Herding Cats at Home - June 2006

A: Daisy's a MomCat… or at least, she thinks she is…

Female cats, even if they're spayed, sometimes get it into their heads that they're mothers, raising kittens. They'll pick up small, soft items -- "kitten substitutes" -- from around the house, carry them around in their mouths, protect them as if they were real kittens, and sometimes even try to nurse them. This may be caused by the scents of hormones and pheromones wafting in from non-spayed cats outdoors, or it may be triggered by the light and changes of Springtime -- peak season for kitten-birthing. Or, it may be in response to scents or hormones from the other animals in the house. Or even from the humans

Spaying removes the physical organs of motherhood, and decreases production of related hormones, but doesn't remove instinctual maternal urges and behavior patterns, which are laid down in the brain. Some cats just have stronger maternal urges than others, and may continue to produce significant levels of hormones even after a spay. (Sometimes this can be caused by a bit of tissue left behind after the surgery.)

I've also seen neutered male cats who have extremely strong "maternal" urges, and love to bathe, fuss over and otherwise "mother" kittens.

In the wild, a MomCat will move her entire litter to a new nest several times during their first few weeks of life. This is to insure that the nest where her kittens are is always clean and fresh, with no odors or other clues to attract predators. It's possible your cat's activities are meant to move her "kittens" frequently, keeping them safe from potential predators.

The fact that the other critters don't mess with her objects is another clue: Nobody's going to mess with a mama, of any species, while she's raising young. They may be humoring her delusions, or she may actually be secreting motherhood hormones, that the other animals (especially the cats) can detect. That is, to them, she might actually smell like a new mother. It may be they "stare at you" when you pick up the clothes because they can't believe you're brave (or foolish) enough to mess with a new mama's babies. But Daisy obviously trusts you enough to feel comfortable with you doing this.

It might be interesting to NOT pick up the objects one day and see what she does, that day and the following night. Will she bring up a whole new set? Move the ones she already brought up to new locations? Leave all the "kittens" where she left them? If you do this experiment, please tell me what happens! If this interests you, you might want to devise other experiments to see how she'll react - without upsetting her, of course.

Making her "crop circles" is clearly a very important and meaningful activity for Daisy. It may diminish over time, or she may keep it up. Unless it's really disruptive to your household, I'd let her continue with her little rituals. She sounds like a delightful, well-adjusted and happy cat. Of course, no one ever really knows what's going on in a cat's mind - especially a calico's mind.

Q: For the past two years, my eight-year-old male cat disappears for a couple weeks at a time, for no apparent reason. He's an indoor-outdoor cat, but we always make sure he's in for the night. Rarely does he even leave the back yard - unless he goes into one of his Houdini acts. He always returns safe and sound, but I really worry about him. My husband thinks it's a mid-life crisis. I thought of microchipping him just to see where he goes. Is he hunting? Is he bored? Is he searching for our previous residences? He always has check-ups from his vet and he's fully vaccinated and well taken care of.

A: I'm going to assume your wandering guy is neutered. (If not, it's pretty plain what he's out looking for…)

Owner of cats who allow their cats unescorted access to the outdoors need to understand that some day, their cats might not come back. It's just the odds. There are a LOT of dangers out there for an unescorted feline, even a tough-guy cat.

I doubt your cat is having a "mid-life crisis." That's a purely human concept. More likely, over time, he's established "another life" for himself out on the streets (or in someone else's house - which is not unusual, by the way - and BOTH families often think he's exclusively THEIR cat). I suspect his wandering off is just a habit at this point, formed by years of repetition. Cats are very much creatures of habit, and they don't have all those complicated psychological "issues" we do (like fear of age, fretting about the past or future, regrets, etc.) He wanders off occasionally because that's what he's always done. It's his pattern, and no one has tried to change it.

When he wanders off, it could be because he's not feeling well. Or, he starts to chase some prey animal and gets carried away and just keeps on going. Or maybe he gets disoriented for awhile and has trouble finding his way home. Or, he may get trapped in somebody's garage or shed for a few days, or someone may take him in, thinking he's a stray. He's almost certainly hunting (that's what cats DO, after all), and maybe just exploring. He may be bored at home, but more likely he just has a touch of wanderlust, like some people do.

Microchipping him is an excellent idea in any case. But you can't count on him ending up anywhere where his chip could (or would) be read. Many cats that disappear are never heard from again. They can be killed in any number of ways: cars, predators, evil humans, etc. Some cats have climbed into trucks or shipping containers (and even jet planes) and traveled VERY far from home. Only the few lucky lost cats who end up in shelters (or vet clinics or at rescues) have any chance of having their chips read and going home.

So, it's really a trade-off. Once he comes home, unless you decide to turn him into an indoor cat, he'll most likely continue to wander off periodically. That seems to be his style. But you must realize that, given the odds, one day, he won't come home again. Some cats DO beat the odds, wander the world for 15 years and die peacefully in their own kitty beds. But they're the exceptions.