If you have more than one cat, you've probably seen them wrestling with each other. Cats love to play, and even adult cats who are serious mousers will chase a laser light for fun. We hope they are playing when they wrestle with each other, since we don't want to see them get hurt. That goes double when your cat wrestles with a cat you don't know. How can we tell when a cat fight is playtime or a serious fight?
Researchers at a veterinary school in Slovakia watched 105 videos of 210 cats in tussles, and rated them as play, serious fights, or intermediate behavior. The behaviors they observed will help us figure out when playful wrestling may turn into a dangerous fight. The good news is that the majority of the fights in the videos were definitely playful. The bad news is that playful behavior can turn into real fights when one cat wants to stop and the other doesn't get the message. If cats start making noises, that's a bad sign. One cat chasing another is a bad sign, too, but only if it's one-sided. Playful cats will take turns chasing each other. Read more about the study and how cats fight at Popular Science. -via Real Clear Science
(Image credit: Benyon3)
