Your Cat Thinks You’re an Idiot!

And we’re supposed to be surprised at this news?

I don’t think so.

Some of us have cats that love us unconditionally and some of us have cats that are aloof and seem to think they are doing us a favour by deigning to live with us. Some of us have a selection of both types!

So, it’s no surprise when we discover that the latest research shows that our cats think we are a non-threatening larger cat, who’s not as clever as them.

This revelation comes from a fascinating book called ‘Cat Sense’ from a very eminent biologist, Dr John Bradshaw, who founded and runs the world-famous Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol in the UK.

Although the book was released towards the end of last year, it’s been picked up and written about widely in the last few days.

Having studied cat behaviour for more than 25 years, Bradshaw has written this book as a distillation and culmination of all his knowledge.

In it, he discusses how cats have never really become domesticated and that their choice to live with us has been a slow transition from being the resident pet exterminator to member of the family.

And, although we lavish them with care and attention, they see us more as a larger, less able cat and display similar behaviour as if we were their mother although they clearly know we’re not!

Much of the purring, rubbing against the legs, and kneading that we all see can be explained as greetings, signs of affection or seeking food – all of which hark back to their kitten behaviour.

I’d actually ordered a copy of the book at Amazon for a family member before Christmas (and they loved it), so I’ve been reading it after they finished, and it has definitely told me new things about my relationship with my cat.

And, at the same time as seeing all the articles about the book, I saw the video below and thought that was quite relevant. It explores some of the behaviour of ‘web cats with a fan following’ Shorty and Kodi as they relate to their humans.

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