Cat Body Language

Cats can be confusing. They communicate with us all the time through body language but how do you know what they are trying to say? Well, I'm going to touch on some basics to help you understand your kitty a little bit better. 

Cats say a lot with their body language. Knowing how to read them can tell you a lot about how your cat is feeling.

First you can look at overall body position. The the left is a good chart showing increasingly fearful and agressive cats. The top left is a normal content cat. A cat that is a combination of fearful and agressive are the most dangerous kind. It is best to leave them alone to let them calm down. 

It's important to look at other specific body parts for clues on how they feel. The key things to look at are their face (eyes, ears) and tail. Other things can give clues too but those are the main ones that are easy to remember and focus on. 


Eyes
The pupil size is one of the first indicators a cat is fearful/agressive. This is due to basic physiology. As a cat gets stressed their sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) kicks in which causes dilation of the pupils. So if you see a cat with super dilated pupils (in a well lit room) they are stressed. Don't just look at the pupils though, also look at the spae of the eye and eyelids. A cat with wide eyes is alert and more likely to be fearful or agressive. A calm cat usually has their eyes half closed. One of my favorite forms of cat communication is the slow blink. Some call it the cat "i love you." You can slow blink at a cat and if they slow blink at you that means they are comfortable and content! It may take time to get a cat to reciprocate the slow blink, but be patient- it's really rewarding when they do! 

Check out Ariya's eyes. You can see she is very relaxed based on her normal pupil size and her eyelids are partially closed. 

This is former foster Hazel. She was terrifed the first day she came home with me. You can see her pupils are dilated and her eyes are very wide. Also her ears are pointed to the side (see below about ears)

Ears
The ears are also used a lot to indicate how a cat feels. Erect ears are a sign of a content kitty. A more fearful or aggressive kitty with have their ears straight out, pointing back, or pinned back on their head. These are all signs to go slow and be cautious. 
Tail
The tail is another good indicator. The most content cat will walk with their tail up and a slight swaying of the tip. This is a confident happy cat! The lower the tail is dropped, the more fearful the cat is. They may hold their tail closer to the body and toward the ground. An aggressive cat will typically fluff out their tail. This is called piloerection (the hair stands up). This is a big indicator that a cat is angry and likely to be aggressive. 

Minnie had a big scare when her little foster brother (literally 1/2 her size at this time) jumped out from behind a shoe and startled her! This is a good picture showing piloerection.

So thats a super basic review of kitty body language. Next week I am going to continue the behavior theme and answer common questions about what certain behaviors mean. If you have any that you would like for me to answer leave a comment and I will be sure to include it in next weeks post!