Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether a cat likes you or utterly despises you – and now it turns out they’re aloof even with their own kind.
Researchers have discovered that cats sometimes groom each other out of spite before quickly turning aggressive.
A team from Ghent University in Belgium explored the behaviour of grooming – when cats use their rough, sandpaper–like tongues to clean and maintain their coats.
It was widely believed that if a cat licks another cat – a behaviour known as ‘allogrooming’ – the two cats are friends.
However, experts discovered that it can actually be a sign of conflict between the animals.
‘Allogrooming can also be used in contexts of social tension,’ they wrote in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
‘Socially tense cats show asymmetric postures, ears back and displacement behaviour.
‘In these contexts, allogrooming may be either used as a form of appeasement to avoid escalation or as a subtle agonistic signal to covertly solve conflict.’
While allogrooming is sometimes used to bond, on occasion it can be a sign of conflict between two cats
When a cat licks another cat’s neck is can be a sign to initiate play, or an indication of underlying tension (file image)
For their study, the scientists recruited 53 people who owned two cats.
The owners were asked to film their cats when they groomed each other.
The results revealed that allogrooming can be used by cats as a subtle aggressive signal.
‘Cats prefer to use a subtle warning rather than claws or teeth, as they themselves run the risk of being injured in a fight,’ the researchers said.
‘Allogrooming can therefore also be used as a subtle aggressive signal, for example when both cats want the favourite spot in the sun to rest.’
They observed that sometimes when one cat licks the other, often on the neck, the other will flatten its ears because it does not particularly enjoy the interaction.
A further pattern was identified involving swiping with the paw, scratching and biting.
‘We also observed many subtle signs of tension, such as a cat shaking its head, scratching behind its ears, yawning or licking its lips,’ they added.
Autogrooming, when a cts grooms itself, focuses on the central body area while allogrooming, when a cat grooms another, focuses on hard–to–reach areas such as the head, neck and ears
‘These are subtle stress signals, and they occurred particularly when the cats did not have the same body posture. For example, one cat leaning over the other.’
However, if you spot one of your cats licking the other, it may be a positive signal.
The results showed that grooming can sometimes strengthen social bonds, serve a hygienic purpose or help the recipient to relax.
‘We have observed that seeking physical contact – such as snuggling up together in a cat basket – is followed by allogrooming in 41 per cent of cases,’ they said.
A cat will often focus the grooming specifically on the head or ears. Cats’ ears are very sensitive and have scent glands in the area, making this pleasant for the recipient.
‘We observed that allogrooming is also linked to play,’ they added. ‘When cats play they wrestle. We saw that many cats wrestled, and allogrooming was sometimes used to initiate play.
‘In such instances, licking typically occurs in the neck region – the area where cats also frequently bite each other during play.’
This chart shows how some cat behaviours are more likely to lead to others. For example, physical contact between cats is followed by allogrooming in 41 per cent of cases
The news comes shortly after a study revealed that cuddling cats can actually make you feel worse when you’re stressed.
Researchers from The Open University in the Netherlands set out to understand the effects of interacting with pets during stressful moments.
Their results revealed that cuddling a dog did not have much of an impact, while cuddling a cat made people feel even worse.
‘Our findings indicate that stress–buffering is not the mechanism causing momentary emotional well–being when interacting with a pet,’ said corresponding author Dr Mayke Janssens.
‘Interaction with either species did not act as a buffer for negative emotions.
‘In cats, we even observed that a higher level of interaction was associated with a stronger link between stress and negative emotions in owners.’
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR CAT? THE 13 SECRET SIGNALS FELINES GIVE THEIR OWNERS
Cats are often branded aloof and solitary creatures who spend their days plotting their human owner’s demise, but such characterisations could not be further from the truth.
In fact, our feline friends constantly communicate their feelings of affection to us, whether it be through their whiskers, tail, face or body language.
In her eye-opening new book Kitty Language: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Your Cat, author Lili Chin – with the help of animal behaviourists – explains how to interpret your pet’s movements.
Below are some of the most common behaviours and what they could signal.
Our feline friends constantly communicate their feelings of affection to us, whether it be through their whiskers, tail, face or body language
