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The hormone adrenaline is a key player in these
reactions. On encountering someone or something,
the most immediate instinct is "Do I run away
from it or stay and fight it?". This is a
self-preservation reaction. If neither of those
reactions is triggered, the next instinct is
"Do I eat it? Do I mate with it?". If
none of the 4 Fs apply the animal may exhibit
curiosity or simply ignores the stimulus as
irrelevant.
These behaviors
can be modified through learning or conditioning.
Cats will often ignore one another to avoid
conflict. A cat raised alongside a rabbit may no
longer have a "feed" response to that
particular rabbit or to all rabbits. Pavlov
demonstrated conditioning (learning) in his famous
experiments where dogs were taught to associate a
sound with the presentation of food. After a
while, the dogs reacted to the sound even when
food was not presented.
In humans, and probably in cats, these
responses have two parallel routes through the
brain. The "quick and dirty" route gives
an instinctive, almost instant reaction. The
"thinking" route takes slightly longer
and modifies the animal's reaction. Learning
affects the thinking route. For example most
animals will bolt (flight reaction) at a loud
noise close by; gundogs and police horses are
trained to stand their ground though they may
still show instinctive startlement. Four basic
responses are sufficient for primitive animals.
Humans, cats, dogs and other more advanced animals
need more than four basic instincts if they are to
cope with a rich and varied environment. A complex
environment requires a greater complexity of
response.
The
Six Basic Responses
In humans, there are 6 basic responses i.e.
emotions which are rooted in our physiology. These
cause an instinctive response in our brains and
bodies, not just in our minds. These emotions are
linked to particular brain areas in humans or to
hormonal or chemical responses. They are survival
responses to protect us from adverse conditions
and to make us seek out favorable conditions. Most
are linked to our perception of comfort and
discomfort. It is likely that cats have equivalent
physiological responses to the same, or similar,
stimuli.
 Fear
A self-preservation instinct. Fear leads to
alertness, caution and possibly to flight. It
prepares the body for flight or defense. Fear is
the recognition of a potential danger rather than
the instinctive (and possible energy wasting)
flight from potential (rather than actual) danger.
Fear allows the animal to assess how real or
immediate the danger is and to take appropriate
action (flight, freeze, hide, disregard etc).
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