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- May 11, 2015
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I thought I would pass this along, which occur ed when Salome was 5 or 6 weeks old and found hiding in a parking lot drainage ditch. Sal was tiny when my daughter found her and she instantly became part of the family. We already had three other cats ranging from 1 year to 23 and Sal seemed to catch on quickly, although she had a few issues. I didn't realize how much kittens learn by watching other cats and had a great chance to witness it first hand.
Since Salome was a new cat, we didn't want to introduce her instantly, and we also wanted to get her checked out by the vet before getting released into the general population. One of Sal's problems was regarding the litter box. Obviously she had never used a litterbox in the wild and didn't know how to use the box in my daughter's room. She also had the habit of eating the litter, which was clay based. When we finally allowed our youngest cat to meet Salome, he bonded well with her and assumed the role of her teacher and protector. He also saw the fresh litterbox and couldn't help but to use it. Salome watched him use the box intently. He did this one more time and next thing you know is that Salome was also now using it. I couldn't help but notice that Sal would watch the other cats and soon picked up some of their habits. Sal learned to scratch the couch from Binks, our huge black cat. From Archie, her protector, she learned how to open doors and get water from the spigot. From Moose, our oldest, she learned how to cuddle and curl up on the bed.
Since she first came to our home, I would slowly blink my eyes at Salome and nod my head at the same time, as well as making a terrible "meow" imitation. Now Salome will stare at me, blinking and bobbing her head, all the while making her chirping noise that she only does for me. I always thought a lot of a cat's behavior was based on instinct, but I'm surprised at how much can be directly learned by watching and imitating other cats (and the occasional human!). There are a million other examples...how many other people have had their cats imitate them? I'd love to hear about them.
Since Salome was a new cat, we didn't want to introduce her instantly, and we also wanted to get her checked out by the vet before getting released into the general population. One of Sal's problems was regarding the litter box. Obviously she had never used a litterbox in the wild and didn't know how to use the box in my daughter's room. She also had the habit of eating the litter, which was clay based. When we finally allowed our youngest cat to meet Salome, he bonded well with her and assumed the role of her teacher and protector. He also saw the fresh litterbox and couldn't help but to use it. Salome watched him use the box intently. He did this one more time and next thing you know is that Salome was also now using it. I couldn't help but notice that Sal would watch the other cats and soon picked up some of their habits. Sal learned to scratch the couch from Binks, our huge black cat. From Archie, her protector, she learned how to open doors and get water from the spigot. From Moose, our oldest, she learned how to cuddle and curl up on the bed.
Since she first came to our home, I would slowly blink my eyes at Salome and nod my head at the same time, as well as making a terrible "meow" imitation. Now Salome will stare at me, blinking and bobbing her head, all the while making her chirping noise that she only does for me. I always thought a lot of a cat's behavior was based on instinct, but I'm surprised at how much can be directly learned by watching and imitating other cats (and the occasional human!). There are a million other examples...how many other people have had their cats imitate them? I'd love to hear about them.
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