This page links to articles explaining how cats think, whether or not they feel love and other emotions, why they do the things they do, and what they’re saying with their vocalizations and body language. For answers to other common cat questions, see the Cat Facts and Statistics, Cat Care, Cat History, Cat Training, Cat Feeding, Cat Breeds, and Pregnant Cats and Kittens pages. To read about cats that have made headlines and history, visit the Famous Cats page.
- What Your Cat Is Trying to Tell You: An overview of feline vocalization and body language
- Do Cats Feel Love and Other “Human” Emotions?: Research into cat emotions and evidence that cats can love
- Do Cats Have Psychic Abilities?: Research and stories of unusual feline abilities, the science behind some seemingly supernatural abilities
- Why Do Some Cats Attack When Being Petted?: Causes of petting aggression, and how to prevent it
- Are Cats Intelligent?: Evidence that cats are smarter than many people believe
- Which Are Smarter – Cats or Dogs?: Studies of feline and canine intelligence
- Which Make Better Pets – Cats or Dogs?: A comparison based on popularity, usefulness, environmental impact, and other factors
- What Causes a Cat to Refuse Food?: Reasons why cats lose their appetites, and how to encourage cats to eat
- Why Do Cats Hiss?: How hissing assists with self-defense
- Why Do Cats Purr?: How purring speeds the healing process
- Why Do Cats Fight?: Causes of aggression and feline conflict in multi-cat households
- Why Do Cats Rub Against Objects and People?: How rubbing acts as a form of feline communication
- Why Do Cats Play with Their Prey? Why Do Cats Bring Home Live Prey?: Contrary to popular belief, cats don’t play with their prey to be cruel
- Do Cats Like Music?: Studies of and funny stories about feline reactions to music
- Why Do Some Cats Become Anxious, Fearful, or Phobic?: Causes of and treatments for excessive fearfulness in cats
- What Causes Cats to Pull Out Their Fur?: Causes of and treatments for psychogenic alopecia
- Why Do Cats Always Seem to Gravitate to the One Person in the Room Who Fears or Dislikes Them?: The surprisingly simple reason for this seemingly contrary behaviour
- Why Do Cats Scratch Things?: The purpose of scratching, and ways to prevent destructive scratching
- Why Do Cats Prefer Dirty Water to Fresh Tap Water?: Why cats drink from toilets or puddles rather than their water dishes
- Why Do Cats Sometimes Appear to Grimace with Their Mouths Open?: An explanation of the Flehmen response
- Why Do Cats Knead with Their Paws?: The psychology behind “paddling” or “making bread”
- Why Do Cats Make Sudden Mad Dashes Around the House?: A zoologist’s explanation for this feline propensity
- Why Do Cats Sulk?: How the assumption that cats sulk arises from a misunderstanding of feline culture
- Why Do Cats Make Chattering Sounds When They See Birds Through a Window?: A zoologist’s explanation for this common behaviour
- Why Do Cats Roll on Their Backs to Greet People?: How this behaviour can signify friendship
- Why Do Cats Go Crazy for Catnip, Mint, and Valerian?: How cat-attractant plants work their magic on the feline brain
- Why Do Cats Howl?: Howling, especially at night, often signifies psychological or medical problems, though there can be other causes
- Do Tom Cats Kill Kittens?: Behaviour of male cats toward their own kittens and those sired by other males
- Why Does a Tom Cat Bite a Female’s Neck While Mating?: A simple explanation for this behaviour
- Why Do Mother Cats Move Their Kittens from Place to Place?: Causes of kitten moving, and how to prevent it
- Why Do Some Cats and Dogs Eat Soap?: A veterinarian’s explanation
- Can Indoor Cats Be Happy?: Myths about indoor cats, what indoor cats need to have a good life
- What Causes Cats to Have Accidents Outside the Litter Box?: Why cats soil around the house, and how you can prevent it
- Why Do Cats Attack Dogs?: Causes of feline-to-canine aggression, and ways to prevent attacks and break up fights
- Does Spaying or Neutering Affect a Cat’s Personality or Behaviour?: Answers to frequently asked questions about spay/neuter surgery, encompassing personality and behavioural effects, safety, and more
- Why Do Some Cats Suck on Fabric, Wool, or Hair?: Causes of wool sucking in cats; how to stop wool, fabric, and hair sucking
- Why Do Cats and Dogs Eat Grass or Houseplants?: Expert theories regarding this common behaviour
- Why Do Some Cats Like Shoes, Socks, Feet, Bleach, or Chlorine?: There may be a common element to all of these cat attractants
- What Causes Cats or Kittens to Eat Dirt, Kitty Litter, or Plastic, or Lick Photographs?: Why cats eat nonfood items, and how to stop this behaviour
- Why Do Some Cats Suffer from Separation Anxiety?: Causes of separation anxiety, and how to deal with it
- Why Do Cats Play with Water?: The reason for this behaviour, and how to prevent problem play, such as spilling water bowls
- What Causes Cats to Drink More Water and Pee More Often?: Common medical problems that trigger these symptoms
- Why Is My Cat Eating So Much?: Causes of increased appetite in cats
- Why Are Some Cats Not Very Affectionate?: Causes of aloofness in cats, and ways to bond with an aloof cat
- Why Does My Cat Pee on the Bed or My Clothing?: Causes of accidents on beds and clothing, and ways to prevent this behaviour
Our male cat caught a mole and brought it in to
The house to play with it. I caught it and took it back outside. Since then he is despondent, not eating, hiding, quiet, and not playing/interacting as normal. How can I help him. I didn’t yell or freak out when I took it away. I feel like he is depressed. He even hissed at his sister when she approached him last night.
Does anyone have some insight into this behaviour?
That is because your cat brought you a gift. A magnificent gift and symbol of your domain over lesser creatures that you both reign together.
and your blatant rejection of its hard earned gesture of love and respect has deeply insulted you cat. You have a lot of work to do to apologize. Good luck with trying to earn your cats happiness and respect back. He may very well have a deep disparaging, loathsome shunning feeling for you now. He may never forgive you. only fervent and sincere encouragement will win him over.
Try doing things like “letting him ride in the front seat,” so to speak.
Additionally, he is spiteful and jealous of his sister for still being in good standing with you, over him.
Buy feliway plug ins and put one in almost every room. They are worth every penny! But only feliway brand though, not comfort zone! Buy a few catnip toys for him too, and some temptations cat treats.
I got my cat from the humane shelter ,shes a female who was pregnant and the took the babies from her ,and spayed her,but we love her ,but she wont come out of room ,except when were all in bed she explores the house,and goes uses the litterbox ok, but hides from us all day ,we visit her and pet her but she wont come out otherwise and hides under the bed ,,,,its been a week now since she came to live with us ??? she must of went thru hell in her 9 months of living any comments please enlight us thank you
Adopted cats, particularly those that have experienced trauma, can take many weeks or even months to warm up to people. There are strategies that can help to speed the process, such as giving her treats or using a wand toy to try to get her to play, but it will still take time. You could also try putting an object of clothing you’ve worn in her favorite hiding spot – that will help her get comfortable with your scent, which will make it easier for her to bond with you. Most cats are very frightened when they come to a new place and it takes a lot of time for them to feel safe and develop trust. This is normal – it doesn’t mean that she won’t come to trust and love you over time.