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Informationen zum Autor Sarah Brown gained her PhD on the social behavior of neutered domestic cats while working at the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. She has since worked as an independent cat behavior counselor, as a consultant for the cat-toy industry, and has conducted research for and worked with several UK animal charities. She authored The Cat: A Natural and Cultural History , which has been published in three languages; cowrote The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat , 2nd edition; and contributed to The Domestic Cat: The Biology of Its Behaviour , 3rd edition. Sarah lives in London, England, with her family, her dog, and her cats. Klappentext "Descended from shy, solitary North African wild cats, domestic cats set up homes with devoted owners all over the world by learning how to talk to us. This book translates-in case you missed anything. A renowned cat behavior scientist of over thirty years, Dr. Sarah Brown has been at the forefront of research in the field, discovering how cats use tail signals to interact with each other and their owners. Now, she reveals the previously unexplored secrets of cat communication in a book that is both scientifically grounded and utterly delightful. Each chapter dives into a different form of communication, including vocalizations, tail signals, scents, rubbing, and ear movements. The iconic meow, for example, is rarely used between adult cats-cleverly mimicking the cries of a human infant, the meow is a feline invention for conversing with people. Through observing the behavior of two cat colonies in rural England, readers will also have the opportunity to glimpse into the lives of some of the cats behind Dr. Brown's science. Can we understand what cats' meows and other signals mean? How do cats actually perceive us? And how can we use this information to inform how we talk back to our feline friends? Referencing historical records, exploring modern scientific studies of cat-human communication, and including simple, elegant line drawings, The Hidden Language of Cats is perfect for any cat lover who wants to learn more about their companion"-- Leseprobe Chapter 1 Wildcats and Witches Cat said, "I am not a friend, and I am not a servant. I am the Cat who walks by himself, and I wish to come into your cave." -Rudyard Kipling, The Cat That Walked by Himself I stood in the corridor outside the walk-in cat pen at the rescue center and watched through the wire mesh door. The center manager, Ann, already inside the pen, approached the big glaring ginger cat who was crouched against a side wall, eyes like saucers, fur fluffed to the maximum, hissing and growling in a truly terrifying manner. Undeterred, Ann wielded her syringe of vaccine and, with fearless skill and dexterity, quickly jabbed him with the needle. Big Ginger, as we later named him, launched himself. Not at Ann, but up the wall, across the ceiling, down the other side, and into a box to hide in the blink of an eye. Retracing his route with my eyes, I asked Ann, "Did he actually just run over the ceiling?" She smiled. "The ferals often do that." Rookie postgrad that I was, I had to confess to her this was my first proper experience with feral cats, which are unsocialized domestic cats that have reverted to a semi-wild existence. People had laughed when I said I was going to study domestic cat behavior for my doctorate. "Domestic cats? Aren't they a bit boring? Don't you want to go abroad and study big wildcats somewhere?" I figured this one was probably wild enough for me. While Big Ginger and the other cats from his colony were being looked after at the rescue center, my colleagues and I visited the cats' future home, a farm. We put up a shed as a base from which to feed them and, lining the shelves inside with beds, cut a cat-size hole in the door so they could use it for shelter too. A few mon...
