Can you touch the tummy?

valanhb

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The January Photo Contest got me thinking, Can you touch the tummy?

I'm ALL about kitty tummies! Seeing all those pretty kitty tummies and knowing you can't rub them makes me sad.
But I have one too. I cannot touch Ophelia's pretty white tummy and keep my fingers. Sometimes, but only sometimes, she will let Daddy pet the tummy if she's really relaxed with him.

Annie was like that when we first brought her home. I don't blame her - she was living in the forest and that's a vulnerable spot. Between me pushing the subject and her gaining trust with us, now she not only lets us pet that pretty little tummy, she LOVES it!


Ginger is the same way...she's just now (after 2 years) allowing me to pet the tummy. I'm SO happy!


Mojo still isn't too sure. She used to, but now she thinks it's play time and wants to bunny kick.


Trent has always loved to get his fluffy tum petted. He begs for it. It's not even a guilty pleasure for him - he feels no guilt about it!



How about your kitties? Are you allowed to touch and pet their cute little fluffy (or nekkid, as the case may be!) tummies?
 

cats4sky

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it all depends....sometimes its a no go, then sometimes they let me pet the tummy for a little bit but then they usually start going nuts on my hand
 

AbbysMom

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Abby demands it at times.
Often I am walking down the stairs and Abby will hear me and will have already flipped on her back for tummy rubs.
 

deedeemay

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Brandy is the only cat in my household who does not like belly rubs for a long period of time, normally after a couple of minutes he flips back over and growls at you to say he has had enough


The other two are pretty docile when it comes to belly rubs, they flip over and stay there...Arwen nods off after so long
 

bella713

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My cats are all different, Sev, you can do ANYTHING to him and he doesn't care
Sophia, don't even think about it
Lucia Loves tummy rubs she rolls over the minute you come near her. Joey loves to show his tummy but I think he's ticklish
Mario is tolerant to a point

Pepino is just wild, period, but he likes to be touched on the belly
 

eilcon

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Even after 15+ years with Katie, and nearly 10 with Gracie, I'm still at risk of losing my fingers if I touch the tummy. What's interesting is that my feral "kittens," Pete and Claire are much more accepting of it. Pete's very open to have his tummy rubbed if he's in a particularly mellow mood. Claire's always up for a tummy rub. I often find her laying on her back like she's just waiting for it. Or, if she's laying her tummy and I reach under her to tickle it a bit, she'll flip over to give me batter access.
 

mrblanche

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Well, Punkin loves it, Sterling likes it sometimes, and Ella is a little nippy sometimes.
 

jellybella

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Stanley loves it, even requests belly attention when he gets his "brushies". Bella is not crazy about having her belly touched. She will begrudgingly allow it if she's sitting on your lap provided that you also rub her head to distract her.
 

missymotus

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My 3 love tummy rubs, they sit next to me and roll over then yell at me to rub their tummies.
 

momofmany

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Scarlett dies for tummy rubs.

Most of the rest won't tolerate it but I get in the occasional rub when their mood allows me.

Pinky would bite my arm off if I tried it with him.
 

whuckleberry

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Not unless I want to lose some fingers.


Wally was feral until 6 mos. of age or so, so he didn't get used to it early enough, or maybe he just naturally dislikes it.
 

white cat lover

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Damita
lived for tummy rubs.


Eden adores tummy rubs. Lily when she deems it appropriate is OK with them. Twitch has a big "udder/spay sway" & she always gets pissy when you rub her tummy. Dory doesn't like tummy rubs, but tolerates them. Both Molly & Ophelia I can rub their tummy, but am guaranteed to have at least one scratch from the deal.
 

wingss2fly

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Bandit, no belly rubbing, Tuffy likes it on his terms, Piglet will eat you for lunch most times if you touch the belly, and Scuddel...he lets me do damm well what I want to him. He is Mammas boy.
 

nurseangel

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Tummie rubs only when Speck's very sleepy. Otherwise, he'll think it's playtime and I'll draw back a nub!
 

strange_wings

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Mine all love it. The only problem is that Sherman gets a bit worked up sometimes and will try to grab you - but as I've mentioned, he still acts kittenish.

All three will automatically flop and roll over for a rub, too.

We can actually put our faces in Sho's belly and blow raspberries.
I don't suggest anyone try this with their cats. Sho's a very very tolerant and calm cat.
 

rapunzel47

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Cindy is my belly-rub addict. She never shows her tummy, but there's a skritch routine, one phase of which is the settling and adjustment to direct the hand to the belly and hold it there with the back paws. If the hand is removed to give attention to some other part of the body, the back paw comes looking and brings it home to the belly.


Fawn is more likely to show a tummy, usually when she's doing her "I'm cute
" pose, but it doesn't fully expose the belly, and she's less likely to accept a rub than her sister. Both send the hand packing with a couple of well placed bunny kicks, but that happens a whole lot sooner with Fawn than with Cindy.
 

breal76

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Yes all three of mine love their bellies rubbed.

One actually likes to sit on my lap as a child would, while I am typing on the computer I will be rubbing his belly at same time. It's very tricky. He also loves to be scruffed by the neck which is really weird. It relaxes him. Hence I call him "My little weirdo".
 
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