Why Does My Cat Do That: Odd Cat Behaviors

Everyone knows, either by instinct or experience, that if a cat has a fluffy tail and an arched back to stay away! If you don't, I can guarantee you will learn this on your first encounter with a cat in this disposition. Aside from the obvious postures, there are a lot of other expressions that a cat makes that are not as obvious. Cats communicate in many different ways that you may be dismissing as just weird cat behavior. Although I may have answers for some of the apparent odd behavior of your cat, I cannot guarantee I will answer all of them. For instance why does my cat stare at blank walls for hours on end? Why does my cat chase "flies" that really aren't there? Why does my husband's cat only like me when he's hungry or when my husbands away on business? Truth is, I don't know. I know men better than I know cats, and that's not saying a lot! Well, here are some answers I do know on these lovable, temperamental creatures.

Self Petting

My cats are notorious for self petting. Instead of just standing still and letting me pet their silky manes, they run frantically back and forth under my hand, against my leg, or any other thing so that way they are being petted. They will even head butt me if I am not petting them as frantically as they feel fit. Why would they do this? Okay, I don't know, but I do do know that if they rub against you with their cheek, they actually are marking you as their property. There are glands on the side of their mouth that leave a scent that marks you as their territory. Essentially if the are rubbing with the side of their face they are saying, "You are my human.

If a cat self rubs with their whole body, they might be wanting to signify how important you are, by rubbing you with both of their scent glands. They actually have another scent gland on their tail. So if you're cat is the kind that wraps around your entire body, he/she is just making sure that other cats know that you are his/her property and not theirs!

Expressive Eyes

My cats seem to have a haughty air about them. If you look at him, he appears to be saying, "Yes I know I'm better than you." Although, I am not one hundred percent sure my cat is truly narcissistic, I do know that they actually do say more than that with their eyes.

Cats will often blink a couple quick blinks when they enter a room. If they do this, it is actually their way of saying a friendly "hi." Have you ever looked at your cat, and the cat does a very slow blink, it almost looks like he or she is tired? This slow meaningful gesture is their way of trying to be affectionate saying, "I like you."

I have heard that you can actually talk back to your cat with your eyes. I have not yet tried it, as I always forget about it when I'm at home, but I've heard that cats become very responsive if you try to mimic their little eye language.

Cats Speak Through Their Ears

Ears pointing forward:

Cats will point their ears forward when they find something interesting. If they are curious what is happening or just like what they see, their ears will naturally point forward.

Ears pointing backward:

I have to giggle at my husbands cat when my daughter carries him around. His ears will be pointing backward, but he puts up with it. Sometimes I swear his eyes are looking at me saying, "Please put this embarrassing charade to an end. She's disgracing me by carrying me around like this." But I pretend not to notice. Cats are full of pride, they need to be humbled. But I am fully aware that what his ears are trying to say is I am annoyed. Cats will also do this if they are angry, so beware if you see a cat do this if you don't know the cat very well.

Acting Like Its Nursing or Kneading

My husbands cat loves to knead on him (he never does to anyone else), but if my husband is around, he's on his lap stretching out his paws just as a kitten would do during nursing. This is a very good sign, it means that cat is truly happy. The more content your cat, the more apt it will knead. My cat is more of an emotional creature and rarely does this unless she is very calm.

Licking and Soft Bites

Licking

Although my emotional cat rarely kneads she will lick you. If she crawls in bed with you after she thinks you should be up, she will spend several minutes licking you with her rough tongue until you either have found a way to make your covers cat proof or finally get out of bed. This is another form of affection. Both my cats will groom each other as they cuddle in their bed together. It's sweet.

Nibbling

My other cat on the other hand does lick as often, but he will nibble on us. His name is actually Mr. Nibbles for that same fact. Every morning when I go into the bathroom, even though Mr. Nibbles is my husbands cat, he will nibble my toes just as a way to say good morning. Rarely will he do this to anyone but me and my husband, although I have seen him do it to my daughter when she is not carrying him around.

Showing Its Belly

This is probably the ultimate compliment from any cat. If they show their belly to you, not only are they wanting a soft pet on their belly, but they are saying, I trust you. In the wild a cat will protect its stomach from any possible danger. So the fact that it trusts you with such a vulnerable spot shows their is true trust.

Talking Tails

Flicking or swishing tail:

This usually means they are annoyed, although if only the tip of the tail is flicking back and forth it means they are somewhat playful and happy. If their tail is standing straight up, that means they are feeling very confident. Mr. Nibbles sometimes does this if my husband comes home from a business trip, it is also a sign of happiness.

Curling of the tail like a fish hook

This is also another sign they are happy, wheras if the tail is straight down, beware that cat wants to be left alone. My husbands cat runs away from me with his tail down if I ever sneeze or cough in his presence. I seriously think he is saying, "Don't disgrace me with your germs." He thinks a lot of himself.

 Purring

We often associate purring with contentedness. This is not necessarily true. Yes it often does mean that. In fact, my husbands cat who is generally laid back purrs much more and louder than my cat. My cat on the other hand, is quite emotional and I believe she is ever truly relaxed and content. Although on some occassions she will purr its very quiet.

Other reasons a cat might purr is if they are ill. If a none vocal cat all the sudden is purring continuously and acting sluggish you may want to take him/her to the vet. He/she may be ill. As one person put it, purring usually means extremes of feelings. They will purr if they are afraid, sick, or just plain happy!

Now, maybe I have been just lucky enough to get all the strange cats in the world in my lifetime, but I truly believe that cats are just odd creatures. They seem to have a superiority complex. They often are emotional. They choose a favorite human for no reason what so ever, and often choose the person who is allergic to them, since that person appears to be the least threatening person in the room. I will never pretend to fully understand cats, but here are some aspects of catspeak that I do know. I hope you got a laugh or at least learned something.