What Your Cat is Thinking by Bo Söderström

What does meow mean?

Smart Swedish scientists sate 

Curiosity

What Your Cat is Thinking: Everything you need to know to understand your pet

By Bo Söderström, translated by Daniel Lind

John Murray Learning (Hodder & Stoughton / Hachette UK), 2019, ISBN 9781473689800

Review & Reflections by BR 

If you are anything like the author, or like me, you will have asked yourself at one time or another, what do cats want? Biologist Bo Söderström’s What Your Cat is Thinking opens a window onto this mystery by drawing together several scientific studies, a selection of them Swedish (this book being Swedish in origin – translated by Daniel Lind) and presenting the findings in a coherent and comprehensible manner, going into detail on aspects of cat behaviour summarised in bullet points at the end of each chapter.

The author decided to make a book of the cat conundrum while listening to “Lundström’s Book Radio” and concluding our feline friends were the obvious next step in the book market after the dissipation of the Nordic Noir trend (this was in 2015 – if Nordic Noir is still going and anyone from Thames Television is reading, I’ve got a GREAT idea for a regional detective series). I’m glad he did because there’s a lot here I am fascinated to find out (and I also appreciate the author’s attitude – pointing out that scientific research is mostly taxpayer funded, so we should be able to see the results if we choose). Amongst many tidbits left on the doorstep of our brain like a mouse’s upper torso is the revelation that most cat breeds are of very recent provenance and differ from each other by as little as a single gene, and we discover that domesticated cats have home areas which can overlap and aren’t defended aggressively – certainly not what I was expecting. Like something from Star Trek, scientists speculate that cats’ purring doubles as low-frequency vibration that can self-massage and speed up healing.

Perhaps of more practical value for cat owners is studies on how cats live together and what can be done to manage the mood (“stop mild conflict with sudden loud noises” – if your cats are in conflict, tap the whiteboard with your marker pen till they stop it), as well as how cats express themselves and what they understand – they can learn what your gestures mean, and owners can learn to interpret what cats are trying to convey, be that by meowing or body language. Cats also communicate by scent – if one brushes your leg, it’s marking you as a member of its pack.

Many of the findings seem reminiscent of our understanding of ourselves: research on kittens indicates that later life behaviour is heavily influenced by early interactions. As for feline mating, that the female comes into heat in March was a mystery to me, but not to those who know the expression “horny as a March cat”, or, perhaps, to readers of Locksley Hall. 

More cat facts:

Cats tiptoe ALL the time. 

Cats have flexible spines and a special reflex that allows them to land on their feet.

DON’T stroke a cat close to the base of its tail!

Cats are more tolerant of strangers.

Stroke cats on the temples and between chin and cheek (they have scent glands there, the ones they use when they rub against plants or what have you).

Cats are most comfortable in an ambient temperature of 30-36C (compared to 20C for humans) which might explain why they love boxes and blankets.

Cats are now more popular pets than dogs in the Western world.

Cats are good for you.

Domestic cats eat up to 20 times in 24 hours!

Cat food should be at room temperature.

Don’t put the food near the water bowl!

Cats are lactose intolerant.

All cats prefer bigger litter trays, some prefer ones without a roof.

Playing with a cat: cats enjoy chasing a length of string the most.

In conclusion, cats are less of a mystery than I imagined and this book is a good explainer.