Page 33 - Fourways Gardens Issue 11 December 2023

Estate News

I’m 28 days old and I can move away from my nest. I experiment with
solid food but only for a minute. I respond to changes in my environment.
I hear really well and there are many interesting sounds. I start to place
my paws where I want them to go, which is a great help.

What’s up with Mum? She is making it hard for us to suckle her. She
wants me to start the nursing process instead of the other way around.
Every time I approach her, she shifts her position, making it hard for me
to nurse. She is grumpy these days. Maybe she doesn’t have enough food
herself? I wonder if she knows that I really enjoy suckling, even if there is
no milk. It makes me feel good.

The more I interact with both other animals and humans, the better I
will be at socialising. I have four humans who cuddle and hold me every
day for at least thirty minutes. I have met the family dog, been taken
from room to room, heard loud household noises and have even been
in a car! I will either become an ‘excitable and reactive’ girl or a ‘slow
and quiet’ one, depending on my genetic makeup. We all have different
personalities in the litter, but our environment is good and although we
are relying on our genes, we should all make good household pets! Mmm,
maybe not my brother though; he doesn’t seem that keen on humans. I
have never met my dad, but his characteristics make me friendly towards around 25 minutes a day trying to eat solid food and don’t suckle as
humans, my early socialisation is key. I am not scared, and I am used to much anymore. Mum isn’t as present as she was. I need to find things to
people. My brother’s predatory behaviour is more advanced than mine, eat by myself. The more I learn how to hunt, the more my mother stops
but we will both be able to catch prey when we are older. bringing me prey. I still need her for comfort though. My hearing is fully
developed so I can track noises. I walk, control my bowel movements, run
I want to play with my littermates and mother. They help me develop a short way and balance on a narrow top. When I am placed on loose
into a well-rounded cat. We wrestle and roll with the odd bite happening. soil, I am able to dig a hole, squat, urinate and cover the hole. My siblings
When I play with the humans, I give them an occasional bite too. I enjoy and I need to learn not to be over boisterous as we could get hurt.
trying to run, roll, climb and jump. I am perfecting being able to right my
body in mid-air. All this play will help me interact with prey; the social I am six weeks old; I spend around 50 minutes a day trying to eat solid
interaction will influence my behavioural development and personality. food. I crouch, rush at my brother and veer away as I don’t want to hurt
I am not fearful. We are all learning from each other. Although I do not him, I just want to play! It is good for our development. I am able to look
need to play to develop my innate elementary hunting ability, I will use for an item that I have seen but has vanished. All this helps me practice
these motor patterns that occur in play to help me catch and kill prey. my hunting skills to become a prime predator, although I have a bit of a
defensive personality towards difficult and big prey, like a rat.
I’m nearly five weeks old. I can place my paws wherever I want them to
go, my depth perception is good, and my eyes aren’t cloudy anymore. I have learnt to coordinate my body so that I can become an independent
The detail I see is getting clearer and clearer. I run in short bursts, spend proficient hunter and thus look after myself. I have all the steps of adult
movements. I have caught my first mouse; my brother caught his at
five weeks. When my predatory behaviour kicked in, my weaning
commenced. My mother didn’t teach us to catch prey, but she placed
us in situations where our own responses were important for survival,
enabling us to have young of our own. My behaviour and personality
have been shaped by my genes and environmental factors. Weaning
took me from complete dependence on my mother to being partially or
completely independent. If I had been weaned too early, would this have
affected how I turned out as an adult?

In truth, nobody knows.

Fourways Gardens • 31 • December 2023