Signs of a happy, contented cat

I'm not sure where to suggest this... but I would love to see a sticky in this forum with a list of signs of a happy, contented cat. My cat seems to be content with her life, but sometimes I'm not so sure. What signs should I be looking for?

That sounds like a great idea! I've owned my own cat(s) for two years this month, and lived with an ex who had two cats, read tons of books, and still I don't know for sure. It seems that we usually deal in this thread with unhappy kitties, or ones with their little strange habits.
Mine eat, play, sleep and are in the best health possible. We have no litterbox issues and plenty of toys and cat furniture. Rocky does have special needs as far as his herpes, but we deal with it, and most of the time he is a love bug. We do have Suzie who hides and is a shy kitty around people. BUT she does seem to enjoy her toys and kitty companions. So I would assume my kitties are happy b/c we really don't have any serious behavior problems and we have "normal" kitty behaviour.

When Zissou is happy she runs around with her tail straight up, prancing about how pretty she is and how cool she is. Our friends who originally found her thought she was a boy and named her Killa, because she kills her toys and such ferociously. Also, she purrrs and kneads our laps and rubs her little nose all over. Zissou holds hands with us too.

I lived with a kitty once who would rub his face on yours if you were crying, like he was drying your tears, and then snuggle up to you and put one paw on your shoulder.

I think TCS is trying to cut down on sticky topics for now. But I would love to see a nice big topic about it! That is a great idea.

I've done a search on the forum and found this link if it's any help?!

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...contented+cats

I can tell my cats are content when I walk into a room and see one of them laying belly-up, paws relaxed, face serene, eyes closed... smack in the center of the room. NO protection from the other cats who could pounce & attack at any moment.

Or I see the cats all curled up on the sofa, after they milk-treaded the blanket to death & plopped down next to the previous cat already sound asleep.

Seeing them playing, too, is a sure sign of contentment --- seeing them batting around toys, running with their tail tucked, butt sideways... making little high-pitched sounds as they run around beating up toys!

I can tell Seth is happy when my husband and I wake up on weekends and she rolls around showing off her belly to us, eyes closed and purring. She's particularly happy on the weekends, when we are all together, and always pitches a fit on monday when my husband goes back to work--usually ending up in a bit of trouble!

I also know she's happy when I'm preparing her favourite canned food snack, and she repeatedly circles me, rubbing me, and weaving in and out of my legs!