Petting and

[cowsrcute]

     I just got my first cat at an adoptathon. I normally get dogs but she was so loving when I met her that I ended up getting her. She was without a home for so long and an animal that loving needs a person there for them . Because of this, I am not to familiar with cat behaviour and it is hard to google some of these since I don't know how to word it right. And now I'm to scared to pet her since I am not sure if I am hurting our relationship or helping.

    When I pet my cat, she does something and I am not to sure what it means. I start at her head and she pushes her head against my hand. As I go down her body, she arches her back and then her rump following my hand. I looked it up and it says that means the cat likes it. But when she is relaxing and laying down on my lap, I just pet her head. If I stroke down to her back, she will automatically get up and push her back then rump against my body. So I'm not sure if she likes it or she thinks it's annoying since she is getting up from being relaxed.

     Also, sometimes when I am petting her, she rolls on her back and swats at me with her paws (no claws). Does that mean stop or keep going. When I got her, one lady told me that means stop and the other told me that means love me more but they used it in context where it made sense. When I pet her and she swats me, I stop and she stares at me. Then I leave she will get up and follow me. Then when I pet her she will roll over and swat me again. I thought maybe she wanted to play but when I bring out her toy, she just stares at me. Anyway, I'm just worried I am annoying her and she might not want me to pet her any more.

     And is there a way to keep her off my bed. I am allergic to most animals with fur, including cats, so I don't want her on my bed. The allergies make it hard to sleep so it is the one place I want to be my allergy free sanctuary. I did let her on it once, the first time she hopped on to satisfy her curiosity. Now when I see her laying on it, I go tell her no (stern but not loud) and she hops off. I think she knows she isn't allowed on it but she lays on it anyway when I am not looking.

 

[pinkdagger]

Congrats on the new kitty! Headbutting and butt-in-air are usually happy signs. Cats usually raise their tails and bums if they're open, confident, and trusting of who's around them, and since cats sniff each others' butts, it's like inviting you to get to know them. The bum is also a very nice place for them to get rubbed, so unless they get overstimulated, they really like it, haha.

The swatting is touch and go - some cats do it to "hold" your hand there to keep going, and others do it as a warning without their claws, which could lead up to a "no, stop" with their claws. If I'm petting a cat and get swatted at, I stop for a minute, and then test the waters by petting just their head to see if they're still content with it. You can gauge some of it with their tail movements. Cats who are getting overstimulated will smack their tail and be more expressive with it, so if a tail is whipping around, they might be getting tired of the pettings.

Is it possible to lock her out of your room completely at night? Tire her out at bedtime, and when she's relaxing in another room, go to bed and shut the door? I know lots of people with allergies will make their bedroom the absolutely-cat-free-room, but if you're okay with her in there in general, you can let her in when you're awake and around to supervise.

I prefer my cats don't go on any of the furniture, including a desk where I have a plant, but lo and behold, when I walk into my room at night or wake up in the morning, there's my stripey black kitten loaf with her head tucked under one of the long leaves. It's the only place she goes that she isn't allowed and she isn't doing anything destructive (to herself or anything on the desk), so I let her get away with it. If it was an issue, I'd try to block it off... that's harder to do with a bed though, so closing off the entire room may be a better option there!

 

[mservant]

I think @pinkdagger  has given you some good information here. It sounds like your cat is very happy to be part of your family and wants you both to get to know each other better with all the rubbing, sharing scent and offering for you to smell her. With the swatting sometimes, some cats will love being petted but start to get a bit over stimulated so it is better to stop for a little while and then when the cat looks for you to re-start you can begin stroking again.  If you do make an error and she grips on to you just hold still for a moment, push very very slightly in towards her and then freeze until she lets go.  Stay still until she comes back looking for you to touch her again.

You can try locking her out of your room completely although to my cats any space they don't get in to is an instant draw and they feel a need to check it out - particularly if I'm in there and they don't understand where I have gone or why ( because of course I should want them with me at all times)!  Depending on how bad your allergy is, you could try letting her near or on your bed but use a thick bed cover that is well tucked in all the way round. That way she gets to snooze on your bed but when you get in there the fur can be removed.  If you want to try and get her to sleep somewhere else you need to make sure she chooses to do this herself because it is the comfiest, warmest, most desirable spot in your home.   Otherwise you are unlikely to succeed. 

 

 

[cowsrcute]

Good to know my petting is okay! I'm so happy she is trusting. =D And great tip with the tail. Thank you so much for all theinfo on body language.

And I'm to scared to leave her out of the room since I would feel bad. =T I think she knows she isn't allowed on the bed too. Every time I see her on it, I call her in the "your in trouble voice" and she hops off. Now she hops off when she sees me but she sheds a lot so she leaves her little danders behind. I love the idea of covering my bed. Hopefully she won't hop on while I am sleeping although I my friends told me their cats do that eventually. Either way, I am super proud of her. She is so smart she learned all this in only two days and she is an old cat too. I am definitely surprised at how smart cats are.

 

[mservant]

She sounds lovely and think she's settling in well from what you say.  Don't be surprised if you start to feel you're not running your home any more and you are consantly being outsmarted though - that too is quite normal!