Cat behaviour: the predatory and social motor patterns

This landmark ethological treatise compiled decades of close observation into a comprehensive description of feline behaviour, with especially detailed analysis of the predatory sequence: the stalk, the slink approach, the pounce, the killing nape bite, and the play with captured prey. The author dissected how these motor patterns assemble and how appetitive and consummatory phases relate, and he described conflict, threat, and social displays in cats. The framework shaped generations of research on hunting, play, and aggression, and many of its concepts, such as the structure of the catch-and-release behaviour seen with live prey, remain standard reference points in felid ethology.