Cat Instinct and Learning

As all animals, cats have certain instincts since birth that are common to all the felines: they are by nature nocturnal, depredator, territorial, reserved, and, opposite to dog, they hunt in solitary.

Some instincts evolve by adaptation to domestic life, but they are never lost, which may explain why alley cats present a high index of survival with respect to dogs in the same situation, figure that is even higher in case of domestic cats. No matter how spoiled and secure an animal might feel at home, he will always conserve a strong instinct for survival grounded in the keenness of their senses, the quick reaction and the perfect abilities for hunting.

First instincts
The first evident instinct that kittens have when they are just born is that of feeding from the mother. They must feed from her a few hours after birth or they will die. Besides from the nourishing aspect, the first milk gives them the necessary antibodies to protect them from any possible illness.

The mother is the one who guides them towards the nipples, but what they do there is a question of instinct.

Sometimes, there are mothers that reject one of its kittens, which indicates that they have detected a problem in him; in which case, its better to consult with a veterinary. The period that goes between the second and sixth month of life is a stage of intensive learning in which mothers teach their kittens the basic techniques for survival.

They start by denying them her milk to make them try to look for their own food.

Its probable that the first time you see this process you will feel impressed before the determination and even the rudeness that the mothers whew. This is how they teach the litter to smell and touch the food before eating it.

As they grow and get stronger, she begins to teach them on the hunting techniques, tempting them at first with succulent morsels that she herself has caught.