What does it mean when...

tickytat

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...you scratch the base of a cat's tail or lower back and they make extremely funny sounds, open and close their mouth really fast, and move their head back and forth? I've seen this before on some TV shows but never actually seen a cat do it until I discovered my mother's cat does this. It's very funny, but I hope I'm not hurting the cat in any way.

Does anyone know what this is and why they do it? Is it like tickling them or does it actually hurt them? Does anyone else have cats that do this?

I tried it on my cat and her eyes glaze over and she starts to move her head back and forth, then, out of nowhere, she proceeds to shred my hand (obviously telling me "that's enough.").

 

coaster

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It would be closer to tickling, I guess. They're very sensitive in that area, so scratching is very stimulating. The tail going up is an automatic response; they can't help but lift their tail if you scratch there. And the rest is response to the stimulation, which is pleasurable, but too much pleasure all at once can be hard to deal with, too. You got the right message when that happened.
 
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tickytat

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That's what I thought but wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting. I know how awful it is when someone is tickling you and you want so badly for them to stop, but you just can't stop laughing! It's torture!
 
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tickytat

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My mother's cat is a male and all her cats and mine are spayed/neutered.
 

jaffacake

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Both my cats hate it! Kitty will try and attack me if I do it so I don`t.

But one of my sisters cats, a little girl LOVES it! ( and yes, she is spayed too )
 

luvmy2cats

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Popsie loves to be scratched at the base of his tail. He'll stick his butt right in my face
 

merlynn's mom

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Originally Posted by TickyTat

I found a video of what I'm talking about. Very funny!
Ok. That's just weird. I've seen that video before but I had no idea that was what you were talking about. When I scratch Pico on the base of the tail he usually makes a high-pitched meow-like sound and doesn't look very happy. So I don't really do that too much. hahaha. Merlynn couldn't care less.
 

jen

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I do this all the time to my cats! The seem to love it. Willoughby makes a pathetically high pitch meow (he never meows, he is too manly
) and he will obsessively lick anything in front of him. Eliott used to look up and chew and lick the air and look all cross-eyed. Noira stomps her back feet. Pwne gets a dazed look on her face and won't move. Da-Ku twitches and will yelp like you are hurting him (he is a big baby) and Bowie will chirp and spin in circles. Kinks does the high pitched meow and then she will start growling cuz she is tough like that.
 

saya

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Originally Posted by TickyTat

I found a video of what I'm talking about. Very funny!
OMG ROFL!
that vid is hysterical, I've never seen a cat do this before. My kitties either just stick their butts in the air for more or completely drop their two back legs...
 
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