On The Prowl
猫是一种地盘性的动物，它们喜欢在外面与别的猫划分领地。公猫比母猫尤为如此——公猫的领地可能会是母猫领地的十倍。猫划份地盘是与其自然天性有关的。对于一只野猫来说，占领的地盘越大，觅食的范围就越广，它生存的可能性就越大。虽然家养的猫已没有必要这样做了，但它们仍具有这种占领地盘的自然本能。如果你的猫受到了良好照顾并且生活的很快乐，那么这种本能就不会带来太大的麻烦。家猫会在自己的住处周围占领地盘，并用气味、声音、划痕等标记。它们并不是严格按主人房产的边界划分领地的。领地之间有可能重叠，还会有猫聚会的公共场所。只要猫在其领地上占统治地位，它的领土范围就不会变化。如果一只更强壮的猫来到了它的领地，经过一番对抗后，领地被重新划分。如果同一个房子中有两只猫，它们也会划分领地。它们会在房间中占领不同的领地，而共同使用一些重要的地方，例如它们吃饭的地方。同样它们也会争夺领地。如果新领养一只猫，应让它对周围环境熟悉后再将它介绍给原有的猫。这样它就不会因在一个陌生的环境中而感到自己处于劣势。未去势的公猫会喷射自己的尿液来标记领地，这会造成非常难闻的气味。其他猫也会喷射尿液但不会那么频繁，而且气味也没那么难闻。大多数人无法忍受猫在屋内喷射尿液，但当屋内养有多只猫并且它们要建立自己的社会等级时，或附近有一只新来的猫(或其他动物)时，这种情况也时有发生。
If you have an indoor cat, you may have noticed it doing an unusual thing. Just about the time you settle down for the night the cat will get up and leave the room. A little later it will walk back into the room, make its way around the walls, and go back out again. A little later, one more time around. What’s going on here?
Cats are very territorial animals. This is one reason why pet owners have their cats spayed: if they are not, they will mark up the house with a strong-smelling spray that lets other cats know “somebody lives here.” But even if you’re a cat who doesn’t spray, it’s still a good idea to take a walk around your territory and make sure no one else is moving in.
This is exactly what your cat is doing during these nightly round-the-house tours. Try following it, quietly, some time. Often you will find the cat walks through every room in the house, staying close to the walls, as if drawing a line around the outer perimeter of its domain. In the wild, the area inside this boundary would be hunted by this cat alone, unless someone else wanted to present a challenge for part of it.
Of course, if you have an outdoor cat you won’t see this activity, because its personal domain extends far out into the neighborhood. But you can be sure that about once a day, your cat walks all the way around its territory, doing battle with any invaders and generally keeping stock of things. It’s good to be king. |