Cat Comunication

BODY LANGUAGE

Cats which communicate mostly with other cats use mainly on body language and scent - this is their "native language". Their body language is subtle, but many owners and cat workers learn to read the more obvious cues.

The Head

A cat's head position tells us several things. If its head is stretched forward, the cat is encouraging touch or trying see its owners or another cat’s facial expressions. This is a greeting message. In conflict, an assertive or confident cat may raise its head, but an aggressive cat will lower its head. An inferior or submissive cat will also lower its head submissively. An inferior cat which is fearful and defensively aggressive will raise its head though. To understand the message, you have to look at the other end of the cat - its tail!
If the cat keeps its head down, pulls in its chin and turns sideways to prevent eye contact it is conveying a lack of interest and the fact that it is not threatening. It will also pull in its chin when relaxed. To understand the whole message you have to look at the way it holds its body.

Friendly cats will head-but or head rub and will extend this into a full body rub. Cats will also head-butt and body-rub their humans. The nose-bump is another friendly greeting. When cats meet, they sniff each other's faces - sniffing the scent glands around the lips to determine the identity of the other cat and whether it is a family member or not.

The Tail

The tail is an organ of balance, a rudder/counterbalance for maneuvering at high speed and a means of communication. While hunting or stalking, the tail is kept almost horizontally behind the cat. This prevents it from fouling in low-hanging shrubs and prevent the prey from seeing a telltale tail. It may spring upright during the final rush. The tail also conveys a cat’s interest and concentration with a twitching movement as it corners its prey. You can also see this twitching movement, usually just the tip of the tail, when a cat sees something interesting through a window. When a cat is crouched low to the ground, edging forward towards prey, the slight twitch of its tail indicates how hard it is concentrating.

The tail is an important tool for communicating with other cats and with humans. It is highly mobile: side to side, up and down, graceful and slow, thrashing and whip-like. It can be a sleep coil folded around a sitting or sleeping cat, a fluffy scarf across a curled cat's nose or an erect bristling bottle brush when the cat is frightened. A mother cat may also use it - deliberately or accidentally - as a toy for her kittens.