Swish and FlickĬat body language uses various body parts to convey fairly precise emotions. But when it comes to understanding and admiring cat behavior, one thing is very clear: their tail acts like a barometer, and it’s up to us to know what it all means. You regale us with your chirpy hunting skills, warm us with your snuggly bellies, and inspire us through your dazzling acrobatics. Weird Animal Question of the Week answers your questions every Saturday.Oh, cats. Have a question about the weird and wild world? Tweet me, leave me a note in the comments, or find me on Facebook. ![]() ![]() The only things we’ve ever had stolen by a cat are our hearts. There is also a selectively bred cat called a Munchkin, which is nicknamed “magpie cat” because the breed is predisposed to swiping shiny objects and caching them for later, says Dodman. These cats may be “going through the motions,” and bringing back a “prey facsimile,” to their territory, often near their food bowls.įemales bring prey back to provision or teach kittens but males do this kind of thieving as well. Some cats have retriever instincts, like dogs, says Dodman, but like the sudden burst of energy, stealing may be an expression of instinct of a hunter with nothing to hunt. The internet is full of stories of felonious felines from England to California to Australia. Kowalchuk certainly isn’t alone in having a cat with sticky paws. Her tuxedo cat pinches socks, jewelry, business cards, “anything he can carry,” she says, from “purses, closets and dressers,” when the family is gone or “when he thinks we’re gone.” (Related: Why Cats Poop On Your Bed and Other Odd Behaviors) Reader Helen Farmer Kowalchuk is the owner of a literal cat burglar. The rest of the time they sleep or doze, storing up energy to confuse you with. Our homes are safer but not very stimulating, or the stimulation may not be pleasant-like being chased by children.Ĭats are hunters and “speed merchants,” says Nick Dodman, author of The Cat Who Cried for Help.īoth experts agree that these bursts of speed could be pent-up energy that might have been used for catching prey in the wild.Ĭats are also crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. These bursts of energy, sometimes called “the zoomies,” are “probably outlets for accumulated arousal,” frustration, fear, or pent-up energy, says Siracusa.Ĭats “need a lot of stimulation and enrichment,” and would be climbing trees and chasing prey if they were outside. The Science of Meow: Study to Look at How Cats Talk A fearful “Halloween” cat will have an arched back and “its tail up and puffed.” ![]() On a calm cat a straight-up tail with a hooked tip is a friendly greeting, while an aggressive cat may just have its tail straight up. (Related: " Do Animals Dream?")Ī whipping tale on an alert cat can mean nervousness, potential aggression, and “Do not touch!” says Siracusa. If he really is sleeping, Siracusa adds, a moving tail could mean he’s dreaming. The napping cat with the tapping tail, for example, is “relaxed overall but paying attention to something happening around him, a sound or movement,” so he’s peaceful but hardly asleep on the job. You have to take the whole body into account when reading tail signals, says Carlo Siracusa, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. So how do you decode a cat’s tail? (Read " Surprising Things You Never Knew About Your Cat.") Tail Tips While watching our cat snooze, we noticed his tail was tapping away like he was enjoying a disco medley we couldn’t hear, sending quite a mixed signal. Cat owners are keenly tuned in to their pets’ body language, but once in a while the felines will throw a curve.
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