Cats Protection and Understanding Feline Behaviour - video transcript

Hello I’m Maggie Roberts Director of Veterinary Services at Cats Protection. Welcome to this course.

Do you think humans are from Mars and cats from Venus? UFO - Understanding Feline Origins, this may seem like a strange title but what makes our domestic pets what they are today? Are humans and cats so very different?

Cats Protection is the UK’s largest feline welfare organisation with our three objectives – the rehoming of needy cats, the support and promotion of neutering and the provision of education on cats and their care. We do this via our staff and the thousands of volunteers in our adoption centres and branches all over the UK. Cats Protection has a single and clear vision, a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs.

This may seem obvious but this vision is entirely dependent on the widespread understanding of cats needs. In the past often cats have been misunderstood or misrepresented. They were tortured and persecuted in the Middle Ages and even today it’s not just those who claim not to like cats, but often those who work with or have cats, don’t fully understand their needs.

In order to fully understand the species Felis silvestrus catus - today’s domestic cat - and understand its behaviour and needs we must not only look at today’s cat but also look at its ancestor and its place in the eco system and how it came to live alongside man.

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