Cat Domestication & Biology PDF

don't need to know #'s ↓ More purebreed dogs 48 % US cats and dogs Just differences ~ 52% mix bre...

don't need to know #'s ↓ More purebreed dogs 48 % US cats and dogs Just differences ~ 52% mix breeds Most common breed: French Bulldog F ↑ (based on AKC registration statistics) 75% or more, domestic breed Most common: DSH tabby ↑ Shorthair D 31% - adopted from shelter* 25% - taken in/found as stray 28% - adopted from shelter 25% - friend/relatives 5% - taken in/found as stray ↳ free 8% - pet store cats 26% - friend/relatives 3% breeder 22% breeder 6% - pet store  · harder to understand behaviors Cat domestication ratio : 3: 1 out #dogs Most numerous pet in the world Domesticated >10,000 years ago, Middle East Pest control & companion, interwoven history with the Felis silvestris lybica 4 house mouse (Mus Musculus) reason o Cats better hunters of mice than Canids* ↳ Why we domesticated them Crepuscular active during ↳ wake dawn "dust. ↑ chances to see animals. morning and night Arabian wild cat Felis silvestris lybica, tabby coat · Cats moved w/humans around the world (sometimes Conspicuously) Domestic Short Hair, Brown Tabby Cat domestication to Similar behavior -wild solitary hunters. * Cats are partially domesticated o Can survive (not always well) without help of people o Pest control, companionship Must be socialized at a young age * o Learn to live with us domestic don't show friendly behavior * o Learn to tolerate unrelated cats · Domesticated for pest control then companionship Cat domestication in painting f First evidence of full transformation to pets 4,000 years ago, Egypt 16th century, arrived on the West Coast (US) ‘Humboldt County Cats’ Britian s Russion y Spain si Predators – hunting behavior very important! They hunt alone. need meat source to surive > - o Solitary hunters, obligate carnivores kill 10-20 small rodents o Small prey requires several kills a day > - birds per day to get their o Adapted to eat several small meals throughout Untrients the day/night > - GI not adapted to eat a lotof food& the same time. o Stalk their prey o Research -adult cats play longer & more intensely with toys resembling natural prey Cat social behavior Territorial, require own space & resources Social, live in groups, important for domestication Form strong social attachments with familiar people, and conspecifics (close kin) Bond When they get older can reduce Kitten socialization – sensitive period 2-9 weeks of age – experience with * new people, places, animals, things · Senstive Deriod o Slow, positive, stop if signs of fear/stress * expose them create , Positive experience o Shapes future behavior. Spay/neuter after 4 months of age (sexual maturity), shelters perform early/spay neuter for adoption purposes alters hormone levels , G · spayed early Cat sleep patterns 15-20 hours of sleep per 24-h period ⑧ Of all the animal species, one of the top ones that need the most sleep Multiple short bouts of sleep rather than a long nighttime bout Nap-like sleeping patterns Cat biology 101 - vision See the world in blues & greens Lack cones to see red swell · light , poor dim visualacuity in ↳ 200 (wider 4 (details) Can't see close up or far away Human Cat Image source: Nickolay Lamm Cat biology 101 - vision HelpsIt sea reflects light to retina ↑ 2x Better night vision – more rods, & tapetum lucidum & gives the glowing lights Human Cat Image source: Nickolay Lamm Cat biology 101 - vision ⑳ Poor visual acuity Track fast moving object very well · Don't track slow moving objects well Human Cat Image source: Nickolay Lamm  Cat biology 101 - auditory Excellent hearing – large range of sounds High and low range of sounds, evolved to detect prey o Notoriously hard to categorize – individual variability o Mostly to communicate with humans o Negative cat-cat encounters o Sexual encounters o Mother-kitten encounters · unaine vocalizations how they interact w/ their owners. : Vocal more wins then in the Wild  different postures to Identify what they Cat biology 101 - olfaction are doing Primary method of cat-cat communication Territorial ancestor: little face-to-face communication their scent important Urine – not only used for elimination purposes! o Spraying – deliberate scent marking, males & females, female estrus (heat) o Function of spraying unknown – as spray marks not a deterrent to cats something that prevents from doing something Feces – includes glandular secretions to convey information o Research: cats > time sniffing unfamiliar cat feces vs familiar cat feces = social information gained  Cat biology 101 - olfaction species specific - Sebaceous scent glands – release pheromones,n 9 main areas deposited by rubbing /pawing behaviors Cat biology 101 - olfaction cat Cat communication. Cat’s process and detect pheromones and other scents using their nose and their Vomeronasal organ To transfer scent to the vomeronasal organ, cats use the flehmen * - response (aka stink face) Open their mouth, expose the tongue & teeth, tongue transfers the scent upwards to the roof of their mouth, connecting the oral cavity with the vomeronasal organ The vomeronasal organ communicates with the brain to process the scent information Cat behavior 101 – vocalizations behavior in animals that ↑ Involves threats aggression , Communication with humans Outside of human-contexts: agonism, sexual, mother-kitten Most Common Meow (+) : Purr (+ & -) Chirp/trill (+) * females use. Chatter (+) this for their ↳ young Growl (-) Yowl (-) Hiss (-)  Slow blinking = content Cat behavior 101 - negative ↳ should do It back Fear becoming aggression: Negative behaviors: Back may become more arched Crouching/arched back Direct eye contact Dilated pupils Vocalizations - growling, hissing Side/back ear positions Paw lifted Lip licking Aversion/avoidance Piloerection > - getting Tail lashing Behaviors can be subtle – difficult for experts to identify fear in cats! ↑ LipLicking  Important behaviors/needs n+1 rule Feeding Visualheadin meat sential a ~ 1 eaters Obligate carnivores -es o Amino acid Taurine required from animal products no Multiple ‘catches’ meals per day (~8-10) o Make them work for it – food puzzles!in Spread it out Quiet, low-traffic area * * - 2 cats = 3 feeding areas observational learners Important behaviors/needs N + 1 rule Drinking Quiet, low-traffic area Separate water & food Ad-libitum, clean Nometal bowls Free-flowing ideal recom No Whisker stress ↳ small bowl and whisker hit the sides Important behaviors/needs Elimination Clean the box minimum once per day / Non-scented litter S Clumping litter, clay-based Olfaction IS Important to them Reduce house soiling! Enough boxes for multiple cats – ‘n + 1’ rule Box itself should be large! Research suggests 3cm deep litter one and halfm Place away from food/water, sleep areas head to Quiet, safe area  Important behaviors/needs Scratching Perching/climbing Security Sturdy ,tall ,Sisal rope, carpet Visualize environment Vertical · Multiple feel safe. - : to posts per cat Important behaviors/needs - play Play time & interactive toys Kittens – essential for normal development * Adult cats – pleasure, hunting, mental stimulation to reduce boredom Senior cats – gentle playing, less often, still enjoyable Play with cats at minimum once per day, variable  99 ) stats to new Cat cognition. environment will not do well Challenging to study certain things Relatively little research, cats can be challenging for behavior testing! high stress in new environments, don’t always react well to new people Object permanence Linked to hunting ↳ Cats understand that if they see something and It goes behind understand that the object still exists an object they Social referencing (Merola et al., 2015) Capable of using human cues No owner looking during unsolvable problem, opposite to dogs What is domestication? Domestic: term applied to animals habituated to humans & habituated to human environments where both the Domestication: doguttsonent > E o Biological process - o Development of unique human-animal relationships o Includes mutualistic and commensal relationships Its forma l , long term process than o Different than taming – habituation to human presence Cats o Altered genetic and morphological characteristics of a breeding population ↑ O o Heritable traits – changes made to genetics and morphology Example – Wolves – evolutionary process that favored tameness dogs fully domesticated Vonholdt & Driscoll, 2017, In: The Domestic Dog. Ch.3 Origins of the dog What is domestication? Domestication generally follows 4 criteria (although there are some exceptions) ① ② ⑤ ⑪ 4th criteria not strictly followed PNAS, 2022 theory based = not evidence based > What is domestication? Domestic Dogs: wolves that have undergone a process of selection relating to behavior, cognition, morphology & metabolism, resulting in heritable genetic changes in gene frequencies What about the ‘domestication syndrome’? 4th Criteria Correlated changes in animal morphology, physiology & behavior, driven by the domestication process Lack of evidence, largely theoretical Vonholdt & Driscoll, 2017, In: The Domestic Dog. Ch.3 Origins of the dog Dog domestication Canis familiaris – more US households own dogs vs cats domestication process was brough on by ability to both perform cooperative hunting w/ Oldest domesticated animal! humans. other to scare away and great Predators Dogs descend from wolves Middle-Eastern grey & wolf (Canis lupus) Similar cant Domesticated for hunting skills ∼33,000 y ago Selected friendliness & neotenous characteristics ↳ Juvenile traits preferred Bred dogs to fit our lifestyles: hunting & gathering, herding, livestock guarding, urbanization Europe – dog breeding since 1300s, hunting ~ 400 dog breeds exist today ' purebreeds We dogs. select for certain traits and change their environment From being Fully wild to coexisting w/ humans getting the relaxation of Natural Selection Dog domestication Some genetics not selected for directly, instead occur due to relaxation of natural selection Some harmful mutations accumulate faster in populations where natural selection is relaxed = reduced fitness. Example: When dogs started to live with humans, less fit individuals were more likely to survive and reproduce than they would in the wild  increased disease and medical problems arising from exaggerated phenotypes (example – wpugs!) https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetics-of-dog-breeding-434/ Evolution of dog breeds Research trying to understand the origins of dog breeds 161 breeds, 23 clades Clades = group of animals with same origin Evolution of dog breeds Origins in Victorian England! 8000 Evolution of dog breeds UK, N. & S. Europe Old breeds First dogs to help us in Moving animals Evolution of dog breeds I russel related crg- Pugs exported from Asia to develop other small breeds Evolution of dog breeds Many bully breeds genetically related to terriers of Ireland from the late 1800s Cross-breeding to produce fighting dogs Evolution of dog dogs is breedsMexica Relatedness reflects colonization of Americas by Europeans Dog social behavior adults assist Young about one-two Wolves - highly social! For their parents choose Seasons before they breeding their own little to leave and start o Function as a family unit packs Poor quality research on wolf behavior came up with the idea of ‘Alphas’ - this is false! o Captive wolves, not related, human-decided groups, confined, could not disperse, led to artificial, unnatural groups = fighting o This unnatural dominance behavior is NOT seen in wild wolf packs o Aggressive encounters among wild packs are rare; pack leaders are the reproducing male AND female o Typical packs do not have other reproductive pairs o Family unit s= offspring, parents, older/non-reproductive members Dog behavior more similar to juvenile wolves Evolved social cognition compared to wolves Can be trained using human attention as a reinforcer, wolves cannot Dog social behavior Dogs are a very social species o Pack-type behavior seen Need and enjoy play and social activities Benefit and enjoy being around other dogs and even other species Strong social bond with humans o Similar to parent-child relationship Dog domestication Paedomorphism – retention of juvenile features Physical features: Puppy like smaller size, shorter muzzle, domed head, larger eyes, smaller teeth, floppy ears, etc Behaviour: increased care-soliciting behaviours such as begging, face-licking, reduced fear, curiosity, playfulness, reduced territoriality, increased social contact Other behavioural changes earlier sexual maturity, relaxed estrous cycling, better social- cognitive skills ( Cycle & different times of the Yr. NotSeasonal dependent  Dog cognition Social referencing Dogs can use cues to understand their environment Ability to interpret emotional cues, but limited Not good wh Ex. pointing behavior and understand human gestures Face neutral Ex. Interpret our emotional facial expressions to some Expression extent Guilt in dogs Guilty looks do not accurately reflect whether the dog did something wrong Guilty look is a response to owner’s behavior, not past dog behavior Hare at el, 2002, Hare and Tomasello, 2005; Buttlemann & Tomasello, 2013, Horowitz, A., 2009 Dog 101 active Durning the day Sleep in Night Diurnal activity patterns, match owner patterns o 12-14 h sleep per 24-h , breed & age diffs Spay/neuter 6 - 9 months of age (sexual maturity; ↑ of to early spay/neuter has been linked an depends on the breed) health issue (cancer Urinary Problems) , Moreon Largerdogs Puppy socialization – sensitive period 3 – 16 weeks o Habituate to novel stimuli – people, places, noises, objects, etc o Slow introduction, stop if signs of fear/stress o Help develop them into a great pet – friendly, confident, show normal behavior, helps improve health o Puppy socialization classes important! Dog senses Hearing adapted for hunting mobile pinna to capture sound Vision hear ultrasound; 67-45,000 Hz function under low light · retained sensitive to motion hunting purposes - upright ears some breeds see only green-yellow & blueish hues can capture more cannot see an image if its too close to eyes Sounds (