San Jose cat’s behavior confuses first-time cat ‘mom’

DEAR JOAN: I am a single woman, working from home during the pandemic. In April, after I complained to a friend over Zoom that I was feeling lonely and isolated, she suggested I adopt a cat.

We had cats and dogs when I was a child, but I never had my own cat and I was nervous about how it would go. After looking at cats online, I ended up adopting one and after a few days, we became best friends. I never thought I could love a cat so much. She is just the perfect little buddy.

I do have some questions, though, about some of the things she does. At bedtime, she gets full of energy and runs around the house. A time or two she has attacked me, which scared me. It wasn’t a big deal, but she did pounce on my leg and those claws are sharp.

Is this normal or is she saying she doesn’t want to go to bed?

The other thing she does is butt me with her head and rub her head against me. It doesn’t bother me at all, but I don’t know why she’s doing it. I feel like maybe she’s trying to push me away.

Can you tell me more about this? Is there something I need to do about it?

Alesha K., San Jose

 

DEAR ALESHA: Congratulations on finding the perfect cat — the one who loves you and the one you love. Although I now have a cat-hating dog, I’ve always loved cats and, don’t tell my dog, I sometimes miss those special interactions and conversations you can only have with a feline.

The behaviors you’re seeing are nothing to worry about. It’s just a cat being a cat.

Cats sleep most of the day away, but at night, their inner wild cat tells them it’s time to hunt. They tend to have a burst of energy at this time and lacking real prey, they often  hunt us. I had a cat who would jump up on the washer-dryer, which I had to pass on my way to bed, and take a big swipe at me as I walked past. It was our little nighttime ritual.

The head butting is not trying to push you away, but is instead an embrace, of sorts.

While dogs tend to send their humans as “not dogs,” cats consider us part of the clowder, just another cat, although a strange looking one.

Cats carry a lot of scent markers in their faces, and in a move called bunting, they butt and rub against other cats — and objects — to mark them with their scent and claim them as their own.

Your cat is saying that you belong to her, and that’s a great honor in the cat world.

DEAR JOAN: I saw the article about the outbreak of adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in deer. How about goats and sheep? They are close enough to deer that it may be a problem.

Alma Merriman, Bay Area

DEAR ALMA: Although goats and sheep can often share some of the same diseases, researchers are fairly certain that they can’t contract this particular virus. In past outbreaks, there have been no reported cases of spread to domestic livestock.

While sheep and goats are in the same Bovidae family, deer are part of the Cervidae family, and that should be enough to protect them.

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