Photo Credits
Header Photo: Photo of Kristyn Vitale in 2016, Credit to University Marketing, Oregon State University.
All Other Photos: Cat Photography Belongs to Kristyn Vitale, 2004-2024.
Screenshots: Credited below image.
Dr. Kristyn Vitale is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and internationally recognized expert in cat behavior. In 2014, she founded Maueyes Cat Science & Education. At Maueyes, we advance the science of cat behavior and turn scientific research into practical education and guidance for both professionals and the public.
Cats readily learn new behaviors. Cats can be taught tricks, to walk on harness and leash, and to participate in their own care, also known as cooperative care. Cats learn from their environment, whether their caregiver actively trains them or not. Learning principles can be applied to promote the welfare of cats.
Cats and humans have a long history of co-existence that spans back nearly 10,000 years. Cats can form strong relationships with humans and research indicates that domestic cats display socio-cognitive abilities, such a responsiveness to human behavior and gestures, that help them engage in social relationships.
Free-roaming cats (FRC) display flexible social behavior. FRCs can develop friendly relationships with other cats and they can live in highly gregarious social groups.
Shelter cats have unique welfare needs. Shelter professionals can provide enrichment opportunities to cats as well as recruit volunteers to foster cats in their homes.
Applying science to promote the welfare of cats and their caregivers. Early education in animal behavior is also key to promoting the welfare of cats.
Media Quotes
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Cats rival dogs on many tests of social smarts. But is anyone brave enough to study them? Social cognition researchers are finally probing the secrets of the feline mind…”
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The field [of cat behavior & cognition] is definitely expanding,” Vitale says. “Cats are finally getting their due.”
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….a fairly simple study that attempts to peer into the feline mind can break new ground.”
CatSci Blog
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Cats have friends too
Many people think of cats as solitary creatures. But, did you know that free-roaming colony cats have complex social relationships? Cats engage in a variety of behaviors with one another such as allorubbing (one cat rubs against another), allogrooming (one cat grooms another), cuffing (one cat smacks another with its paw), sniffing, playing, laying together…… Read more
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Do cats understand human emotions? Yes!
Here I talk about an extremely interesting study that examined the ability of cats to detect human emotion. The study is entitled “Social referencing and cat–human communication” and was published in Animal Cognition in 2015. Merola and colleagues examined if cats have the ability to use social referencing– or the ability of an individual to evaluate another individuals’s emotional state and… Read more
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Constant and Faithful Companion
Great post by my parents on the joys and sorrows of the cat-human relationship. Read more