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- Dec 16, 2014
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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!
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!