How to Communicate With Cats

Cats were domesticated after dogs and their transition – from savage hunters to social companions- is not complete. They continue communicating according to the rules and the signs that develop in their communities in free condition. The respect of the space and the intimacy of the others it's the basic beginning that allow to the cats to coexist with others. They communicate between them using more clear signals as the very subtle ones and have more smart senses than those of the man.

Surely, the most important are those of the smell, the tact and the ear. They allow to the blind newborn kitty to identify the typical smell of his mother and to be opened the way towards her to suck. The vibrations of his purring indicate to the kitty that she is nearby and, if she moves far away, his meows will be answered for his mother to do that he returns to his side. The tact and the smell have an essential role in the way which the adult cats establish and maintain their relations. Two cats that manage well are in the habit of passing hours sleeping one next to other one or polishing themselves mutually and, normally they are greeted rubbing their faces. Since the cat almost never come to our face, greets us rubbing against the legs, marking them with his smell and taking them ours. Then he goes away and begins to lick the hair, to eliminate our smell and to recover his smell. All the cats mark continuously their territory with their personal smell left by the hoofs, the tail and the face providing that they walk, scratch or rub with something.

Expressions and corporal language
Also the visual signs are important, as much for themselves as combined with other forms of communication. A cat can read easily the face of another cat. The extensive pupils indicate alert, generally fear of an attack; although sometimes they can indicate interest. A direct look is in the habit of being the prelude of fight.

The facial expression extends through the corporal language of the cat, specially for the position of the ears. If they fold backward, are a sign of defense, if they are flatten, of an extreme fear, if they are erects or a bit ahead, are a sign of confidence. A cat that feels menaced try to seem bigger putting of prong the whole hair of his body and arching the loin. A nabbed cat with the arched loin prepares himself to attack, but if the loin is flat, means apprehension and submission. A cat that puts on belly up and shows us his more vulnerable parts, is giving us the definitive proof of confidence toward us.

The vocal signs are changed and, generally, clear: they go from spitting and grunt up to the purring and many different classes of meow. Almost the whole world believes that the purring indicates that the cat is pleasant. Although we can think that a cat that purring in our lap is satisfied, the cats also purring in other circumstances. There are experts who believe that they do it to calm down when they are scared or have a strong pain and, in other cases, to show that his intention is not hostile. The best way of making that a cat purring is to leave him to close when he wants and then to caress him; better than to bend suddenly and pick him up.

Q/A After my cat, Pricilla, was attacked by a dog, she smelled very badly. Is it her smell or the dog's?

The cats has glands under the tail that they contain a pestilent substance of acrid smell, which disburden if the cat is very nervous or scared. This is surely what happened when Pricilla was attacked.

What do cats use their whiskers for?
The sense of tact is concentrated in the nose, the hoofs and a few hair sensors that are more dense and rigid than the normal ones. Those which are seen the most are those of the whiskers, which are extremely important in order for the cat to gathers information about what surrounds her through the tact and the stimuli.

When the cat turns the back after grumbling him. Is he trying to tell me something?

Yes. Your cat is recognizing his inferior social position and he avoids a conflict cutting the visual contact with you. It is not a sign of fault.

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