Skip to main content

Feline Cognition

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Synonyms

Cat behavior; Cat cognition; Cat intelligence; Cat-human bond

Definition

Feline Cognition: A wide range of feline experiences that inform behavior including sensing, perceiving, learning, remembering, and reasoning.

Introduction

Felines are a diverse group of carnivores that belong to one of two classifications – either the big cats, Pantherinae, or small cats, Felinae, to which the domestic cat belongs. Felines inhabit a range of environments from jungles and savannahs to human homes. The domestic cat has been particularly successful in its social relationship with humans and has lived in association with humans for thousands of years, with the first domestication of cats hypothesized to have begun around 9000 years ago (Ottoni et al. 2017). Despite human’s long-standing association with both wild and domesticated cats, relatively little is known about feline cognition, especially the cognition of non-domestic feline species. However, the research that does exist provides...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristyn R. Vitale .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Vitale, K.R. (2018). Feline Cognition. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1754-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1754-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics