The Social Lives of Free-Ranging Cats

Abstract

Despite the diversity of social situations in which cats live, the degree to which free-ranging cats (FRCs) are social is still debated. The aim of this review is to explore the literature on the social behavior of FRCs. A search of two major databases revealed that observations of intraspecies and interspecies social interactions have been conducted. The intraspecific social dynamics of FRCs differ based on group of cats surveyed. Some groups display strong social bonds and preferential affiliations, while other groups are more loosely associated and display little to no social interaction. Factors impacting FRC conspecific interactions include cat body size, cat social rank, cat individuality, cat age, relationship to conspecific (kin/familiar), cat sex, level of human caretaking, presence of food, the health of the individual, or sexual status of conspecifics. Interspecies interactions also occur with humans and wildlife. The human's sex and the weather conditions on the day of interaction have been shown to impact FRC social behavior. Interactions with wildlife were strongly linked to the timing of cat feeding events. These findings support the idea that FRCs are "social generalists" who display flexibility in their social behavior. The social lives of FRCs exist, are complex, and deserve further study.

Keywords: Felis silvestris catus; cat; cat colony; free-ranging cat; social behavior; social generalist.

Figure 1

Photos of FRC social interactions taken by K. Vitale: (a) a social roll is displayed from one FRC to another; (b top) a male tabby cat rubs his head against an orange male as a greeting; (b bottom) interaction continues into play and full contact social play is seen between the dyad.

Figure 2

Photos of common FRC social behaviors taken by K. Vitale: (a) an orange male cat engages in an allorub with another adult male. Both cats display the tail up signal; (b) Two cats engage in a nose sniff, one cat displays tail up; (c) two male FRCs sleep together in bodily contact; (d) A group of cats sitting in proximity to one another on Tashirojima in Japan.

Figure 3

Photos of FRC–human social interactions taken by K. Vitale: (a) Cat–human interaction at Fushimi Inari, a shrine in Kyoto, Japan. A FRC accepts petting from multiple people at once; (b) FRCs on Tashirojima, an island in Japan, sit on the lap of an unfamiliar human; (c) a visitor to Tashirojima plays with a resident cat using a toy; (d) another visitor to Tashirojima uses a toy to play with a cat. Other cats start to gather to take turns playing with the toy.