It’s September and school (whether virtual or in-person) is in session for children. School is also in session for cats. We learn a lot from our cats (e.g., unconditional love, self-esteem, self-confidence, etc.), but it is well known that cats also learn from each other. If you have more than one cat, everyday is a school day for them. They learn more from each other than they do from us. Catherine Holm, in her article, “Do You Have a Copy Cat?” (Catster, Jan. 29. 2016}, notes: “Cats observe and adopt certain behaviors of other cats, even though the behavior was of no interest previously.” Cats can copy eating behaviors, timing behaviors (e.g., learning when they will be fed), and flopping behaviors. According to Andee Bigham, kittens learn many skills from playing with each other including hunting skills, social skills, coordination, communication, and confidence (“Six Life Skills Kittens Learn by Playing with Each Other,” iheartcats.com).
Watching kittens and cats learn from each other can be entertaining and enlightening. When my husband and I adopted two cats several years ago, we realized how important it was that cats learn from each other. Benny, the shelter cat, had been homeless for a few years, and he didn’t know how to purr or meow. When we adopted Jackson (who was only 8 months old and found in a friend’s field), he didn’t know how to knead or play. After a few months, we noticed that Benny started purring (although it was combination of snoring and purring which we called “snurring”), and Jackson started to knead us when he was on our laps (although his rhythm was often off, and he even tried kneading with all four paws). He began to play with toys like his older adopted brother. Previously, he would just look at the toys (even the catnip ones), and he didn’t quite know what to do with them.
Benny and Jackson developed a special relationship and are inseparable so it might be easy to assume that cats copy the behavior of the cats they like. However, that may not always be the case. Several years after we adopted Benny and Jackson, we adopted Trixie (whose pet parent had to go into assisted living and couldn’t care for her anymore). Benny and Jackson tried to befriend her. After five years, however, Trixie only “tolerates” the two of them and has remained standoffish to both. But that hasn’t stopped Trixie from copying their behavior and Benny and Jackson from copying hers. For example, when I’m in bed, Trixie often comes up next to my pillow and snuggles next to me. Benny would always lie at the foot of the bed, but a year or so after we adopted Trixie, I can now expect Benny to come up next to my pillow and snuggle during the night.
However, not all the “copycat” behavior is admirable. For example, Benny and Jackson never begged food from the table. However, that changed when Trixie came into our lives. We don’t feed any of them from the table, but Trixie is constantly at our table begging for food and if we get up from the table, it is not unusual for her to jump on the table and steal something from our plates. After a few months of that behavior, I noticed that Benny and Jackson joined Trixie by the table and starting begging for food.
Benny and Jackson also have a habit of stealing our seats when we are watching television. When we get up for a drink or a bathroom break and often before either of us leaves the den, either Benny or Jackson has stolen one or both of our seats. It has almost become a game now, and on one or two occasions, I have barely stood up and one of them has taken my seat. Trixie never did that until several months ago when she decided to get in on the seat stealing act. Now, we know that once abandoned, our seats in the den are history.
Trixie has the bad habit of not covering her poo when she goes to the litter box (she goes inside but just doesn’t cover). Guess what? Now Benny has decided that when he goes to the litter box, he won’t cover.
So, the next time one of your cats exhibits a new behavior, you might find out he or she has learned it from his adopted siblings because “cat school” is always in session.
