Some people still believe the stereotype: cats have bad tempers. Those of us who love them know it's not true (or not 100%). Or well, even if it is, we don't care (we all have our quirks) and we're happy to talk about the feline goodness and charm of our ARISTOCAT to anyone who will listen.
However, the stereotype persists... Perhaps famous cats like Grumpy Cat or Colonel Meow (rest in peace) have successfully contributed to solidifying this belief. Or perhaps, we have all contributed, because deep down we love that cats are mischievous little devils, that they play pranks on us from time to time... so we can then tell our friends about them with a mixture of annoyance and pride. Whatever the case, science continues to strive to understand why they are this way. There has to be an explanation. Is it a gene thing? Is it because cats descend from big cats? Perhaps because we don't understand what they want even when it's obvious?
Well, no... It seems that the behavioral problems of our kitties arise in the early stages of life and are due, as with many human behaviors, to trauma. A trauma caused by early separation from their mothers and, specifically, by premature weaning. This is according to a recently published study in Nature. According to researchers, the separation of kittens from their mother is so traumatic that it causes them chronic stress. This increases aggression and anxiety... something that in some cases remedies itself over time. But in others, it doesn't.
Early weaning is considered to be the permanent separation of a kitten from its mother, earlier than would occur in nature. Generally, before 12 weeks. Given that the critical socialization period for cats occurs between 2 and 8 weeks of age, it is understandable that early weaning has a great impact on the health and behavior of animals and causes neurobiological changes, sometimes irreversible.
To discover the consequences of this phenomenon in kittens, a questionnaire was developed that studied and compared data provided by the owners of 5726 domestic cats. The results showed that when weaning occurred before eight weeks, the risk of bad behavior increased. The study states that 41% of cats showed slight aggression towards other cats. While cats weaned after 14 weeks showed less aggression towards strangers.
These findings quite clearly link early weaning with bad cat temperaments. And when you think about it, it really does make sense... The solution? Researchers suggest that later weaning would be a simple and inexpensive remedy to significantly improve the character of thousands upon thousands of ARISTOCATS. And, by extension, family life. Given that cats are the most popular pets, understanding their genetics and the environmental factors that affect their behavior is important both for us and for their well-being. So, we'll have to see what impact this study has...
