BODY LANGUAGE OF CATS

Unlike humans, cats rely heavily on body language, vocalizations and scent signals to communicate their emotions and intentions. Cats do this through movement (of their tails), positioning of their ears, eye expression, posture and actions. As a result, cats communicate a variety of emotions, including contentment, happiness, fear, stress, curiosity and discomfort.

Knowing how your cat uses body language to communicate with you will allow for better relationships with your pet. In addition, since many cats are very good at hiding when they feel weak or uncomfortable, knowing the slight variations of body language can be used to recognize the first signs of stress, pain, or possible medical issues.

Why Cats Use Body Language to Communicate

Many cats use body language as a natural form of interaction with people, animals and their environment. The various forms of communication a cat engages in are shaped by instinct, emotional factors, social experiences and their environment.

Instinct and Survival Behavior

In the wild, cats need to use non-verbal body language to interact with other animals and their environment to avoid detection by predators or competition.

Although domestication has changed some behaviors, many natural feline instincts remain present in domestic cats today. For example, if a cat is fearful of something in its environment, it will either freeze up and try to hide or it will make itself look smaller than it actually is.

Social Interaction

Domesticated cats also use body language to interact socially with both humans and other felines. Domesticated cats use behaviors such as rubbing themselves against a person or other animal, slowly blinking at another cat or human and kneading with their paws to show a sense of comfort, trust, or social bonding.

Emotional Responses

The position and movement of a cat’s body depend upon its current state of emotion. If a cat is relaxed and comfortable, its posture will be loose and its movements will be smooth. However, if a cat is experiencing stress, fear or defensiveness, it will likely exhibit a flattened ear position, hide, or engage in aggressive defensive behaviors.

Common Signs and Meanings of Cat Body Language

Cats exhibit emotion in many ways, using all of their body language. To identify a cat’s emotional state, you need to look for the whole body expression – not just one thing they are doing.

Tail Signals

You can tell what your cat’s mood is by how it holds its tail.

• Raising a tail typically means that the cat is confident and friendly.
• Slow tail movements may indicate concentration, curiosity or mild uncertainty depending on the situation.
• Tail flicks rapidly usually mean the cat is irritated or over-stimulated.
• The puffed-up tail means the cat is afraid or feels like it is going to be hurt. The act of wrapping a tail around someone (or another animal) shows love for them.

Unlike dogs, cats don’t swing their tails to indicate happiness. Many times, fast tail motion is an indication of emotional turmoil.

Ear Positions

Your cat’s ears will be able to switch direction based on their feelings quickly.

When your cat has forward-facing ears, this typically means that they are interested in something. If your cat’s ears are lying flat against their head, then they are likely to be showing you that they are scared, anxious, or angry.

Eye and Facial Expressions

A cats eyes provide important information about its emotional state. If your cat is relaxed, they will tend to have soft eyes and slightly open eyelids. Your cat is signaling to you that they trust you and care about you when they slowly blink. When a cat’s eyes get wide and the pupils grow larger, this could signal that your cat is either scared, excited, or extremely watchful.

Some other expressions include:

• Not making eye contact and appears uncomfortable
• Staring as if watching something happen
• Prolonged lip licking and/or swallowing of saliva during stress

Body Posture

Your cat’s total posture gives you insight into their emotional state. Your cat will be totally relaxed when they’re lying down calmly, stretching, exposing their belly, etc. Your cat may crouch low to the ground, hide, or try to make themselves appear less intimidating if it feels threatened.

Usually, if a cat’s body is stiffened, the fur stands on end, or their back arches, this would be an indicator to you that your cat feels threatened and wants to protect itself.

Risks of Misunderstanding Cat Body Language

Failure to recognize the communication of your felines could lead to the development of anxiety in them as well as undesirable behaviors (such as scratching, biting, hiding, or avoiding). A good example would be when you fail to recognize the signal that your cat has reached maximum stimulation during petting and your cat then bites you. Misinterpreting body language could also impact the overall quality of your relationship with your felines. When you respect the boundaries of your felines, you help develop a relationship with them based on trust, safety and security.

Understanding Changes in Body Language

Changes in a cat’s body language do not represent a medical diagnosis per se; however, many times, a change from one day to another, especially in a previously outgoing or social cat, may be indicative of some type of health issue or disease.

Examples of behavioral changes include:

• Medical history and behavior changes
• Physical condition
• Appetite and activity levels
• Signs of pain or discomfort

These examples may suggest that the cat is experiencing either chronic stress or chronic pain, which can often result from an undiagnosed medical problem.

Treatment and Management

Maneuvering a cat’s behavior will depend upon what the motivation for the body language changes is.

Reducing Stress

If you believe that a cat’s abnormal behavior is due to some form of stress, then providing an environment that is as predictable as possible, with lots of places for them to hide and lots of opportunities for rest will provide a sense of security in many cases.

Positive Interaction

The most effective method of interacting positively with a cat is to interact gently and respectfully. To allow a cat to initiate contact, do not force the cat to interact at times when it does not want to and to reward the cat for being calm are all ways to build trust with a cat.

Medical Issues

If a cat is exhibiting abnormal behaviors (e.g., aggression) that could indicate that the cat may have medical issues such as pain or illness, a trip to the veterinarian would likely be needed. When the underlying condition causing these symptoms is treated, the cat’s abnormal behaviors should decrease.

Prevention

Perhaps the greatest tool available for preventing communication problems with a cat is understanding normal feline behavior. A good place to start is by spending time watching your cat and noting its typical behaviors, including how it walks, plays, rests, eats, sleeps, etc.

Some helpful suggestions in this area are:

• To create a safe and comfortable living space for your cat.
• When possible, avoid making sudden changes.
• To regularly engage your cat in play and mentally stimulate your cat.
• To recognize signs of stress or discomfort in your cat.
• Schedule regular visits to see your veterinarian.