Snorting and Nuzzling: 5 Proofs That Tigers Are Just Like House Cats

Tigers, like house cats, love to groom themselves

These big striped cats spend a great deal of time on self-care. They are incredible neat freaks, but there is a definite point to it. By thoroughly licking themselves clean, tigers eliminate their own scent. This allows them to sit calmly in ambush, waiting for potential prey that won’t catch a whiff of the predator’s presence. Our domestic cats can also groom themselves for hours, even though they don’t need to hunt. That’s how they prepare for sleep, for example.

Tigers and cats mark their territory

Members of the cat family have glands all over their bodies. And the greatest number of them are on the face. That’s why cats rub against the corners of furniture or other objects. In this way they leave «markers» with a distinctive scent everywhere. Tigers also mark their territory and habitat, but by making deep scratches on trees. The higher the marks, the more dangerous the tiger appears in the eyes of its rivals.

Cats and tigers growl the same way

True, domestic pets do it quietly, whereas a special bone in the tiger’s throat allows it to produce a menacing roar. Nevertheless, even a powerful predator knows how to snort – which, in tiger language, according to scientists, means an ordinary greeting. But when a tiger is about to attack someone, it becomes just like any cat: it hisses, snorts – and only then makes its deadly leap onto its victim.

Tigers, like cats, love catnip

Many cats adore «catnip» and react vigorously to it. The same can be said of some tigers. The predators give preference to lemon catmint, ignoring other fragrant plants.

Tigers, like cats, form pairs

Yes, in the wild – this is a great rarity. There they live alone and meet only once every few years to produce offspring, since the female raises the cubs on her own. But at the Samara Zoo lives an almost married couple of Amur tigers!

«The male is named Kaktus, he is 16 years old, and his girlfriend Kassandra, who is 9, lives with him in the enclosure. Only at the zoo can you see tigers living in pairs. But this doesn’t always happen – for example, if the animals don’t get along temperamentally, they usually don’t form a pair. But we got lucky: Kassandra and Kaktus hit it off with each other. They eat, sleep, nuzzle like cats, and snort to greet one another», – says Alena Kireyeva, head of the educational and outreach department.

By the way

One thing cats and tigers do differently is drink water. The predators do it in a very unusual way: they don’t lap it up but instead dip the tip of their tongue into the water, and once enough water has gathered, they close their mouth. A cat, on the other hand, curls its little tongue into a kind of scoop and laps very quickly: up to 4 times per second.

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