A fair number of smaller cat breeds in the wild actually live in burrows, usually appropriated from the animals that dug them, or they’ll find shelter from predators and the weather under roots and in hollow logs and such.
The instinct to find an enclosed space to lurk in is present in a lot of house-cats.
My cats for example have discovered that the boxes and similar under my bed form tunnels and a small space where they can “nest”, and when we replaced the bed the carpet took some serious cleaning to get the shed fur out of it!
They also like to sit in boxes and go behind the TV-stand for the same reasons.
Cats are both predators and prey animals, and when viewed from this perspective many of their behaviors make sense.
Their primary mode of hunting AND surviving is stealth. They instinctually step in the same with their back feet as they do with their front feet to minimize sound. They have cute lil fuzzy feel to minimize sound. They have whiskers on their face that are as wide as their body that instantly tell them if they will fit into a small space or not. They can have colorings that make them hard to spot in the dark.
All this put together makes cats great at hiding, and they are behaviorally inclined to do so because it is, evolutionarily, a great way to avoid being eaten and to find something to eat.
Cats are both natural predators and small enough to be vulnerable to larger predators like dogs or coyotes and their kittens are vulnerable to raccoons and birds of prey on top of that. Therefore they have a natural instinct to hide their presence both for hunting opportunities and their own safety. The stereotype that cats are stand-offish and arrogant is mostly people projecting human behavior onto an animal that wants to feel safe. My own cat is very comfortable with my presence but even so his favorite place for deep sleep is an elevated spot hidden away in my closet.
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Cats are prey to coyotes and other larger animals. They need to hide to stay alive back when they were wild animals.
They are small, vision oriented, predators. Seeing without being seen is what they are meant to do, and likely gives them a huge endorphin kick.
A fair number of smaller cat breeds in the wild actually live in burrows, usually appropriated from the animals that dug them, or they’ll find shelter from predators and the weather under roots and in hollow logs and such.
The instinct to find an enclosed space to lurk in is present in a lot of house-cats.
My cats for example have discovered that the boxes and similar under my bed form tunnels and a small space where they can “nest”, and when we replaced the bed the carpet took some serious cleaning to get the shed fur out of it!
They also like to sit in boxes and go behind the TV-stand for the same reasons.
Cats are both predators and prey animals, and when viewed from this perspective many of their behaviors make sense.
Their primary mode of hunting AND surviving is stealth. They instinctually step in the same with their back feet as they do with their front feet to minimize sound. They have cute lil fuzzy feel to minimize sound. They have whiskers on their face that are as wide as their body that instantly tell them if they will fit into a small space or not. They can have colorings that make them hard to spot in the dark.
All this put together makes cats great at hiding, and they are behaviorally inclined to do so because it is, evolutionarily, a great way to avoid being eaten and to find something to eat.
Cats are both natural predators and small enough to be vulnerable to larger predators like dogs or coyotes and their kittens are vulnerable to raccoons and birds of prey on top of that. Therefore they have a natural instinct to hide their presence both for hunting opportunities and their own safety. The stereotype that cats are stand-offish and arrogant is mostly people projecting human behavior onto an animal that wants to feel safe. My own cat is very comfortable with my presence but even so his favorite place for deep sleep is an elevated spot hidden away in my closet.
I mean, don’t you just want to vanish sometimes and not reappear until you’re good and ready?