Category: Behaviour

When your cat screws up her face and curls her lips back to show her upper and lower teeth this is known as Flehmening. She does this in order to get more information about a smell she has discovered by allowing the smell to register with “Jackobsen’s Organ”. This organ is located in the roof… Continue reading Flehmening

In the wild, a subordinate cat will often bury its poo in order to hide its presence from the dominant cats in the area. An alpha cat may leave their poo uncovered because they are confident of their dominance and wish to assert ownership of their territory. Domestic cats also display this behaviour. In a… Continue reading Burying poo

In the wild, cats tend to become less vocal as they mature. Even vocal kittens grow into relatively quiet adult cats. The classic chirrup sound is one of the most common vocalisations. However, domesticity and close proximity with noisy humans has resulted in most cats continuing to be vocal (or even becoming chattier) as they… Continue reading Cat vocalisation

The easiest way to determine the mood of your cat is to watch their tail. A contented or confident cat will walk with their tail held high and raise it when you stroke their back. If they are lying down, the tail may twitch a little but will largely remain still. A trembling tail (especially… Continue reading Tail movements

Cats (in particular kittens) will frequently scratch their human companions without intending any harm particularly when playing or if given a fright. If panicked, a cat will often claw their way to freedom even if this causes (largely unintentional) damage to the person who is holding them or on whom they are sitting. No matter… Continue reading Scratching

A cat may strike a submissive pose because she is scared or nervous. This will generally include holding her tail low or between her legs and holding her head pointed downwards and possibly even prostrating herself entirely before you. Between two cats who do not know each other, or who do not get on very… Continue reading Submissive and aggressive poses

Rubbing A cat will often rub her face and body against an object or person in order to mark it with her scent. However, this can also be a greeting or a sign of affection. A friendly greeting between cats is the touching of noses, and this is often followed by the cat rubbing their… Continue reading Rubbing and kneeding

Eye contact can be a way of establishing dominance. If you often avert your gaze your cat may assume that she is the dominant party in the relationship. For this reason, many cats can find sustained direct eye contact to be aggressive. If you do not know a cat well, do not stare at her… Continue reading Eye contact

Cats have highly developed hearing and can rotate and swivel their ears to zero in on any sound which interests them. Your cat may appear to be sleeping, but look closely and you may notice that his ears will suddenly twist to locate an unexpected sound or in response to your speech. You can also… Continue reading Ear positioning