Cat communication

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A yawning cat

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Cat communication consists of a range of methods with which cats communicate with humans, other cats, and other animals. While superficially cats may seem to lack social behavior, in fact close study reveals a wide repertoire of subtle behaviors, which serve cats in their natural wild setting where they form organized hierarchies, and in their domestic interactions with humans.

1 Biting
2 Purring
3 Other noises
4 Body language
5 References
6 See also

[edit] Biting

Cats will bite out of playfulness or aggression. When a cat is content, a cat will playfully nip, which is a type of bite which is weak and harmless. A common misunderstanding about the motivation behind a cat's bite is that it is a form of affection. People most likely assume this because a cat will sometimes bite suddenly while it is being petted. A petting-induced bite is not a form of affection, but rather a mildly aggressive signal to inform the human to stop petting. While this behavior may seem unexpected to humans, a cat will usually give other subtle indications, such as "tail-lashing or thumping, skin rippling, growling, cessation of purring, ear flicking or rotation sideways, or shifting of body position" to announce that it does not wish to be petted.^[1]

Cats also have sensors in their teeth, and biting could indicate curiosity.

[edit] Purring

Main article: Purr

[edit] Other noises

Cat hissing and arching its back to make itself appear larger.

Most cats growl or hiss when angered or in danger, which serves to warn the offending party. If the warning is not heeded, a more or less serious attack may follow. Some may engage in nipping behavior or batting with their paws, either with claws extended or retracted. With cats who are improperly socialised and do not know their own strength, this can result in inadvertent damage to human skin. Like any injury, cat scratches can become infected, and in extreme cases can result in cat scratch fever.

Cats are also known to make chirping or chattering noises when observing prey, or as a means of expressing interest in an object to nearby humans. When directed at out-of-reach prey, it is unknown whether this is a threatening sound, an expression of frustration, or an attempt to replicate a bird-call (or replicate the call of a bird's prey, for example a cicada). ^[2] Whereas this conduct was originally viewed as the feline equivalent of song, recent animal behaviorists have come to believe this noise is a "rehearsal behavior" in which it anticipates or practices the killing of prey, because the sound usually accompanies a biting movement similar to the one they use to kill their prey (the "killing bite" which saws through the victim's neck vertebrae).

A type of chirrup, the chudder, is used as a greeting. Tigers also use this sound.

Cats in close contact with humans use vocalization more frequently than cats who live in the wild. Adult cats in the wild rarely vocalize; they use mostly body language and scent to communicate.

[edit] Body language

Main article: Cat body language

A mackerel tabby cat kneading a blanket before a nap. Note the forward position of the whiskers, indicating happiness or curiosity

A young black cat with his eyes partially open, showing relaxation and happiness.

Cats will twitch the tips of their tails when hunting or angry, while larger twitching indicates displeasure. They may also twitch their tails when playing. A tail held high is a sign of happiness, or can be used as a greeting towards humans or other cats (usually close relatives) while half-raised shows less pleasure, and unhappiness is indicated with a tail held low. A scared or surprised cat may puff up its tail and the hair along its back may stand straight up and turn its body sideways to a threat in order to increase its apparent size. Tailless cats, such as the Manx, who possess only a small stub of a tail move the stub around as though they possessed a full tail, though it is not nearly as communicative as that of a fully tailed cat. Touching noses is a friendly greeting for cats, while a lowered head is a sign of submission. Some cats will rub their faces along their guardian's cheek or ankles as a friendly greeting or sign of affection. This action is also sometimes a way of "marking their territory," leaving a scent from the scent glands located in the cat's cheek.

Cats also lick both each other and people (e.g. their owners). Cats lick each other to groom each other and to bond together (this grooming is usually done between cats that know each other very well). They will also sometimes lick people for similar reasons, that is, to "groom" them and to show them caring and affection.

When cats are happy, they are known to paw their guardian, or that on which they sit, with a kneading motion. Cats often use this action alongside purring to show contentment and affection for their guardians or other times it can be when the cat is in pain or dying it is said to be a way of comforting itself. In the vernacular this action is often referred to as paddy-pawing, happy feet, making muffins (or biscuits), making butter, boop bopping, skronking, stompy, farfeling or treading paws. It is instinctive to cats, which use it when they are young to stimulate the mother cat's breast to release milk during nursing. As a result, cats hand-raised by humans may lack this reflex. Pawing is also a way for cats to mark their territory. The scent glands on the underside of their paws release small amounts of scent onto the person or object being pawed, marking it as "theirs" in the same way they would urinate to mark their territory.

Yawning in front of their owner and blinking behavior is common in cats and may be a sign of trust or affection. Cats will respond to a human who dramatically closes and opens their eyes by reciprocating the action. This perhaps illustrates a remarkable aspect of cat intelligence; that they are able to identify and relate part of their own anatomy to the same structure on another species.