What are your cat's 'codes'?

[mani]

Nilah sat on the keyboard and stared at me.

What could this mean? 

I played with her then came back. 

She sat on the keyboard and stared at me.

I checked the litterboxes (just in case) and then gave her food. 

She sat on the keyboard and stared at me.

Finally I find that the flap to the enclosure is jammed shut.

I should have remembered the code: 

• meowing = food
• tossing litter everywhere = clean the litter box (this has only happened once.. I'm well-trained)
• patting me with her foot = attention.  Patting or playing is fine.
• meowing really loudly = "look at the insect/skink/leaf-that-looks-like-an-insect that I dragged in from the enclosure"

So obviously it was none of those. 

Now I know sitting on the keyboard and staring at me = open the cat flap 

What are your cat's codes?  

 

[fhicat]

Jed and I are still getting used to each other, so there aren't many codes that I've picked up on. A couple that I know:

1) making a figure 8 under my feet and then walking to his food bowl - pretty obvious lol

2) licking my finger/feet/<insert body part> randomly - wants a 30-second petting

The one code I really want to know is when he paws at my arm and go "NYUUUU??!" I haven't figured that one out yet. It isn't petting, because if I try to pet him he'll nip and lunge at my arm. Then he'll paw at my arm again. Not food either, since I just fed him and he does this pretty randomly. 

 

[yayi]

San : meowing - it's a reminder that in one hour it's meal time

Panda and Cali : walking ahead of me and stopping - " follow me please"

                               walking behind me - "we want to go with you"

Buddy: purring and staring - wants to go on my lap

 

[AbbysMom]

I know when I hear a thump on the side of the couch that she wants to come up and sit with me. :lol3:

 

[happybird]

If the food bowl gets emptied while we are asleep, Pooper will wake my husband up by trying to put her head in his mouth. We think she's checking to see if he's got any in there, lol! All the other cats give me The Stare when they want to be fed.

 

[dejolane]

As soon as Bella & Thunder sees me in the kitchen they think I;m going to feed them They either jump on the counter or sit pretty til I open a can.

 

[jcat]

The door to the food cabinet in the kitchen being thumped = I'm hungry, feed me.
The dust pan and brush being knocked down the stairs next to the bathroom = Hurry up, you're taking too long in there and I want breakfast.
Sitting on the top stair and going "mewp mewp" = Come downstairs and play with me.
A ball rolling across the kitchen floor = You don't really want to go to bed; stay up with me and play some more.
Lying on the left side of the kitchen table going "meep" = I need a hug!

 

[larussa]

Autumn gives me the 'stare' if I ignore her, she starts meowing and walking back and forth in front of me.  When I finally get up, she walks in front of me towards either the bedroom where her wand toy is or she walks toward the kitchen where her food is.  She is a very smart cat.

 

[lyrajean]

Aya is definitely a "pet on her terms" cat and will not hesitate to remind you with a swat or nip if you forget. Still she has certain places she goes if she wants to be loved-up. I brought a low square basket she's had since she was a kitten all the way from Japan to make her feel familiar. It currently resides on my bedroom floor. She leads me to the basket or jumps on my bed to let me know she wants lots of kitty rubs. She has also perfected the stealth head-butt.

 

[misty8723]

Cindy will sit in front of me and curl her tail around her front paws.  That means, feed me now!  We call it "the pose."

 

[christinemarie]

Every morning at 8:30 like clockwork, Chelsea has "a case of the yips". Runs around kitchen & dining room with her eyes bugged and all bushy tailed! Lays on chair in kitchen making exclaiming noises (for lack of a better word) & twisting on her back in flip flops, and pretending to be fierce. This has become a morning ritual. It is code for "Don't pick me up right now- I'm in an ornery mood!"
At lunch time, as soon as I walk toward kitchen Chelsea appears & takes her position to observe what's on the menu. If I open any kind of meat, she knows the empty can is hers!

 

[mservant]

If the food bowl gets emptied while we are asleep, Pooper will wake my husband up by trying to put her head in his mouth. We think she's checking to see if he's got any in there, lol! All the other cats give me The Stare when they want to be fed.

  Mmmmmm, furry cat head, doesn't sound like the most pleasant way to get woken up to me!   Good motivation to learn to sleep with your mouth closed I would have thought?  

Also, a bit like the old lion and the head circus act. Should Pooper be afraid?

 

[jcat]

I forgot one: Crouching on the top level of the cat tree and staring = get off that stupid computer!

 

[swampwitch]

When Tophel* wants food, he opens the door to the cabinet where the cat food is kept, then he lets it bang closed, over and over until you get him some food. This usually happens in the wee hours of the morning.

*rhymes with waffle

 

[my-boy-jasper]

Gosh, I have to admit that much of what Jasper does is a puzzle to me. It's been doing my head in lately. He has recently started walking around the house meowing at things. I do understand when meowing in the kitchen is to get some food. I have worked out that sometimes he is watching bugs. But why would he meow at bugs? Is he talking to himself? Is he bored? Sometimes he will be watching the bugs and then just look at me and meow.  I think maybe it's frustration. Teen angst? I'll spend some time playing but then he goes right back to prowling the house meowing at random things. It's kind of unsettling because I don't know if he is trying to tell me something.

Other things he does tell me that I do understand -

He jumps up on the kitchen bench and ***** his head to the side, with a little head wobble. This means he wants to butt heads or rub noses. But he is really thinking that if he is super cute and affectionate, he'll get fed. It's actually a trick.

He jumps up on the fridge and lays down, rolls over on his back and hangs his head upside down over the fridge. This means he is in the mood for some head pats and chin rubs.

When Jasper is laying on or next to me and getting some pats, he'll tilt his head back to say he wants a chin scratch.

Each time I go to the toilet, Jasper comes in and sits down with his head behind the towel and his back to me. This signals the start of a game where I shake the towel and he attacks it. But I don't think I fully understand the rules because half the time he doesn't attack. I'm not sure he knows the rules either.

Each morning at about 6am, Jasper sits on my chest, walks around my head, head butts me, pushes his nose into my face, and generally hassles me to wake up and feed him. If I don't respond in a timely manner, he gets frustrated and begins nipping my arms - just teeny little nips that hurt like mad. Needless to say he is fed by about 6:15 every morning.

 

[bh22]

My girls have interesting codes.

Ana "panicked meows"=PLEASE let me up on the bathroom counter so I can get my muggy paws all over the mirror! or Please let me sit on your lap while you go to the bathroom.

Lucy "bits nose and fingers while asleep"=wake up! its almost 4:30 so that means BREAKFAST!! (she seriously does this every morning around 4:30).

Ana "plays with my box spring to the point that I cant sleep anymore"-wake up its 4:30 time for BREAKFAST!!

 

[thelifeofzeus]

When you hear a meow, and the kitten races up the stair case, poop or a pee. It all happens so fast.

 

[mani]

Maybe we need to produce a 'The Cat Site Cat Code Directory'

What could it possibly mean if my cat does........?  Consult TCSCCD

 

 

[army wife]

When one of my mom's cats want food and he is in my room and the food bowl is empty he will try and open the container where the food his himself and help himself.  

Tinkerbell follows me every where in the house.  When she jumps up on the bathroom sink she wants a drink of water.  (I am trying to break her from that)

When Tinkerbell jumps up in bed with me she knows it's time for bed and will lay next to me.

Sparta when jumps up and head butts you he wants to be cuddled.  When Sparta is on his back he wants belly rubs.

With CC if he bats at you from his condo he wants you to pet him.  If he bats at you with both of his paws he wants you to let him out.

 

[fhicat]

The one code I really want to know is when he paws at my arm and go "NYUUUU??!" I haven't figured that one out yet. It isn't petting, because if I try to pet him he'll nip and lunge at my arm. Then he'll paw at my arm again. Not food either, since I just fed him and he does this pretty randomly. 

I -think- I got this. He wants to play. I play with him and he doesn't do it for the rest of the day (because apparently 2-3 times playing a day isn't enough for him).