“Visual and Tactile Communication in the Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus) and Undomesticated Small Felids”, 1997-09 ():
The domestication of the cat is thought to have resulted in two important changes to its behavior; firstly the presence of a high density of food around human settlements caused an increased in its intraspecific sociality, and secondly, the cat developed an increasing tolerance for humans. In this thesis the effects of domestication on the signaling methods of the domestic cat are investigated and compared with those of undomesticated species from the family Felidae.
Captive groups of undomesticated felids were selected for observation with the intention that different degrees of relatedness to the domestic cat were represented in the sample. These were Felis silvestris ornata (Indian desert cat: domestic cat lineage), Felis chaus (jungle cat: domestic cat lineage), Caracal caracal (caracal: pantherine lineage) and Oncifelis geoffroyi (Geoffroy’s cat: ocelot lineage).
All were found to exhibit the majority of social behaviors and signals that are known to be part of the domestic cat ethogram, with the exception of the ‘Tail Up’ signal, which was not performed in the affiliative context in which it is used in domestic cat colonies. It was therefore concluded that Tail Up evolved to function as a signal in the domestic cat, possibly during domestication. All 4 species were found to have adapted well to an enforced social life in captivity, and to show much social behavior, despite being solitary in the wild.
This suggests that social plasticity, a trait which may have been the basis of domestication, is widespread among the fields.
The Tail Up signal in the domestic cat was subsequently investigated in more detail, by analysis of field observations of interactions in which it occurred, and via a manipulation experiment (using cat silhouettes as stimuli). Tail Up was found to occur in affiliative situations, and to be particularly temporally connected with social rubbing. Social Rub (affiliative) interactions were most likely to occur if preceded by an initiator Tail Up Approach which had been reciprocated by a Tail Up by the recipient. Cats approached Tail Up silhouettes faster, and with less hesitation or fearfulness, than they did Tail Down silhouettes. It was concluded that in the domestic cat, Tail Up acts as a signal of intention to be affiliative (i. e. an intention indicator). This signal is likely to have evolved as a mechanism for reducing aggression caused by unwanted advances in the high density colonies which are thought to have formed around human settlements during domestication.
Human-directed signals in the domestic cat were investigated by (1) comparing domestic cat human-directed and cat-directed behavior, and by (2) comparing human-directed behavior in domestic and undomesticated captive felids. The latter was carried out by means of a questionnaire to zoo cat keepers.
Contrary to expectation, the highest proportion of human-friendly cats was found in the ocelot lineage (Oncifelis geoffroyi, Leopardus pardalis and Leopardus wiedii), and not the domestic cat lineage (five Felis spp.). The pantherine lineage (Prionailurus spp., Caracal caracal, Leptailurus serval, and 3 Lynx spp.) had the highest proportion of human-unfriendly individuals.
In the domestic cat, intraspecific signals were found to be the basis for all interspecific (i. e. human-directed) signals, although the signals were both physically and contextually different in the two situations, such that human-directed signals have developed to be distinct from cat-directed signals. Meowing and kneading with the front paws, both commonly performed by domestic cats towards people, were virtually absent from the human-directed repertoire of the undomesticated felids, and are therefore likely to be a product of domestication.