The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat

Book excerpt: The behaviour of domesticated animals is a subject of great importance to students of animal behaviour and veterinary medicine, as well as interested pet owners. This new edition of the 1992 book fully updates the original chapters with new research from the past two decades, while also including two new chapters covering behavioural disorders due to pathologies and from misdirected natural behaviour. " Fully updated throughout" New chapters" Written by well-renowned feline behaviour expertsThe book aims to present a readable overview of the behaviour of the domestic cat, adopting both a mechanistic and functional approach. The first half of the book is mainly concerned with physiological, developmental and psychological aspects; this includes chapters on domestication, the development of the senses, learning, communication and feeding behaviour. To provide a comprehensive resource on the subject, the second half of the book looks at social behaviour, hunting and predation, cat-human interactions and welfare. Also essential reading for cat breeders and researchers of domestic animal behaviour, this new textbook is the quintessential source of cat behaviour information.