50 Pics From “What’s Wrong With Your Cat” Featuring Kitties Exhibiting The Most Hilarious And Bizarre Behavior (New Pics)

To learn more about the behavior that cats exhibit that we as humans tend to perceive as strange, we reached out to Tracey Thomas, Assistant Manager, Cat and Adoptions Coordinator and Amy Chapman, Cat and Adoptions Coordinator, at Helping Dogs & Cats UK Rescue. When it comes to how often cats do things that might make us wonder what’s wrong with them, the experts shared that “it really depends on the cat and also the person viewing the cat.” They provided the example of Amy’s cat, Mildred, who will happily get in the bath with her owner. 

“Cats, by their very nature, are unpredictable and similar to humans,” the adoption experts continued. “They all act differently and have their own personality and character. [We] tend to find that female cats are more unpredictable than male cats.”

And as far as things that might make your kitties act even more peculiar than usual, catnip is sometimes a factor. “Some cats absolutely love catnip and others don’t,” Tracey and Amy noted. “Some cats see themselves in the mirror and start to hiss or even run away, as they think it’s another cat.”

If you’d like to learn more about kitties from these experts, or adopt a cat of your own if you live in the Basingstoke area, be sure to visit Helping Dogs & Cats UK Rescue’s website right here or their Facebook page right here!

We were also lucky enough to get in touch with Laura Watson, Cat Welfare Assistant at International Cat Care, who was kind enough to answer some of our burning questions about kitties. Laura first noted that, although many behaviors cats exhibit may seem strange or amusing to us, they’re likely perfectly normal for their species. “The modern domestic cat that we know today is not that far removed from their wild ancestor, and when we understand their species-specific needs and behaviors, the behaviors that were once thought strange, suddenly make perfect sense,” she explained. 

Laura shared that prior to embarking on her studies diving into the behaviors of cats, there were many behaviors she thought were quite strange, such as when they: “knead (rhythmic pushing of their paws in and out, at alternating times) a person or blanket, sometimes drooling whilst they do it; bring dead prey back inside the home, perceived as a gift for the caregiver from the cat; roll over and show their tummy, perceived as an invitation to touch their belly, but when you do they bite or scratch; open their mouth and draw back their upper lip ‘like a grimace’ after smelling something; sit or lay in very small spaces or high up on the tops of wardrobes, doors, or curtains; suddenly jump if they notice an object close behind them; watch a prey species out of a window and make chattering sounds to them; and suddenly have mad moments and zoom around.”

Laura explained that most of these behaviors are perfectly normal when we understand more about the ethology of cats. “The wildcat ancestors of our domestic cat were solitary predators and did not live in structured groups, relying solely on themselves to survive,” she told Bored Panda. “Where social groups of cats do exist, they appear only to work well when the members of the group are familiar and when there is no competition over food or other resources. Cats can form strong social relationships with familiar individuals, and particularly between kittens in the same litter and between kittens and their mother.”

“The social behavior of our domestic cats is more variable, and they have adapted to group living through the development of social structures, but they still do retain their roots as solitary hunters,” Laura went on to explain. “We now have an understanding that, despite having gone through the domestication process, cats currently live a number of diverse lifestyles, at one end of the spectrum living unowned and free-roaming; hunting for its food, without any human intervention is the feral cat, and at the other end of the spectrum as a companion in our homes is the pet cat and not all cats are equally tolerant or accepting of other cats or people.”

Laura also noted that, as cats are essentially solitary hunters, it’s vital for them to establish their own territories to avoid conflict with other cats. “If a cat incurs an injury during conflict with another cat, they could be unable to hunt, which could be life threatening for them, being unable to eat to survive,” the expert explained. “Cats will mark their territories using scent derived from their facial glands, urine, feces, and anal glands. This territorial marking, together with an extremely sensitive sense of smell, helps cats to communicate effectively and to minimize direct contact between themselves.”