Cat body language
1. Postures
A cat's posture can be friendly or aggressive, depending on the situation. Some of the
most basic and familiar cat postures include:
Relaxed – The cat is seen lying on the side or sitting. Its breathing is slow to normal,
with legs bent, or hind legs laid out or extended. Its tail is loosely wrapped, extended,
or held up; when a cat is standing but calm, its tail tends to be still and may hang
down loosely.
Terrified – The cat is crouched directly on top of its paws, with visible shaking seen
in some parts of the body. Its tail is close to the body, and might be propped up,
together with its hair on the back. The legs are very stiff or bent to increase their size.
Typically, cats avoid contact when they feel threatened, it will hiss to threat back or
escape if possible.
Aggressive – The hind legs stiffen, the rump elevated, but the back stays flat; while
tail hairs are erected. The nose is pushed forward and the ears are pulled back slightly.
And because cats have both claws and teeth, they can easily cause injury if they
become involved in a fight, so this posture is an attempt to elicit deference from a
competitor without fighting.
Confident – The cat may walk around in a more comfortable manner with its tail up
to the sky. Cats often walk through houses with their tails standing up high above
them, making them look grander and more elegant.
Alert – The cat is lying on its belly, or it may be sitting; Its back is almost horizontal
when standing and moving; Its breathing normal, with its legs bent or extended (when
standing); Its tail is curved back or straight upward and may twitch when positioned
downward.
Stretching – This posture also indicates that the cat is relaxed. When cats lie on their
back with their bellies exposed, they are in a position of vulnerability. Therefore, this
position may communicate a feeling of trust or comfort. They may also roll onto their
backs to defend themselves with their claws or to bask in areas of bright sunlight.
2. Ears and Eyes
Cats can change the position of their ears very quickly, and continuously. They are
erect when the cat is alert and focused, slightly relaxed when the cat is calm, and
flattened against the head when extremely defensive or aggressive. In cats, flattened
ears generally indicate that it feels threatened and may attack used as a defense or
attack posture.
When cats greet another cat in their vicinity, they can do a slow, languid, long blink to
communicate affection if they trust the person or animal they are in contact with. One
way to communicate love and trust to a cat is to say its name, get its attention, look it
in the eyes and then slowly blink at it to emulate trust and love. They may return the
gesture. In a study of 18 cats, the cat behavior of several half-blinks followed by a
prolonged eye narrowing or eye closure was found to be a positive emotional
response. When a familiar human slow-blinks towards a cat, the cat tends to approach
the human more frequently than if the human has a neutral expression that avoids eye
contact.
3. Tail.
Cats often use their tails to communicate. For example:
Held high, may have a slight curl forward - a sign of friendliness. The cat is happy,
content, and comfortable. The tail may quiver or vibrate if the cat is excited.
Held low and tucked under - a sign of fear or unease. The cat is attempting to make
itself a smaller target to potential threats.
Flicking, twitching - a sign of agitation. The cat is on high alert or is upset, and is not
receptive to interaction. Cats may also flick their tails in an oscillating, snake-like
motion, or abruptly from side to side, often just before pouncing on an object or
animal.
"Fluffed" or "Halloween-cat tail" - When a cat fluffs up their tails, they are not
happy. Here, they are attempting to make themselves appear larger, warning
whomever they feel unsafe with, to back off.
