Strange behaviour in dogs and cats
As a responsible pet owner, who attentively cares for and closely monitors his or her pet, many questions often arise about changes in the behaviour of the pet. Why does a dog yawn? Why do cats, like true herbivores, occasionally chew the grass? Why do they purr? Why do they want to taste faeces? This article is intended to give an overview of the most common examples of strange behaviour.
Cat eating grass
According to various scientific studies, around 80% of cats tend to enjoy different types of plants. The most popular explanation is that this tendency is linked to digestive disorders. However, in a study of hundreds of cats, it was found that only 5% of the animals showed some signs of intestinal disease. Another interesting trend was that 32% of the cats observed vomited after eating grass. By the way, half of the pets chose to eat grass, while the rest chose to eat various other types of plants.
Even more interesting results were observed in the category of young (up to one year old) kittens. Only 1-2% of these cats showed signs of digestive diseases and only 2% vomited after eating. 80% of the young kittens chose a variety of other plants and only 20% ate grass.
This study showed that the tendency to eat grass is a normal behavioural trait in cats and may be related to processes in the body, such as the instinctive need to get rid of intestinal worms. However, a sudden increase in the tendency to eat grass may still be related to intestinal problems and should be monitored by a veterinarian.
Cat purring
Murmurs are usually like music to the ears of their owners and are very pleasant. However, few people are aware of what this cat characteristic means. Lions, tigers and other roaring species do not purr. In contrast, purring species such as domestic cats, cheetahs, jaguars and lynx cannot and do not roar. Roaring and growling probably correspond to different purposes assigned to these animals by their long evolution.
Cats purr when they are happy, but also when they are sick, injured or even when they are having kittens. Some new theories interpret purring as a way of recovering muscles and tendons after a vigorous and demanding hunt. Murmurs have been found to start at 25 Hz, the same frequency used to treat wounds and tissue.
The animal yawns
Yawning is commonly thought to be beneficial because it dilates the lungs and increases the oxygen supply to the brain, but it has been observed that in a significant proportion of animals, yawning results in a slight change in oxygenation.
The currently prevailing explanation for animal yawning is that when the animal is passive, cerebral circulation slows down, which warms the brain. Thus, yawning cools the arterial blood, which flows through the contralateral nasal veins to cool the brain, allowing it to function better.
The infectious aspect of yawning can also be supported by this theory. When one member of the group yawns, the others instinctively interpret it as an inevitable need to cool the brain in the very near future. The contagion relationship is not only observed between dogs and humans, for example, but also between humans and dogs.
A dog eats faeces
Coprophagia has long puzzled and frustrated both dog owners and veterinarians. Unfortunately, there are no effective ways to combat or stop this unpleasant pet behaviour. Daily observations of different breeds of dogs, which were observed to defecate around 10 times each week, showed that certain breeds were more likely to do so than others. Labrador Retrievers (10.4%), Golden Retrievers (5.8%), Bassets (5.5%), German Shepherds (5.3%) and Shetland Shetland Sheepdogs (4.7%) were more attracted to faeces than other breeds (10.0%). The remainder did not find this difference significant.
Other trends observed included a greater tendency for females to eat faeces; all dogs were more attracted to fresh faeces than to aged faeces; and neither behaviour management techniques nor attempts to compensate for the craving with other foods were able to modify the behavioural behaviour of these dogs.