How much do cats understand?

[m935]

This is about my cat boo. I can only have 2 at a time. He has lived with 3 others.

The first cat was 8 years older and never wanted to play with boo.

The 2nd was an elderly "feral" female who i brought inside and lived for another 2 years. She Did want to play with boo ... but he never allowed her to. Ran from her.

The 3rd cat was adopted after i put una down 2 months ago and he and boo are already chasing, wrestling.

boo clearly likes to play with others but why did he avoid the 2nd cat? She was clearly the runt of her litter. 5 lbs!

Did he know she was weaker than he?? Was it about not hurting her or something else?

Thanks

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. A question that I am not sure we will ever completely answer. Cats sense things about other cats - and some can be obvious to us and others not. Was Una the dominant cat (despite size) and Boo knew that and he took his cues from her - even if it looked like to you that she wanted to play with him? Probably. Or did he see her as weaker and therefore left her alone? Maybe.

There is a pecking order, if you will, among most all animal groups. They know about it even if we don't or can't always understand it. Your third cat was brought into your home after Boo, so there are a few things to consider. Boo could be viewed as the 'dominant' cat at that point. But Boo sounds like a gentle natured cat not necessarily looking for dominance, but rather companionship with what he can view as an equal, and it would seem he has now found that.

I'm sure others will come along with more eloquent thoughts than mine. I'll be interested in reading them!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Cats are, I believe, far more intelligent than they are given credit for, and they are masters of reading situations. We can never know exactly what Boo's thinking was, but he saw something in Una that told him that she was not a suitable playmate. Perhaps he knew that bit of wildness left in her could get out of hand. Perhaps her size. But he knew.

The most important thing is that he now has, and recognizes, an appropriate playmate!

 

[m935]

Thanks for the input. It's been interesting to watch. I've only had 5 indoor cats in the past 18 years.. ever. He was the aggressor as the new cat then less dominant with 2nd.. it's like Goldilocks. Perfect match finally.

Another situation.. as the new cat he would always lay down with the other... then with una... she'd lay down with him.. never other way around. Now already these 2 are just... whatever.

 

[alysker]

Like others said we might never know! We had three cats, and one of them only decided to come downstairs and enjoy life after the other 2 were gone. But they never had a fight or anything so it's not like they disliked each other. That was always such an interesting thing to me

 

[iPappy]

I'm not sure what their thoughts on these situations are. My guess is that animals and their social lives are a bit like ours. Sometimes we meet someone we don't really click with. And sometimes we find someone we click with immediately. Who knows why? Maybe Boo, for whatever reason, didn't "click" with Una but clicked with the new cat.
When I found my tortie as a kitten, she and my 5 year old dog bonded immediately. They were together all the time, the best of friends. I got a new puppy about 6 years later, and the tortie did not like her one bit and stuck with her dog friend, who was 11 at the time. When the dog she was bonded to passed, I was hoping she and my current dog would bond and they didn't. A year and a half later after that dogs passing, my tortie is finally initiating play with my other dog.
I had litter mate cats. Male and female. Strongly bonded. My male cat passed away last month. The female I thought would bond strongly to me, and she has a bit, but she has taken an incredible liking to my dog. Meanwhile, the two cats co-exist happily but have strong societal cues I don't even try to understand anymore. Just the other day, my older female was giving the tortie a bath, and the tortie was leaning into it, chin up, purring up a storm. When the older female got done giving her a bath and turned to herself, she stretched a back leg out that touched my tortie's side. The tortie took offense to this (despite being half-smothered moments ago), and a tense staring match began. They don't fight, but they definitely have a language I cannot understand.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Just the other day, my older female was giving the tortie a bath, and the tortie was leaning into it, chin up, purring up a storm. When the older female got done giving her a bath and turned to herself, she stretched a back leg out that touched my tortie's side. The tortie took offense to this (despite being half-smothered moments ago), and a tense staring match began.

"You TOUCHED me with your FOOT!"

 

[m935]

I'm not sure what their thoughts on these situations are. My guess is that animals and their social lives are a bit like ours. Sometimes we meet someone we don't really click with. And sometimes we find someone we click with immediately. Who knows why? Maybe Boo, for whatever reason, didn't "click" with Una but clicked with the new cat.
When I found my tortie as a kitten, she and my 5 year old dog bonded immediately. They were together all the time, the best of friends. I got a new puppy about 6 years later, and the tortie did not like her one bit and stuck with her dog friend, who was 11 at the time. When the dog she was bonded to passed, I was hoping she and my current dog would bond and they didn't. A year and a half later after that dogs passing, my tortie is finally initiating play with my other dog.
I had litter mate cats. Male and female. Strongly bonded. My male cat passed away last month. The female I thought would bond strongly to me, and she has a bit, but she has taken an incredible liking to my dog. Meanwhile, the two cats co-exist happily but have strong societal cues I don't even try to understand anymore. Just the other day, my older female was giving the tortie a bath, and the tortie was leaning into it, chin up, purring up a storm. When the older female got done giving her a bath and turned to herself, she stretched a back leg out that touched my tortie's side. The tortie took offense to this (despite being half-smothered moments ago), and a tense staring match began. They don't fight, but they definitely have a language I cannot understand.

I did catch una giving boo a bath twice. But coyldnt tell if he wanted it. she would also sleep with him in the same cat bed
She'd either squish him or be on top of him. Felt bad as if he might be scared of her and just dealing with forced closeness.