reinforcement

1. Should be last resort as it can stress your cat and potentially hurt your relationship with it.
2. Ideally for life endangering behaviours your cat does that should stop doing (e.g. jumping on stove).
3. If you choose this path, make sure that your cat is not aware that you are the one behind the punishment. Make it appear ‘environmental’.
4. Can be done via motion sensing air sprays

6. Spaying/Neutering Cat

• Pros:
• Increased lifespan due to lower chances of (testicular/ovarian) cancer, injury due to fights, injury due to outdoor exploration.
• Reduces number of strays
• Reduces destruction of natural ecosystems which cats can disrupt
• No need for your cat to ‘spray’ or meow until you let it out or you go insane
• Cons
• Not reversible
• Behavioural changes such as less need to roam can make your cat require less energy, so your cat’s diet must be monitored as it might get more calories than it needs and cause obesity

There are both pro and against ethical concerns as well. The arguments are endless in this one, and mostly exist in the realm of philosophy.

7. Multi-cat households

• Pros:
• Your pet always has a friend to play and cuddle with, even when you are out of the house
• Usually leads to more exercise for your cats body and mind. Helps improve social skills and robustness to social situations
• If done right, likely to improve health and lifespan, as well as quality of life
• Cons:
• Can backfire if not done correctly. Age difference, wrong introductions, uninformed owners can instead create a far more stressful environment for the cats.
• Cats are very territorial, so enough space and ‘things’ must be provided for both cats. The 2n + 1 rule is a good starting point.
• More expensive upfront and maintenance.

8. Human Mental Health and Cat Companions

• There is significant evidence in empirical studies that pets can be highly effective in improving a variety of mental health ailments, and generally aiding in any humans well being.
• Social interaction
• Someone to take care of + expectation that you need to be there
• Give and receive cuddles and affection
• Always something happening in the house
• Cuteness and beauty around you has also been shown to improve mental health

8. Live cat demo: Training and tricks!

Thanks for listening! Any questions?