You'd Be Surprised To Learn What Your Cat Thinks About You

Cats get a bad rap.

They pretty much do what they want and are generally thought of as less friendly than dogs.

But a new book,"Cat Sense," provides fresh insight into the relationship between cats and humans, and gets to the heart of why cats have earned their reputation as being furry little jerks.

The book is based on 30 years of research by John Bradshaw, a biologist and director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol.

Here are some of the most interesting findings we've seen in interviews and reviews of Bradshaw's book:

• The cat's purr isn't just a sign of being content. Kittens purr to get their "mother to lie still while they're suckling," Bradshaw told NPR in an interview. The purr is carried into adulthood, where it's used as "a signal to the animals, [and] the people around them to pay attention and try to help them."
• Cats are different than dogs because they weren't purposely bred to be our companions, Nicholas Wade explains in a review for the New York Times. They are still mostly wild animals that "rely almost entirely on their natural social behaviors," writes Wade.
• This is also why cats have earned a reputation for being unfriendly. The domestic cat population is largely controlled through spaying and neutering, leaving mostly wild or feral cats (known for their nasty behavior) for domestic cats to breed with. As a result, we are unintentionally "causing cats to evolve into animals society won't like as much," according to a review by Steven Poole in The Guardian.
• Cats view their owners as bigger, nonhostile cats - not kittens whom they want to feed by dropping rodents at the doorstep.
• This act isn't the cat searching for a prize to bring back to the house. Bradshaw says that cats actually prefer canned cat food, so they ditch the prey by the door when they get home and remember this.
• Cats greet humans the same way they would greet fellow, friendly cats - with an upright tail that demonstrates affection for their owners, says The Independent's Heather Saul.
• Cats are good at climbing up trees because they have claws that face forwards, writes Poole. This design is not good for helping them get down, which is why cats often get stuck in trees.