What does it really mean when your cat lies on its back to greet you or when it climbs into a box and just sits there? Cats may seem predictable, but a lot of their behaviors may surprise you and only make you love your feline even more. Let's take a look at why cats lie on their backs to greet you, as well as some other feline facts.
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00:00Cats' standoffish nature and refusal to participate in behavioral studies means that we know surprisingly
00:06little about what's going on inside a kitty's mind.
00:09Luckily, we're learning a little more each day about our feline friends.
00:12Here's a look at why exactly cats do some of the adorably weird things they do.
00:16No one's sure when cats first moved into our homes and hearts, but the most commonly repeated
00:21piece of trivia is that it happened in ancient Egypt around 4,000 years ago.
00:25They were considered sacred, treated like royalty, and valued as an important part of
00:29the family.
00:30There's other evidence that suggests cats arrived well before then, with remains of
00:34a human and cat who were buried together dating back 9,500 years.
00:38No one's exactly sure when these mysterious creatures showed up and volunteered their
00:42services, but we're definitely not complaining.
00:44While we consider our feline friends to be domesticated animals, that's not exactly the
00:48case.
00:49When scientists took an up-close-and-personal look at cats' DNA, they discovered that cats
00:54are still pretty wild, at least on a genetic level.
00:57Despite their name, domestic house cats still share most of their DNA with their wild cousins.
01:02Unlike dogs, who have mostly grown out of any wolf-like behavior, cats have kept their
01:06wild instincts, as well as their insistence to be treated like royalty.
01:10Some things never change.
01:12If you've ever wondered if your cat has a preferred paw, you're not alone.
01:15Psychologists at Queen's University Belfast were also interested to see which paw the
01:20majority of cats use the most.
01:22Researchers gave 42 different cats separate jars containing a bit of tuna, which the cats
01:26had to fish out in order to eat.
01:28Whichever paw the cat used to get their snack revealed to researchers whether the animal
01:32was right-pawed or left-pawed.
01:34Out of the 21 male and 21 female felines participating in the experiment, 20 of the males were deemed
01:40left-pawed, with one ambidextrous overachiever.
01:43Interestingly enough, 20 of the females proved to be right-pawed, and in true cat spirit,
01:48one female cat refused to conform to any human societal expectations.
01:52Cats are notoriously picky eaters.
01:54Just when you think you've got them figured out, they'll almost definitely prove you wrong.
01:58That's not just out of spite, however.
02:00Our feline friends are actually picky because of the weird way their taste buds work.
02:04She's not allowed in the United States because she only eats bald eagles.
02:11Cats have always been carnivores, and feral cats still rely on a heavily meat-based diet
02:15for survival.
02:16Their taste buds convey a huge amount of information, including when something's gone bad or been
02:21poisoned, and they also have two different receptors in their tongues that can taste
02:25bitterness.
02:26How cats interpret other kinds of flavors is still unclear, but one thing's for sure
02:29— if they don't like their dinner, they'll absolutely let you know.
02:33It's estimated that about 1 to 5 percent of cats suffer from a feline version of asthma,
02:38which is a lot like the asthma found in humans, complete with breathing issues and coughing.
02:42While a multitude of factors are often at play when a human develops asthma, the biggest
02:46cause for asthma in cats is, well, us.
02:49Feline dandruff is cited as a major cause of feline asthma, along with other irritants
02:53that humans bring into their homes, like cigarette smoke.
02:56Some cats have such a powerful allergic reaction to humans and their disgusting habits that
03:00they have to fight to breathe, and could suffer collapsed lungs or even broken ribs.
03:05Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories have been shown to help, and asthmatic cats can usually
03:09have their conditions managed, even though vets consider it incurable.
03:13The moral of the story?
03:14If you want to be a cat parent, you should kick your bad habits first.
03:18It's an argument for the ages — who's smarter, cats or dogs?
03:21As it turns out, on a biological level, cats might have a slight edge on dogs.
03:25Just don't tell them that, they'll never let the dogs live it down.
03:28With the wonders of modern science, researchers have been able to measure the number of neurons
03:32present in the parts of cats' and dogs' brains responsible for things like problem-solving
03:36and information processing.
03:38A cat has a staggering 300 million neurons in the information-processing part of its
03:43brain, while a dog only has 160 million.
03:46Sorry, pups.
03:47While this means that cats are likely going to be mentally quicker than dogs in many respects,
03:51where do they fall in comparison to humans?
03:54Part of humans' processing power comes from the folds that are on the surface of our brains.
03:58Lots of wrinkles on the brain means a larger surface area, which subsequently means more
04:02processing power.
04:03Cats' brains happen to be wrinkled like human brains.
04:06In fact, they have a 90 percent similarity.
04:08They also have large and complex cerebral structures, which govern decision-making,
04:13memory, advance planning, and reasoning skills.
04:16For human-like brains means there's a lot going on in those tiny heads, and if cats
04:20ever found the time and motivation to care, they could outsmart circles around any dog.
04:24So the next time you suspect Kitty is plotting to install himself as the world's next great
04:28supervillain, well, you might be right.
04:31If you've ever known an outdoor cat, you know they have a tendency to disappear for a good
04:34long while whenever they feel like it, leaving you to wonder where in the world they've been
04:39all day, or week.
04:41To get to the bottom of this mystery, the University of Illinois headed up a two-year
04:44research study that fit 42 cats with radio trackers to monitor their every move.
04:49Twenty-three of the cats, which were a mix of feral and free-roaming domesticated cats,
04:53were fitted with trackers that included vibration sensors.
04:57These sensors gave a glimpse not just into where the cats were at any given moment, but
05:01what they were doing.
05:02The cat with the biggest patch of kingdom was a male feral who wasn't named in the study,
05:06so we'll just call him Stewie.
05:07Stewie's home territory covered a whopping 1,351 acres that included everything from
05:13city streets and a college campus to fields.
05:16As far as researchers could tell, no one made an active effort to feed Stewie, and he was
05:20left to his own devices to find his dinner as well as navigate his way through busy city
05:24streets and rural areas with dangers like coyotes.
05:27Stewie was a special case, but even the free-roaming cats that technically had homes wandered about
05:324.9 acres over the course of the study.
05:34However, researchers discovered that all of the cats favored being close to buildings.
05:39If there's one thing cats have in common with toddlers, it's their obsession with boxes.
05:43A box provides cats with a place to hide and ambush passing ankles, as well as the security
05:48of being inside an enclosed space.
05:50When researchers in the Netherlands studied the benefits of giving cats boxes to hide
05:54in, they found that cats with boxes adjusted much more easily to new surroundings and were
05:58far less stressed than cats without boxes.
06:00Essentially, hiding out in a box is a cat's way of resolving conflict.
06:04It's much more efficient for a cat to hide from their problems than it is for them to
06:07fight.
06:08But what's up with a cat's tendency to sit in other weird places, like in the bathroom
06:12sink or in bowls, or on top of the highest shelf?
06:15Well, there's actually a physical explanation.
06:17Cats have a comfortable temperature range between 86 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit, which
06:21is much warmer than what humans prefer.
06:24That means cats tend to seek out sunny spots on the floor, as well as tiny, confined spaces
06:28to soak up any warmth they can.
06:30Cats don't just sleep a lot, they sleep all over the place.
06:33You might find Captain Fuzzybutt catching a nap in a window, in a chair upstairs, under
06:37your bed, on top of your kitchen cabinets, and in various other random places.
06:42Why do cats feel the need to switch up their napping spots so often?
06:45According to experts at Catster, part of the reason is seasonal.
06:48The windowsill that Fuzzybutt loves in the summertime isn't as nice in the winter months,
06:52so he goes elsewhere until the long, sunny afternoons come back.
06:56Other experts say part of the reason is likely instinctual.
06:59Cats in the wild tend to sleep in different places for safety, varying their routine to
07:02ensure they aren't easy targets for predators.
07:05As any owner of multiple cats knows, when there's more than one of them in the house,
07:09cats tend to get pretty territorial.
07:10You'll likely find the highest perch on the cat tree is the napping domain of the dominant,
07:14or oldest, cat.
07:16Some cats might share their space, but they probably won't be too happy about it.
07:20According to Senior Cat Wellness, we may play a part in a cat's sleeping arrangements, as
07:24sleeping with humans is a cat's way of bonding with them.
07:27If your cat goes from bed to bed, they probably just want to bond a little with everyone.
07:31Changes in mood or the family dynamic also influence a cat's behavior.
07:35The chaos or grief over a lost friend might make your cat withdraw from his old, favorite
07:39places.
07:40If you haven't figured it out by now, cats are complicated creatures.
07:43Admit it, you talk to your cat, and your cat talks back to you, in her own special way,
07:48of course.
07:49Cats have a whole bunch of ways to communicate with us, and it's up to humans to pay enough
07:52attention to their facial cues and body language to be able to understand what they're saying.
07:57While they're known for their meows, a lot of people don't realize that cats don't meow
08:00to communicate with any other animal, only humans.
08:04While kittens meow at their mothers, adult cats that live together don't usually meow
08:08at each other, and studies of feral cat colonies have found that adult cats in feline company
08:12are usually pretty quiet.
08:14Meowing is how your cat communicates with you in a way they think you'll understand,
08:17and if you pay close attention, you probably will.
08:20For example, meows that mean, give me food, human, will definitely sound different than
08:24meows that mean, please sit and give me cuddles.
08:26A 2003 Cornell University study had cat owners listen to recordings of various cats and try
08:31and decipher what the felines wanted based on the sounds they were making.
08:35However, the participants were only able to distinguish the specific wants of their own
08:39cats' meows.
08:40So while there probably isn't some universal cat language our feline friends are trying
08:44to teach us, they have trained us to recognize their own specific commands.
08:48That's right, your innocent-looking cat has mastered the skill of manipulation, and you've
08:52been his test subject all along.
08:55There's nothing cuter than a cat flopping over to show you her belly, and according
08:58to experts, that adorable little move is your cat's way of letting you know that she's
09:02super happy to see you.
09:03By showing off her most vulnerable bits and putting herself in the most vulnerable position,
09:08your cat is proving to you that she's happy, relaxed, and feels completely and totally
09:11safe in your company.
09:13Aww.
09:14According to Senior Cat Wellness, cats that sleep on their backs also feel the same sense
09:18of security around their people.
09:19If your kitty is prone to flopping over and exposing her belly while taking a catnap,
09:23she's just letting you know that you're a pretty okay human in her book.
09:27That's a high compliment coming from a cat.
09:29Even the most marginal of cat people know that cats purr when they're happy.
09:32They make their signature noise using some sort of respiratory magic that happens within
09:36their diaphragm and larynx, but just how they do it remains one of the most baffling mysteries
09:41of modern science.
09:42However, don't always assume your cat is purring simply because she's content.
09:46Cats sometimes purr when they want us to keep petting them, or keep sitting down so they'll
09:50have a warm lap to lay on.
09:52It could be that your cat's purr isn't an expression of happiness, but more a dignified
09:56request, or command.
09:58Cats are also known to purr when they're injured or scared, and researchers think it has something
10:01to do with a purr's healing power.
10:03Most domestic cats purr at a frequency of 26 hertz, which just so happens to be the
10:08same frequency that's been found to promote healing in bones and other body tissues.
10:12When cats are injured, they'll likely try to help themselves heal or comfort themselves
10:15by using the reverberation of their own purr.
10:18This is also why cats will often curl up with injured animal friends and purr.
10:22They're just trying to help.
10:23Purring is also something that dying cats have been observed doing, presumably to console
10:27themselves, and maybe to console their owners, too.
10:30Yeah, that's not heartbreaking at all.
10:32Who else could use a good purr right now?