What your cat’s body communicates?
Love is a communion of hearts and needs no language… While two souls are bonded with love, silence becomes the most beautiful thing between them… a look or a gentle caress speaks thousands of words. However…while sharing quality time with our kitty cats, we all wish they could speak.
Truly, they speak to us but we should be intelligent enough to understand their language.
I never knew why my husband always had a cup of tea waiting for me, no matter what time I came home from a meeting at night. One night I asked him and he said Sophia – our Siamese cat – lets me know you are coming! When I asked him how she did this he said that about 15 minutes before I arrived home, Sophia would get up from her sleeping spot and just walk to the front door and wait for me to walk through the door and, after a few meetings, he decided she knew I was on the way and he just made the tea. I can only believe she was telling my husband, in her own way, that I would soon be home. Sophia and I were very close, we bonded very quickly and remained so until she left us so I always felt that she just knew I was almost home and that she was waiting for me. Such is the power of body language of cats!
Cats are very affectionate and loyal to their owners. They appear to accept everything that is done for them but in fact, they do not take it for granted and appreciate our every attention and care and the security we give them. They are both dependent and very independent which is why they are so special.
Kitty cares
We all have seen that cats rub up against furniture and even on our legs and chins. This is their way of leaving their scent on us and letting any other cat know that we belong to them and ‘stay away’. We should be flattered when our cat or kitten does this, because it means they care about us and we belong to them rather than they belong to us.
Kitty bonding
Another interesting activity with cats is that they wash themselves and each other constantly. But if we happen to touch or pat them, they start all over again. Cats also appear to enjoy washing each other and spend an incredible amount of time washing their feline companions. Obviously they are transferring their scent but we have to wonder if the reason is companionship and real affection. It is possibly the body language they have with each other.
Kitty dislikes
Some cats, irrespective of breed or sex they belong, have a definite dislike for each other and nothing we do makes any difference. It is very difficult to make out the reason behind this disharmony. But if we sit quietly and watch them circle each other, arch their backs and hiss and snarl they are obviously, in their own way, giving off the language that they are very unhappy in each other’s company.
Kitty territory making
Stud male cats spray on anything and everything in their surroundings. Sometimes desexed males and females do the same but not so often. This is another way of letting other cats know that this is their territory and they do not want any intruders. Another form of body language!
Kitty communicates
Whilst cats cannot actually use the words, they are extremely clear about letting us know what they want in their own way. Sometimes all of us feel that someone is staring at us, we look around and there is our cat just looking at us, sitting very still but never taking their eyes off us. One of my Siamese used to do this for quite a while and then calmly jump up on top of the refrigerator and sit there until I opened the door and prepared her dinner. I was in no doubt what she was asking me to do. No purring, no meowing, just silently communicating in her own way.
You should never ignore the message your cat is trying to pass on to you. We hug and embrace each other and our purr friends, no doubt, do the same, but in their own way, by rubbing against our legs, sitting on our laps and purring. How lucky we are to have the joy and affection of such beautiful companions who tell us, every day, how much they love us.
(Joan E. Henderson of Melbourne, Australia has judged furry felines in Australia, USA, Bermuda, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Philippines and New Zealand. She can be contacted at felines@hotkey.net.au)