Flopping down

Hi there! First time cat owner (and poster)! 

I adopted a 2-3 year old Siamese cat from the shelter and brought him home 3 days ago. When he came home, he immediately started exploring! Pretty soon, he was roaming our three story house. I had been expecting he would be staying in his isolation room for at least few days but he was eager to leave the room in a matter of hours.

Anyway, before bringing him home, I already had an idea of how cats would behave. I watched many videos and read many articles. They all painted a picture of a cat that was wary of change, took time to adjust to things and generally were independent and any affection was a big treat to us lowly humans! What I didn't expect was a cat that followed you around and flopped down onto his side like jello for a good belly rub! He doesn't get irritated at all and my dad was even rough housing him (rolling him around, taking him by the paws and making him stand on his two hind legs). The only thing he would dislike is if you picked him up but otherwise, he's such a funny and nice cat!

I am, however, concerned about the flopping. He almost seems to dive head first onto the floor and lie there on his side. He does it against the wall and against our legs. I know he can walk normally since when no one is paying attention to him, he would walk around and explore. But if we're all petting him or watching him, it would almost seem like a show of flopping! 

Does anyone else's cat flop like a whale onto their side? I read that cats that expose their bellies are showing trust but he's only been here two days! 

The second thing I'm concerned about is the way my cat acted today: he pretty much slept for 5 hours straight. I know cats can sleep up to 16 hours but it's such a difference from his last two days of activity. Before, he would follow you around or meow for you to come to him but today, he dared to go into a room and sleep by himself for an hour or so! He seems more "cat-like", for a lack of better description. He even hid when the front door opened. Also, he has used the litter box only once today as opposed to using it after each meal like he had the last two days. 

I guess my question is: does this mean he has become more comfortable around us? Or am I being paranoid in thinking this change might be a thing to be concerned about? I know I've only had him for 3 days but I can't help but wonder if I should take him to the vet earlier than I planned. 

Thank you for your time and advice! I would really appreciate it

We have a couple of 'flopper' cats.     When I approach her in the morning, I rub her head, and then she almost does a headroll, flopping onto her side.  I rub her belly, she gets up and we do it again.  We have to go through about four head/belly rubbing/flop over routines before she's ready for breakfast, it's too cute.

Another of our cats, Zoe, does that, too.  She will be playing or whatever and then suddenly just kind of falls over on her side, looks like she's passing out!  But she's just ready to lie there and be petted or have her belly rubbed.  

If you put 'flop' in the search bar, you'll see other threads where people are talking about their 'floppy' cats. 

As for the other behavior, as long as he is eating and using the litter box normally, he's probably okay, just getting used to  his surroundings.  Three days isn't that long to get used to new surroundings and people.

Congratulations on the new kitty!  And welcome to TCS.  

This is great! Yeah, we've always called it the flop as well, without having had any other experience with it or knowing that it was so common.  At least 3 out of the 4 cats I'm most familiar with (the ones who lived in my house) did/do this to some degree.  I'm not sure my current littlest one really does it, but the other one does sometimes.  One departed cat did a sort of head first, rest of body next flop as you describe in the OP.  And the other one was the originator of the term in our house.  Hers was by far the funniest.  She just keeled straight over sideways!  Walked right up to you and then just fell over sideways, like an inanimate object tipping over.  Never failed to bring a smile seeing that.

So yeah, I'd say it's pretty normal behavior in general.  As you noted, exposing the belly shows trust.  They aren't necessarily looking to be touched there although a decent number of cats seem to enjoy or at least tolerate a little of that.  Not necessarily odd that he would display that after only a couple days.  I also don't think it would be unusual for a cat to be more active looking around the first couple days then settle in a bit more.  I'm guessing all is well for now, although it's certainly very good to keep an eye out for unusual behaviors.  It will be easier to tell when something is truly "off" once you get a better sense of his normal behavior in the coming weeks and months.

Good luck with the new housemate!

Thank you everyone! It makes me feel a whole lot better knowing other cats do the same I guess I just psyched myself out!

I've had Sinbad and Tempest for 7-8 months now, and I still freak out wondering if things they do are normal.

Both of them are floppers too. Sinbad in particular flops so hard he usually manages to make a loud noise when he falls over even on the carpet!! It's super funny. He at least waits until you're touching though - Tempest will flop over the moment you start to reach out, and wriggle around on her back begging for belly rubs. Sometimes she'll even flop and wriggle-beg if you just look at her.   

My cat is also Siamese (part), and is a TOTAL "flop head". The second I come home from work, he flops at my feet. He also flops against doors and walls, and loves belly rubs! When he jumps on my bed to sleep, he flops against me. No gentle laying down, just "flop!"

Sounds like you have a GREAT cat there! The only thing I might say is to watch the rough housing with the hands. Hands should be gentle or he may not become the kind of cat who learns to be picked up. You can put socks on your hands if you want to roughhouse, that way he won't associate bare hands with rough play. Just my thought. But oh wow, he sounds like a great cat!! Congrats!!

Awwww, you've got a flopper too. He sounds too funny! And thank you, I'm so happy with my new cat!

My cat meows when you attempt to scoop him up and I usually just back off. He doesn't seem like a lap cat or a cat to be carried against the chest.There were three occasions (5 days since he's been home) when someone was successful in picking him up. 

Also, thank you for the tips! I'll give the sock hands a try. My mom and I have been berating my dad for being too rough with him so hopefully my DAD learns lol!

Just as a side note since you mentioned it, many cats hate being picked up, but this doesn't preclude them being lap cats! One of mine always squirms within half a second of being picked up but loves to get on a lap, if we are sitting in the right chairs at least. The lap sitting may come with time since it's only been a few days anyway.

  Hello, your cat sounds awesome!  I have a siamese-calico mix that I adopted and she is most certainly a flopper!  She does it when I come home and especially when I am praising her.  She will sometimes start with an elaborate headroll and flop, and I notice this a lot when we are playing.  She loves when I throw a toy and she retrieves it, but honestly, 50% of the time now, I throw and she flops!  She even has a flop now that goes into a rolling from side to side.  One thing I know is that when she is flopping, she is having fun!

My cat Kiki is also a flopper. She came to me in mid April. She is a Siamese snowshoe I think. She has a raccoon face. Anyway she flops as soon as I let her in from outside, sometimes I can't close the door because she barely takes two steps inside and then the flopping begins. She also is a "triller" when she talks. Costantly trilling and purring. I too have never gad a cat display these kinds of behavior. It is so cute. I also have one older indoor/outdoor older cat who seems to tolerate her and even plays chase in the house with her. My other kitties were previous rescue ferals from 12 years ago (4 of them), they sort of tolerate Kiki, but there's no fighting, thank goodness. Anyway, I enjoy all my cats (or kids) and love them all.

MY two Burmese do it so often that they now do it when we say "flop !" to them. it's adorable. They flop against us, walls, whatever. Mia can end up with the lower half of her body upside down and the top half up a wall, which really doesn't look comfortable. It's a sign of a happy cat that wants to interact so don't worry about it, just give them they attention they are asking for

My cat does that when being brushed (her favorite thing).   She just falls over...THUNK on her side.  

I assume we are talking about this...

My Burmese can rarely stay upright tbh


and this...