Feline Behavior

Professor, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary MedicineTexas A&M University, College Station, TX, USARecognized internationally, Dr. Beaver has given more than 250 presentations, authored more than 175 articles and 9 books on animal welfare and behavior. She has been president of the American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, American College of Animal Welfare, and American Veterinary Medical Association and served on special advisory committees for USDHEW, National Research Council, PEW National Veterinary Education Program, and ILAR. Honors include Distinguished Practitioner-National Academies of Practice, AVMA Animal Welfare Award, Friskies PetCare Award, Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award, Legend in Veterinary Medicine (1 of 12), and an honorary DSc degree. Dr. Beaver also co-authored Efficient Livestock Handling: The Practical Application of Animal Welfare and Behavioral Science (2015) and was a section editor for the highly respected Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior (which won the PROSE Award and CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title), both published by Elsevier/Academic Press.

Introduction to feline behaviour: history of feline development; current status of the field; introduction to evaluating behaviour problems. Part 1 Feline behaviour of sensory and neural origin: the senses; feline play behaviour; feline learning; neurological origins of behaviour; sensory and neural behaviour problems. Part 2 Feline communicative behaviour: vocal communication; postural communication; marking communication; communicative behaviour problems. Part 3 Feline social behaviour: social organization; socialization; aggression; social behaviour problems. Part 4 Male feline sexual behaviour: sexual maturation; premating behaviour; mating behaviour; postmating behaviour; paternal behaviour; neural regulation; male sexual behaviour problems. Part 5 Female feline sexual behaviour: sexual maturation; reproductive cycles; interspecies mating; pregnancy; maternal behaviour; neurological and hormonal controls; female sexual behaviour problems. Part 6 Feline ingestive behaviour: suckling ingestive behaviour; transitional ingestive behaviour; hunting behaviour; food preferences; water consumption; neural and hormonal regulation; ingestive behaviour problems. Part 7 Feline eliminative behaviour: eliminative behaviour development; adult urination; adult deefecation; eliminative behaviour problems. Part 8 Feline locomotive behaviour: fetal growth and movements; infant growth and movements; adult movements; resting behaviours; the train and locomotion; locomotive behaviour problems. Part 9 Feline grooming behaviour: grooming functions; grooming patterns; neuroendocrine and grooming relationships; grooming behaviour problems. Appendices: phonetics of feline vocalization; sensory response development; motor response development; miscellaneous response development.