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How similar are big cats to the furry companion lounging on your couch? Susan Bass, the public relations director at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida—renowned for its incredible collection of big cat videos—explains the shared behaviors between these majestic animals and your beloved pet. (And yes, we’ve requested clips of them “sitting on keyboards” and “lounging in sinks.”)
1. THEY CAN’T RESIST UNROLLING TOILET PAPER…
If you’ve ever returned home to a bathroom covered in shredded toilet paper, you’ll relate to this. At Big Cat Rescue, staff discovered that servals, bobcats, lynx, and ocelots are just as fascinated by toilet paper as domestic cats. "They’re naturally curious about anything new in their environment," Bass explains. Plus, it’s simply entertaining—for them, at least. (Not so much for the person tasked with cleanup duty.)
2. ...AND THEY CAN’T RESIST BOXES.
Offer a big cat a box, and it’ll jump inside faster than you can utter the name Maru. "Similar to house cats, big cats enjoy hiding in enclosed spaces," Bass notes. "They love the illusion of being able to see out while remaining unseen—even though it’s not really the case!"
The big cats at Big Cat Rescue are also fascinated by bags, though not quite in the same way as domestic cats. "We haven’t experimented with bags large enough for them to climb into—imagine the size we’d need!" Bass explains. "Instead, we give them paper bags filled with spices or cologne. Obsession for Men is a particular favorite. They react by drooling and rolling around in delight."
If given a bag large enough to enter, Bass believes, "they’d likely tear it apart in no time."
3. THEY’RE OBSESSED WITH LASER POINTERS TOO.
Every feline, big or small, is captivated by the elusive red dot of a laser pointer. "I believe it’s the rapid movement that intrigues them," Bass explains. "They feel compelled to chase it. Whether you direct it up a wall or under furniture, as I do with my own cat, they’re utterly mesmerized."
4. THEY’RE CONSTANTLY GROOMING.
House cats dedicate 30 to 50 percent of their awake time to grooming, and big cats are equally meticulous. "They groom to eliminate their scent," Bass states. "In the wild, if prey like a gazelle detects a tiger’s scent, it will flee. So, cats groom relentlessly to remove any trace of their smell." Beyond scent removal, grooming also helps them stay parasite-free and regulate their body temperature.
5. THEY LOVE RUBBING AGAINST OBJECTS.
This behavior is all about territorial marking. Both big and domestic cats "have scent glands across their bodies, particularly on their faces," Bass notes. "They rub against objects—whether it’s a couch, a cage, a tree, or even you—to leave their scent and claim their space."
Big cats also use scratching as a way to mark their territory. Unlike lions, which live in groups, most big cats are solitary creatures, Bass explains. For instance, tiger cubs stay with their mothers for only two years before venturing out alone. "Imagine a 2-year-old male tiger wandering the wild and encountering trees with claw marks 8 to 10 feet high," Bass says. "These marks are made when a tiger stands on its hind legs and stretches its front paws as high as possible. It’s a clear message to other tigers: ‘This is my size, and I can scratch this high. If you can’t reach higher, you should move on.’"
6. THEY COMMUNICATE VOCALLY.
Just as your house cat meows, chirps, and purrs, big cats have their own unique sounds, some of which resemble those of domestic cats. "The four great cats—lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars—can roar," Bass notes. "They possess a specialized throat bone that enables this ability." Lesser cats, such as cougars, lynx, and bobcats, cannot roar. "This is likely due to their habitats," Bass explains. "Lions, living on African savannahs, need their roars to carry over long distances—up to five miles. In contrast, a Canadian lynx in snowy regions has no need for such loud communication."
Roaring isn’t the only way big cats communicate. "They all have distinct vocalizations," Bass says. Lesser cats can purr, while tigers produce a chuffing sound, described as a puffing noise from their lips, often used as a greeting. "Similar to my tabby cats, big cats also ‘talk’ to their caretakers. Some are very vocal, like Reise, one of our cougars, who makes a unique ‘bluh-ruh ruh ruh’ sound when you pass by." You can watch Reise playing soccer here.
Here’s an interesting tidbit: While the young of the four great cats are called cubs, the offspring of lesser cats are referred to as kittens!
7. THEY’RE FASCINATED BY CATNIP.
Or at least some of them are. Sensitivity to catnip is hereditary, and about half of domestic cats worldwide show no reaction to it. "The same applies to big cats," Bass explains. "Some are far more enthusiastic about it than others." In one experiment, 18 out of 25 cats at the sanctuary exhibited a strong response to catnip.
8. THEY LOVE TO SLEEP.
Your house cat spends the majority of its day napping, and big cats are no different—they sleep between 16 to 20 hours daily. "This is because, in the wild, they are opportunistic hunters," Bass says. "They rely on short bursts of speed to catch prey rather than endurance. Sleeping conserves their energy, and they can instantly wake up if they detect potential prey, like a passing gazelle."
On the topic of hunting: All cats, regardless of size, are natural stalkers. "Zabu, our white tiger, is a prime example," Bass notes. "She’ll stealthily track anyone or anything that passes by, even golf carts."
9. THEY HAVE PECULIAR EATING HABITS.
My kitten, Pearl, refuses to eat directly from her bowl. Instead, she scoops her food onto the floor, creating a mess before eating it. (Thanks, Pearl.) Bass notes that some captive big cats exhibit similar behavior, moving their food to the ground to eat. "Some are highly food aggressive," Bass explains. "If multiple cats share an enclosure, we separate them during feeding. One might devour its meal and then try to steal the other’s."
Another odd habit of domestic cats is pawing around their food bowls, a behavior rooted in wild instincts. "In the wild, cats may only catch prey once a week and won’t consume it all at once," Bass says. "They attempt to bury their kill to hide it from scavengers and return later to finish it." Some big cats, like leopards, take this further by dragging their prey into trees, keeping it safe from less agile predators like lions or tigers.
10. THEY KNEAD DOUGH.
Big cats also engage in kneading, much like their domestic counterparts! "It’s likely for the same reasons house cats do it," Bass explains. "It’s a natural behavior from nursing as kittens, and they sometimes continue it into adulthood when they’re feeling content."
11. THEY OPEN THEIR MOUTHS TO ENHANCE THEIR SENSE OF SMELL.
Both domestic and big cats possess an extraordinary sense of smell. "While humans detect scents in parts per thousand, cats can sense them in parts per million," Bass explains. When encountering a strong odor, they open their mouths to better analyze it—a behavior the Big Cat Rescue team refers to as "stinky face." "Opening their mouths allows them to process the scent more effectively than using just their noses," Bass adds.
All images courtesy of iStock.
