ネコに育てられるネコ,ヒトに育てられるネコ

―同種および異種間の"母子"間コミュニケーションについて―

抄録

Cats are now the most common companion animal in Japan. Cats have had a close relationship with humans for a long time, and sometimes there is human intervention from the earliest stages of development. In other words, they are often raised by humans rather than by their biological mother. Cats raised by humans may perform the same behaviors in humans that they do in their mother cats. This paper outlines cat parenting by biological parents and its mother-infant communication and human-cat "mother-infant" communication, followed by a summary of maternal-like behaviors exhibited by cats toward humans. The process of parenting by cats and the developmental stages of their offspring are outlined, followed by an explanation of the recently revealed role of the father and communication between mother and offspring. Regarding cat parenting by humans, the importance of the socialization period will be discussed, followed by an explanation of various forms of "motherinfant" communication. Then, after summarizing the mother-like behavior of cats toward humans, I will discuss whether cats show tolerance toward human children based on preliminary studies and my own experience. Finally, I summarized the differences between conspecific and inter-species communication and discuss future prospects.