Harrison WorldLAB Symposium

 
Topic: Cat Behavior
 
Group Members: Sarah and Annie
 
Hypothesis guiding the project:We predict that domestic cats have similar behavior to wildcats.
 
Overview of the three required learning activities:
1.We visited the zoo.
2.We visited an animal shelter
3.We followed a cat sitter around for a day.

 
Findings (list):
1.At the shelter, caging cats is difficult because they can become severly depressed and or develop disorders
2.Whether females react differently from males is more dependent on the cat's personality.
3.Depression in cats happens often when they are caged in shelters, signs might be they sleep in their litter box, hide behind it, or lay in corners and not move for days.More symptoms: stops eating, lack of intrest in toys,and lays around for the day. Depression can be caused from seperation anxiety.
4.When first brought into the shelter, they are very frightened and nervous, they call out from their cages and pace around looking for a way out.
5.Kittens become more quickly accustomed to their circumstances than older cats because of inexperiance.

 

 
Conclusion: Our hypothesis was proven correct. The most similar characteristics between wild cats and domestic cats was the structure and movement, they are also similar in their hunting skills, and they're both independent types of animals.
 
Questions raised for further study:
1. Can cats see color or are they colorblind, if so to what degree?
2. Is a male or female more territorial?
3. Do wildcats eat grass for digestion like domestic cats do?