Archive for December 29th, 2009
We’ve all seen the stereotypical scenario. There’s a tall tree with one lone kitten stuck in that tree waiting for a firefighter or good Samaritan to rescue him. But why do cats climb in the first place? If they obviously can’t get down, what drives them to scale the tree? Basically, climbing is a cat’s instinct. It derives from the days when it was a defensive tactic against predators. It also plays on their instincts as predators themselves and a desire to better see the environment.
Even though those instincts are no longer strictly necessary for domesticated cats, that urge to climb has carried over into the present. That’s why your house cat, even without any prompting, has the uncontrollable urge to climb the furniture, counters, or curtains. As a cat owner, it’s best not to try to fight this instinct, because you’re never going to win. Rather, just look into a cat climbing tree. This way, your cat can climb to his heart’s content in the safest way possible.