This book is only the second publication by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. The first, Decoding Your Dog, was received with rave reviews by pet owners and animal professionals alike. Not long after it was published in 2014, people began asking, “What about Decoding Your Cat?” Invigorated by the wonderful response to Decoding Your Dog, we set about creating a similar resource covering the most popular pet in the United States. Our goal was to provide a comprehensive book about the domestic cat, based on science and our collective experience of working with cats and their people. As with Decoding Your Dog, we wanted to set the record straight about cats, provide information that would strengthen the bond between them and their owners, and improve feline welfare.
Cats have shared people’s lives for millennia, but often at a distance, in mutually beneficial coexistence. Nowadays, cats have moved out of the barn and into our homes and bedrooms, where they touch every part of our lives. This change has brought challenges to the lives of both cats and their human families. Central to this change is the recognition that cats are social and have their own ways of interacting with one another and with us. Cats also have environmental, social, emotional, and activity needs that are not always easily satisfied by life indoors. This can lead to conflict between cats and their human families, as well as among cats and dogs who share the same household. By understanding and meeting cats’ various needs, we can enhance their lives and our own.
Cats can be very self-sufficient. Outdoor cats are prodigious hunters who spend many hours a day seeking out the multiple small meals they need to survive. They often live in large or small groups, sometimes ranging over vast areas, and communicate with one another by marking with their paws, faces, and urine. Outdoor life provides a plethora of opportunities for normal marking and hunting behaviors, but these cats are at great risk of harm from predators, vehicles, and even people. When cats live in the comfort of our homes, they are safer, but the desire to hunt for prey, mark their territory, and control their environment remains untamed. It is, therefore, extremely important that we find ways to satisfy those needs, as explained in this book, to prevent behaviors we would prefer not to live with.
Shepherding your cat from kittenhood into old age requires a commitment to his physical and emotional health. Now that you’re at the end of this book, we hope you have learned how to listen to and read your cat, how to set up an enriching environment for him, and how to help him grow old with grace and comfort. Your partner in all of this is your veterinarian, who can advise you on health and behavior issues. At times some behavior problems may arise that are more challenging, and more hands-on behavior help will be necessary. In our resources section, we offer several options for this help, including the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (www.dacvb.org) and the Animal Behavior Society’s directory of certified applied animal behaviorists (www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory).
We appreciate the hard work of our colleagues in creating this wonderful book. We are overjoyed to be helping so many people maintain and improve their relationships with the cats in their lives. “Happy pets and happy people” is our goal, and we hope this book will help you to achieve all that you hope for with your cat.
MEGHAN E. HERRON, DVM, DACVB
DEBRA F. HORWITZ, DVM, DACVB
CARLO SIRACUSA, DVM, PhD, DACVB, DECAWBM