Mixed signals: Inappropriate cat body language.

Hi, I have some questions about my cats' behavior. I have indoor two cats, a male and a female, both around a year old and sterilized. They are not related, but each one has some really strange body signals that don't seem to match up to the situation and the other signs I'm getting off of them at the moment.

My male, Hex, is half Maine coon and half Siamese (I rescued him from an irresponsible breeder), in case this might be some weird breed thing. He bristles his tail when he's feeling snuggly. I don't have a recent picture of him doing it because he's usually laying on top of me when he puffs up, but below is a picture I took the first time I ever saw him do it, when he was a baby. It looks exactly like it would look if he were frightened, but he's very obviously feeling jolly and loving. Every other sign of happiness is there: His eyes are half-closed. He's purring loudly (I know this doesn't always mean happiness, but, in the context of everything else, it seems like a happy purr). His posture is relaxed. He butts his head against mine and touches noses with me. All of the outward body language of contentment and affection are there, so the bristling looks very out of place. The fur on his back and neck even prickles up now that he's an adult. Can this also be happy body language in some cats?

Oh, and another weird thing with him: His nose runs when he's affectionate too. I thought he was drooling at first, but no, I've looked closely and it's always his nose. The whole thing gets very, very wet when we have our snuggle time, which means it's usually dribbling all over me. I don't mind. It's just odd.


My female, Jinx, is a snowshoe chocolate point DSH. When she is happy to see me, and especially when I talk to her, she whips her tail wildly back and forth. If I didn't know her, I'd think she was angry, but this is always done when she's eager for attention. This is kinda hard to get a picture of since motion is involved, but I think you know what I mean. Is this another ambiguous body language thing, the way purring can mean either extreme happiness or fear?

I hope this isn't too long. I just find it really rewarding to understand what my cats are telling me through their body language, so I like learning what all of these things mean. When I find something like this that's completely the opposite of what I think I know, my curiosity gets the best of me. I tried Googling and didn't see much about any of these, so I figured you guys might know.

Thanks in advance!

I've never heard of a cat bristling when they are happy; but it does sound like he is!  Maybe it's just his personal quirk? 

Mooch drips all over me when she snuggles.  It always looks like a drip off the end of her nose.  

When Jink whips her tail; is it up in the air, out straight, or does she hold it down?  How does she normally carry it?  Has she ever lived with a dog?  One of my mother's cats did pick up some things from her dogs.  

Hex could be over stimulated, hence his tail is bristled. My cat does that when she feels happy and she purr-ed at the same time same goes for her while she is playing.

Purring can mean a few things depending on the situation. It can mean happy, pain etc Some cats pur throughout their whole entire life and I still don't know why. XD When you talk  too Mooch where you too close to her that you were invading her personal space? Or did you stimulate her too much ? Some cats doesn't like to be stimulated too much as they will feel irritated. 

MoochNNoodles said:

 
I've never heard of a cat bristling when they are happy; but it does sound like he is!  Maybe it's just his personal quirk? 

Mooch drips all over me when she snuggles.  It always looks like a drip off the end of her nose.  

When Jink whips her tail; is it up in the air, out straight, or does she hold it down?  How does she normally carry it?  Has she ever lived with a dog?  One of my mother's cats did pick up some things from her dogs.  

Click to expand...

MoochNNoodles said:

 
I've never heard of a cat bristling when they are happy; but it does sound like he is!  Maybe it's just his personal quirk? 

Mooch drips all over me when she snuggles.  It always looks like a drip off the end of her nose.  

When Jink whips her tail; is it up in the air, out straight, or does she hold it down?  How does she normally carry it?  Has she ever lived with a dog?  One of my mother's cats did pick up some things from her dogs.  

Click to expand...

It could be just a quirk. He is a very quirky cat in general, quite the individual, haha. He loves to get on people's backs and he doesn't meow. He only chirps. He's very mischievous, always getting into things. He even knows how to turn a doorknob, provided he can reach it. I've thought that maybe his tail and back prickle out of excitement, and maybe his nose drips for the same reason? His entire nose gets very, very wet when he gets like this.

When Jinx swishes her tail, it's always upright. Normally, she usually holds her tail diagonally downward and slightly out from her and curled upward, but when greeting me, she holds it up, in the well-known "I'm happy to see you" position. It's usually then that I'll talk to her, which seems to excite her. She meows or trills at me in response and starts the tail whipping. My roommate has a dog, but Jinx has whipped her tail like that since I got her, before I moved in with my roommate and her poodle. The girl who fostered her before I took her in might have had a dog, but I'm not sure.

ahthongg said:

 
Hex could be over stimulated, hence his tail is bristled. My cat does that when she feels happy and she purr-ed at the same time same goes for her while she is playing.

Purring can mean a few things depending on the situation. It can mean happy, pain etc Some cats pur throughout their whole entire life and I still don't know why. XD When you talk  too Mooch where you too close to her that you were invading her personal space? Or did you stimulate her too much ? Some cats doesn't like to be stimulated too much as they will feel irritated. 

Click to expand...

Hm, maybe. One thing I've noticed is that when his tail prickles, he acts like he wants even more attention. He only does it when he's in full-on "You will pet me and you will pet me now" mode. He sometimes starts prickling as soon as he gets close enough for met to pet him, before I've even touched him, and always seems to ham it up once the petting starts. When he gets into that mode (I call it "Lovey Dovey Puffy Mode"), he'll put his front paws on my knee for me to pick him up, and once I do so, or if I'm lying or sitting, he bumps his nose against mine and headbutts me. Sometimes he'll even climb up on my shoulder and nuzzle his cheek or nose against my face. Other times, he puts his arms around my neck and holds on like a baby, while curling his fluffed up tail kind of around my abdomen.

It's not restricted to me, either. He does this to my mother too, and when I got him neutered, all of the people at the vet fell head over heels for his charm.

I'm beginning to think he's just a bit of an odd, albeit incredibly lovable, duck.

I didn't mean to quote that first quote twice. Sorry!

MistyDawn said:

 
It could be just a quirk. He is a very quirky cat in general, quite the individual, haha. He loves to get on people's backs and he doesn't meow. He only chirps. He's very mischievous, always getting into things. He even knows how to turn a doorknob, provided he can reach it. I've thought that maybe his tail and back prickle out of excitement, and maybe his nose drips for the same reason? His entire nose gets very, very wet when he gets like this.

When Jinx swishes her tail, it's always upright. Normally, she usually holds her tail diagonally downward and slightly out from her and curled upward, but when greeting me, she holds it up, in the well-known "I'm happy to see you" position. It's usually then that I'll talk to her, which seems to excite her. She meows or trills at me in response and starts the tail whipping. My roommate has a dog, but Jinx has whipped her tail like that since I got her, before I moved in with my roommate and her poodle. The girl who fostered her before I took her in might have had a dog, but I'm not sure.

Hm, maybe. One thing I've noticed is that when his tail prickles, he acts like he wants even more attention. He only does it when he's in full-on "You will pet me and you will pet me now" mode. He sometimes starts prickling as soon as he gets close enough for met to pet him, before I've even touched him, and always seems to ham it up once the petting starts. When he gets into that mode (I call it "Lovey Dovey Puffy Mode"), he'll put his front paws on my knee for me to pick him up, and once I do so, or if I'm lying or sitting, he bumps his nose against mine and headbutts me. Sometimes he'll even climb up on my shoulder and nuzzle his cheek or nose against my face. Other times, he puts his arms around my neck and holds on like a baby, while curling his fluffed up tail kind of around my abdomen.

It's not restricted to me, either. He does this to my mother too, and when I got him neutered, all of the people at the vet fell head over heels for his charm.

I'm beginning to think he's just a bit of an odd, albeit incredibly lovable, duck.

Click to expand...

That's great! Well, I guess he is being over stimulated. Nothing much to worry about