Pet Knows

Today’s post is the first in a series about Animal Behavior. I have been thinking covering this topic for some time now and when I saw the March 2008 issue of National Geographic with the lead story on “Inside Animal Minds” I was spurred into action. My first foray into this series will be to break down some of the key cat behaviors and language that I have observed in my thirty+ years of cat ownership. I believe that when you live 24/7 with any being you come to learn to speak with them through a complex language of behavior and body signals – even if you don’t speak the same native tongue. Its much like caring for an infant, you learn what their various sounds and cries mean even if they can’t tell you in a language you can understand yet. The most common for of cat language is obviously the greeting meow and the hissing meow. These are self-explanatory and thus, I won’t bore you. Some of the more interesting feline communication forms that I witness daily from Darby & Lilly are:

• Tail gestures – specifically Darby’s tail is always up – indicating happiness – unless he is scared, in which case he’s usually hiding out under the bed. Lilly is very communicative with her tail – even if she is purring, you know what her mood is based on what she is doing with her tail. This type of body language is crucial to learn to read. Cats rarely act without having given fair warning – it’s just that most humans miss the signals. Darby got a reputation in my family for awhile as being a biter. Not true. But, when the nephews & niece were little aggressive petting would lead to a nip. Or in Darby’s case and nip and hold. A clear sign for “stop doing that!” That is not a bite – it’s a sign and only came long after he’d done his best to tell them to back off via his tail movement and they missed the signs.
• Eye blinking (slowly) – Darby is famous for this around my place. Lilly – not as much – but she will do it on occasion. A slow eye blink (w/ both eyes) is a cat’s way of saying “I love you!” and I typically blink back. Interestingly, if I blink first at Darby, he always responds back. For anyone who knows Darby – he is extremely devoted to me, so this is not surprisingly.
• Head-butting – Another one of Darby’s tricks. A head-butt is another sign of affection – but more of friendliness than love. It’s kind of like a high-five or a knuckle touch. I’ve seen some cats do a chin-butt – their head to your chin – but that is usually because the human didn’t offer their forehead for butting.
• Talking back – Lilly has perfected this to an art form. She is not allowed to have Darby’s food, as hers is medicated to control her kidney disease. I can only assume that it doesn’t taste all that great, because she is after Darby’s all the time. If I give her an “ah-ah” (our form of saying no) she’ll throw it right back at me with a nasty long meow. And, that doesn’t always stop her. She’ll finally walk away grumbling and head hung.
• Grooming – This much like the slow eye blink is a cat’s way of showing love. In fact, this is regarded by many as the ultimate form of affection given by a cat. Lilly is such a groomer! She would lick my entire face, if I’d let her. That little rough tongue hurts though! Not only does she do this to me, for years, she bathed Darby daily. I was beginning to think he’d never learn to clean himself. Luckily, he did. If your cat does this to you, be careful in pushing them away. It can be very hurtful – its total rejection. I usually get Lilly to stop by rubbing behind her ears and then she gets totally caught up in that and stops “grooming” me.
• Sniffing – Lilly is the only one in my household to display this type behavior in my household, and she is very consistent with it. As she has gotten older, she’s trained me that as soon as I come in the house to greet her, I bend over to her level and let her sniff my face. This is a sign of recognition and is usually accompanied by a hello! meow, a lick or a head-butt. If I am really lucky or she has been particularly missing me, I’ll get all three!

For more information on these basic feline communicative tools, there is a great wiki-how-to here. Next post will explore the more delicate aspects of communicating with you cat, and then on to dogs, birds, you name it. Stay tuned! And, I welcome any thoughts or examples you have of interactions with your pet!

Thanks to Kendall Giles for the fabulous photo!