The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat

About this book

Describing feline behaviour from both a mechanistic and functional approach, The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat provides an accessible overview of this fascinating subject. The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat begins by addressing physiological, developmental and psychological aspects, with chapters on domestication, the development of the senses, learning, communication and feeding behaviour. The authors then build on this foundation to discuss social behaviour, hunting and predation, cat-human interactions and welfare. Fully updated throughout, this new edition also includes two new chapters on behavioural disorders due to pathologies and from misdirected natural behaviour. It is the essential source of cat behaviour information.

Contents

1. The Cat: Domestication and Biology
2. Sensory Abilities
3. Mechanisms of Behaviour
4. Behavioural Development
5. Communication
6. Feeding Behaviour
7. Hunting and Predation
8. Social Behaviour
9. The Cat-Human Relationship
10. Cat Welfare
11. Undesired Behaviour in the Domestic Cat
12. Physiological and Pathological Causes of Behavioural Change

Customer Reviews

Biography

Dr John Bradshaw is a Visiting Fellow and Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol, where he was formerly Reader in Companion Animal Behaviour and University Research Theme Leader for Animal Welfare & Behaviour. His main research interests are in the behaviour and welfare of domestic cats and dogs, and their relationships with people; he has published over 100 research papers and book chapters on these topics. Since 2009 he has focused his attention on the dissemination of animal welfare science to pet owners: his book Dog Sense/In Defence of Dogs was a non-fiction bestseller in both the UK and USA in 2011, and has been translated into nine other languages. He was one of the founders of the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ), and has been a member of the Council of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and set up its Accreditation Committee (1999-present).