Domestic Cats ~ Solitary or Social?

[Elaine]

Excellent, very interesting stuff. I have always personally believed that cats are NOT solitary creatures, hunters yes.
I'd be very interested to hear more about how genetics play a big part in "who" your kitten turns out to be. I have had cats who were very comfortable with other cats and humans and have had Eva (the Diva) who struggled to accept other cats and often people.
This is the kinda stuff that interests me alot. Thanx.

[calismum]

This is a thought provoking article and I have read it, and the posts following it, over a few times thinking about the cats I have had over the years. Had no idea about the friendly father gene.

Will post a few short summaries about my various cats as I think about them.

Shanti male - My first cat got as an 8 week old kitten from a friend, mother and father both happy, friendly pets. He was a well balanced cat, loved people and for three years lived with me as a single house cat. Over the 17ish years he was with me he moved house 8 times, was in a cattery for 3 months, was introduced to 3 new cats all at different times, was introduced to 2 new dogs and a horse (not in the house!) Also at the age of 4 was able to go out and about as he wished. Through all that time he was, to my knowledge, never stressed nor did he show any signs of being up nor down. He loved everyone and everything. I now wonder if this was due to his 'breeding' and early upbringing in a house full of children, people and lots of busy coming and going.

[dandysmom]

This is a very interesting and informative section; I too didn't know about the friendly father gene.

My Siamese boy who I got from a back yard breeder (didn't know any better back then) was aways a shy spooky cat with strangers ... usually disappeared. I don't know how well socialized he was as a kitten ( I did meet the mum, a friendly cat, not the stud); I never had a lot of people coming ad going in the house; perhaps another reason he was people shy...???

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by wilbar

So maybe Beauty was born to a peripheral mother, so was not a naturally secure cat in that resources may have been scarce. She wanted the company of other cats but possibly early experiences taught her that not all cats are friendly. And maybe Beauty tried various overtures to other cats that were rebuffed, except for this one particular cat that accepted her? And as a female cat she was motivated to seek the companionship of another "sister" cat, even if the other cat was a neutered male?

So probably Dylan inherited people friendliness from his dad plus he had positive early experiences with humans? And he is naturally motivated to seek out the company of other cats, but his "maleness" recognises that others males are competitive for territory, and/or he's had prior experience of the aggressive/territorial behaviour of other male cats.

I know Dylan used to try beating up his brother when they were in rescue (think it's a good thing they were seperated)

I'm sure Beauty had conflicting emotions when it came to other cats, she was absolutely terrified of them (her body language would be screaming "I'm scared! Get me away from those scary creatures!") but on the other hand she didn't want to be a "Beauty no mates" (the female feline version of a "Billy no mates"). When she was in rescue she used to hide away from both people and other cats generally. (I know this because shortly after we'd adopted her I was talking to one of the other volunteers and she told me what Beauty had been like in rescue)

[wilbar]

If anyone wants to know more about the paternal genetic effect on sociability, the research was done originally by Dennis Turner in 1986. Various other research has been carried out since (Reisner et al 1994 and McCune 1995). McCune's study concentrated on how variations in early handling affected behaviour in later life. The findings were that kittens sired by a "friendly" father AND regularly & positively handled at weeks 5-12 were quicker to approach & spent more time with strangers, than kittens sired by "unfriendly" fathers, whether handled early or not. Given that the kittens had no contact with the father it was concluded that the "friendliness" factor had a genetic basis, rather than a learned basis.

But perhaps the term "friendly" is a bit anthorpomorphic so possibly "boldness" or "explorative" would be more accurate, in that the effects seem to be that the paternal effect is more on the lines of responses to unfamiliar or novel objects, be they people or inanimate objects.

Probably most cat owners have no idea of the paternity of their cats, unless they are pedigrees with a known stud. So, whilst interesting, & maybe something that pedigree breeders should be aware of, it is not something that most "moggy" owners can do anything about.

[angieh]

Can I ask why the researchers supposed the father's "friendliness" gene, rather than the mother's?

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by angieh

Can I ask why the researchers supposed the father's "friendliness" gene, rather than the mother's?

Course you can . Turner's research was about trying to understand the differing effects of genetics & environmental factors on behaviour. He carried out studies on cat colonies. In one colony they studied, the friendly father produced kittens that were much more friendly than did the less friendly father. In another colony the 2 fathers did not differ so clearly in friendliness & yet still produced kittens which clearly differed in this characteristic. It was theorised that a father's friendliness when young & not when adult, may be the best predictor of the friendliness of the kittens, because "friendliness" later in life will have been heavily influenced by experiences & learning.

The later studies by Reisner et al in 1995 supported Turner's findings, that variations in friendliness/boldness is partly explained by kitten paternity.

The reasons for studying the effects of paternity on kitten behavioural traits was because the studies were about how genetic & environmental factors interact to influence behaviour. It is far more difficult to study the maternal genetic effects because the mother cat's behaviour (as influenced by her own environmental/nurture experiences) would influence the kittens' behaviour & would skew the results. It would be impossible to tell whether the mother's influence on kitten behaviour was a result of genetics or via learning from the mother.

However male cats rarely have any interactions with their offspring, so kittens don't learn from their fathers ~ the only effects that paternity can have on kitten behaviour are genetic. So by doing controlled research on the characteristics of kittens fathered by different sires, but raised in the same way, it is much easier to see the effects of genes on behaviour.

Does that explain it? The studies weren't specifically to see if cat paternity affects kitten behaviour, but more generally to see if genetics CAN have an influence on behaviour & how genetics & environmental factors interact. It was only because male cats have no interactions with their off spring, that made cats a good subject for this research.

[angieh]

I think I sort of understand that, but I can't be sure! Thanks wilbar!!!

I think my problem is - how can they discount the mother's genetic makeup or her early interaction with her kittens and how she reacts to humans?

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by angieh

I think I sort of understand that, but I can't be sure! Thanks wilbar!!!

I think my problem is - how can they discount the mother's genetic makeup or her early interaction with her kittens and how she reacts to humans?

Yes i find that difficult to grasp as well. Surely genetics come from both parents, not just the one.

Supposing in a litter of 2, one kitt is indifferent, wary & not friendly but the other is the opposite, affectionate, seeks out company etc, what do they make of that

Of course i never did pretend to understand genetics, very complicated subject!!

[Squirrel]

Mmmm... Now see, to a certain extent I could accept the 'from the fathers side' bit, cause in humans there are a certain number of traits which come from the bit that makes a person male... but I do admit it seems a bit odd that personality would be sex linked! Besides, would they have done that amount of research into the genetics of cat friendliness?