Cats and their Eccentricities

Cats do have a very peculiar behavior, which can generally be explained by external factors that make them act in a certain way. Whenever they act in a particular way, they actually try to communicate something to their owners.

One thing they may unusually enjoy is drinking water directly from the faucet. There are three reasons for this preference of theirs: they like the sound of water, the look of it dropping and the fresh, cool smell of it. Some cats, but also dogs, like to drink water even from the toilet bowl. Yet this may also have a logical explanation. The fact is, drinking water is usually treated with chemical substances like fluoride or bleach. Cats do have a better sense of smelling than us humans, and therefore can feel that chemical smell. Because toilet bowl water has been sitting a while, those heavier chemicals are likely to have deposited at the bottom of the bowl, which makes the water on top drinkable in the eyes of cats.

Another eccentric thing cats greatly enjoy amusing their owners with, would be dunking their favorite toys in their milk or water bowl. Why on earth do they do that? The fact is cats try to find a safe place for their favorite object, like they would do if they lived in nature. In wilderness, cats use to take their prey to such safe places, to hide them from predators.

Apart from that, cats may also attempt to bury his/her food bowl. This means he either doesn’t like the food you’re giving him, or is simply not hungry yet, and trying to bury it in the ground like he would do if living in the wild, and try to put his "prey" in a safe place till later. The cat may also try to say that he doesn’t like the location of his/her food bowl. Another common cat behavior is rubbing his head against your shoes/ankles. This has a medical explanation. Cats have special scent glands found especially around the eyes, and around their neck, underneath their chin. These glands release some sort of pheromones, which make them feel loved and pleased. What cats actually do by rubbing their heads against their owners is to mark their territory, to really mark their owners for other cats to know. Cats mark their owners as belonging to them. It’s a sign of great affection and gratitude.

Cats may also jump to attack your ankles as you walk by them. This is generally a sign of boredom. Cats feel the need to play all sorts of games to practice their hunting skills and methods. That is why outdoor cats that have to spend most of their time indoors, end up practicing their hunting techniques on their beloved masters. They may hide behind furniture, to lurk in the dark, waiting for the right moment to jump on the "prey" which is, in this case, their owners’ ankles. If this behavior persists and gets annoying, one may either let his cat play and even hunt outside, or, if not, get some special toys or cat furniture. Or maybe the best thing is to recognize the cat’s need to play with their owners, and to find some fun, interactive way of doing that.

While there are some cat breeds, like the Balinese, which are extremely vocal and loud, most cats do not make much noise and fuss without a good reason. Their constant meowing may be a signal that they want something from their owners, be it litter box change, or food, water, or they may feel lonely and bored. Cats can be predictable if you try and know them. They do everything for a specific reason; they are not irrational, snobbish creatures that only mean to annoy humans with their sounds.

A really cute behavior element is when they slowly blink their eyes at their owners. This means they feel very comfortable, pleased and relaxed at that particular moment. If you do that back, cats often shut their eyes completely and fall asleep, as they sense their love for their masters is reciprocated and so they can feel safe and secure.

In short, cat language is not that hard to understand and "speak" after all...