The body language of cats

Cats are reserved animals, they are not as impulsive or expressive as dogs so they hide their emotions very well and being also so restrained in their elegant movements and their actions towards us, we have to be with four eyes to find out the meaning that involves every action or movement made by them. Besides to understand them many times we will find it hard to find out they are sick, because they hide it very well.

So today we are going to see a series of guidelines that will help us translate thebody language of our cats.

Basic body language guidelines

Although we are talking about cats, the tail is a symbol of expression, we do not believe that only dogs move her excited when they see us or hide her out of discomfort. So, a cat expresses itself as well and therefore:

• Tail lifted: Symbol of happiness
• Bristly tail: Symbol of fear or attack
• Low Tail: Symbol of concern

As we see in the drawing above, the tail indicates many emotional states. In addition to this the cats show their emotions from other movements, for example, as we all know they greet us and demand our love rubbing against us. On the other hand, if they want our attention, they will be clearly visible even at our table or computer because if a cat wants you to see and listen, it will not stop because there is a keyboard in between.

We can also identify your little ones nordisquitos and cabezazos with signs of absolute affection and when they lie on their backs on the ground they are giving us their confidence. And we can not leave aside, despite its natural sphinx pose, the movements of the cat’s face that also give us guidelines.

The face number 1 is the natural, the second one with the stiff ears is a sample of anger, the third with the ears porridge is aggressiveness in our pussycat and the room with eyes half-closed and normal ears is pose of happiness.

Legends in the feline language

Recently the animal behavior expert Nicky Trevorrow has published through the British organization “Cats Protection“A video showing what the movements of the cats mean and emphasizing everything that we gave as true and it turns out not to be like that.

Among other things as we mentioned above, the tail raised in vertical shape is a greeting and a symbol of well-being that our cat shows us and it turns out that the 3 / 4 parts of 1100 probed were unknown. On the other hand turn on your back does not mean for the cat that wants to caress your belly, which bothers you and does not take it well but simply gives you your confidence and enjoy a caress on the head. Other very striking discoveries are those that speak of the purr that does not always express happiness but sometimes pain, or the licking of the mouth that does not mean hunger as it gives to think the coherence of the human being but sometimes Stress. These discoveries are striking at least but they help us very much to understand our cat at all times.

Cat status matrix

As you can see in the image below this text we can catalog the level of aggressiveness or alertness of the cat According to your body posture, in the following matrix you can see how the image on the bottom right is the most alert position the cat has and the most relaxed and natural position on the left. On the other axis of the matrix the positions of the cat linked to fear.

Do you notice that your cat has adopted an aggressive attitude? Do not hesitate to consult our tips to learn how to calm your aggressive cat. And if what happens is that your cat is afraid, check our article on “Causes and solutions for very scary cats.”

If your cat behaves strangely and has abnormal body language do not hesitate to leave us your question in the comments section.

If you want to read more articles similar to The body language of cats, we recommend that you enter in our Curiosities section of the animal world.

Hello Adriana, you should know that cats are routine animals that, in general, do not feel comfortable with the changes. It is likely that the experience with the dog, added to that of the veterinarian, has caused stress and anxiety, so it acts in this way.

If your intention is to visit regularly your mother-in-law’s house, do it every week so that she is accustomed to this routine and perceive it as something negative, however, if not, I would not advise you to move so much with her, since in the end you are provoking her lack of security and comfort.

Continue with your normal routine, but you can try to improve your mood with games, appetizing food or a session of caresses. Much encouragement and before the doubt consult with a veterinarian specialized in ethology to advise you.

Hi David, how is the situation now? The first thing I advise you is to use pheromones for cats, here we explain what it is: https://www.expertoanimal.com/feromonas-para-gatos-que-son-y-as-utilizarlas-23565.html

On the other hand, it would be convenient to work with this problem, in this article I explain how: https://www.expertoanimal.com/como-hacer-que-dos-gatos-se-lleven-bien-21204.html

Hello Jessica, there are many causes that can cause excessive hair loss, so the best thing to do is go to a veterinarian as soon as possible and avoid the picture getting worse.

Hello Jadiel, since you do not know the story of the kitten well, it will not be possible to know if the behavior you have is due to your lived experiences, however, that being withdrawn with people may suggest that you did not socialize very well or who has suffered some trauma or negative experience with people. The theme of the abrupt game could be due to an early separation of his mother and brothers. Still, I think that your day to day is very positive because you devote a lot of attention and games, that’s great!

The theme of the patio sink could be effectively due to the rats. The hunting instinct of the cats is innate and they enjoy it enormously, therefore, if it has seen some rodent, it is probable that it wanders around trying to hunt some. It can also be due to the search for a nest. I do not know if your cat has a “house” or “nest” or “shelter area” but it is very convenient to have one for moments of stress, fear or stress, but will use other places to hide when needed.

The issue of body postures is something strange and could also be due to problems in his puppy stage, which has not learned proper language. However, as it does not attack you directly or perform anything aggressive towards you or your mother, I would relate it as a behavior of its own in puppies or young cats. To see how it evolves in a few months, surely relaxes more.

At the moment, dedicate time, affection and try that in your day to day the interactions are as calm and relaxed as possible, except in the hours of play. You could also buy a pheromone diffuser, such as Feliway, to be more relaxed and positive.