CATS COMMUNICATE, BUT THEY MOSTLY CONVEY:

Before embarking on an exploration of cat body language and communication, it is important to reflect on whether cats are indeed signalling an intention or merely manifesting a mood. Unlike dogs, cats tend toward a solitary type of existence. That is not to say that they are not sociable or do not form colonies in the wild, but that those colonies are mainly comprised of queens and their litter while most cats end up as unaccompanied hunters. As a result, the need for more nuanced and varied forms of communication within the cat community is just not there.

It would be wrong, however, to say that cats do not communicate at all. They most certainly do. But we should not take all forms of self-expression as an intention to communicate a desire or an intention. For instance, a cat’s meow is unusual in that cats generally do not meow at one another but only to humans, and primarily to their owners or custodians. This can rightly be taken as a form of communication. However, a cat will purr regardless of who is around it, and thus it is merely an autonomic expression of its inner state, be that as an expression of contentment or as a means of self-soothing when in distress or discomfort.

We can still glean a lot by reading a cat’s posture or listening to its vocalisations, but we should also be clear about what is intentional and what is an involuntary response to an external or internalised situation.

Quick Links to Page Contents:

• Body Posture & Communication
• Vocalisation & Vocal Communication
• Scenting, Marking & Signalling
• Language Barriers due to Breeding
• Understanding ‘Cat’ / Understanding ‘Human’

BODY POSTURE & COMMUNICATION:

A cat will express itself with its entire body, and so it is important to consider all aspects of its appearance in order to decipher its mood or intention. Around its head, one needs to look at the shape of its eyes and the position of its ears and whiskers, and at the other end one needs to consider the position and movement of its tail. Both the cat’s stance and tension in its body and forelimbs is equally important.

How a cat holds its head will tell you a lot about how it is feeling. When it is held up it tends to be relaxed or interested, whereas when it is held low it is feeling either uncertain or threatened. In conjunction with its head position, a cat’s face will reveal quite a lot about what it is thinking and feeling through its eyes, ears, mouth, and whiskers.

As with many animals, a direct stare can be considered a challenge, while moving one’s head to the side and averting one’s gaze is seen as a non-threatening gesture. Blinking is also taken as a sign of friendliness, as it breaks the direct stare. Eyes wide open generally suggests alertness, while a cat that has its eyes narrowed or squinting may be relaxed but equally it could be feeling unwell or in pain.

A cat’s ears and whiskers tend to work in conjunction to one another, so that when a cat is alert or interested, its ears will be erect and facing forward while its whiskers remain to the front or sides. As a cat becomes aggressive, its ears may flatten back but the whiskers will be pushed forward. A cat whose ears are flattened to the sides and whose whiskers are pressed against its cheeks is uncertain or scared.

A oft-made misinterpretation of a cat’s true intent is when we see a cat roll over to expose its belly. We think this to be either a submissive gesture or an invitation to stroke. In fact, in cat culture there are no submissive gestures or appeasement signals, and this is actually a defensive or fighting posture, usually assumed by the cat that is feeling threatened. Unless the cat begins to roll from side to side or shows some other signs of solicitation for affection, it is best to keep your hands away, lest you get some heavy swats from its forepaws.

As mentioned above, a relaxed cat will hold its head high, unless it is exploring or sniffing near the ground. It’s movement will be fluid, with each of its shoulders slightly dipping as it moves. A fearful cat will crouch down or slink away in an effort to appear smaller, or if escape is not possible it might draw its head into its shoulders, arch its back, and raise the fur along its spine, puffing out its tail, to appear larger than it actually is. It may face the perceived threat head-on or try to amplify its size (and its opportunity to escape) by presenting itself side-on to the threat.

There are two ways in which one can glean a cat’s mood or intent simply by watching its tail. The first is by observing its position, and the second is by considering its movement. When doing so, though, it is important to factor in other aspects of the cat’s posture, as described above, in order to get an exact measure of the cat’s mood or intent.

An upright, or vertical, tail is generally a sign of a confident, friendly cat that is looking for a positive greeting. A horizontal tail indicates that the cat is relaxed and is feeling amicable to being greeted. However, a tail that is bent into an n-shape (see image below) or is lowered is a sign of aggression. When the tail drops between the legs, the cat is exhibiting a sign of being extremely fearful.

The tip of a cat’s tail can move independently of its base, which allows for a greater range of expressions and intensity of feeling. Cats are known to flick, wave, shiver, and thump their tails, depending on their mood and its severity. When a cat lashes or thumps its tail, it is feeling quite aggressive, however when less exaggerated it may merely be a sign of annoyance, frustration, or uncertainty. A waving tail, particularly in a jerky manner, would suggest that the cat is excited, be it due to the observation of prey or another cat. And when a cat quivers, or shivers, its tail, it is usually concurrent with it rubbing up against you, which should be taken as a sign of genuine affection.

Cats are not sociable animals, like dogs. Unless it’s a familiar cat – either one from the same litter or from the same household – a cat will generally not approach another, unless it is to assert its right to that territory. Instead, they will tend to observe the other and may begin some self-soothing activity, such as licking themselves. When they do approach the other it will be direct and threatening in order to warn the stranger off. Two cats that do know each other will approach each other much more calmly and with tails up.

VOCALISATION & VOCAL COMMUNICATION:

There are broadly three categorisations for how a cat might express itself vocally, and these are grouped according to the shape of its mouth. The sounds a cat will produce with its mouth closed include the purr and the trill, or chirrup. With its mouth open and then slowly closed it will chatter, chirp, meow, yowl, howl, or caterwaul. Finally, the sounds a cat will make with its mouth open but in a fixed position include growling, hissing, spitting, and even shrieking. As noted above, some of these sounds may be taken as clear forms of communication while others are simply autonomic responses to external stimuli or an involuntary manifestation of the animal’s state of mind.

A cat’s purr is involuntary and is a sign of inner contentment, although cats are also known to purr as a self-soothing mechanism when they are feeling anxious, unwell, or in pain. In order to perceive which inner state a cat is expressing, it is important to take in both its circumstance and body posture, as described above. Chirps, chirrups, and trills are commonly entwined within a cat’s purr, and tend to be involved in greetings and solicitation for affection, or as a means to express pleasure. These latter sounds can be taken as a form of communication.

A cat will generally chatter when it is excited, usually at the sighting of prey that may be out of reach, and may be taken as an involuntary expression of interest, as well as frustration, for something that is out of her reach.

The meow is the most commonly associated vocalisation of cats, and as has been noted before, is generally only directed at people as opposed to other cats. The only time a cat will meow at another is when as a kitten it will meow, or mewl, to its mother in order to get its attention, usually in relation to feeding. As such, the association into adulthood is that it is designed to provoke a reaction for attention, be it for food or cuddles. Each cat’s meow tends to be distinctive, and is generally shaped by what tone and repetition pattern has worked for it before. Some cats will even alter their tone and repetition pattern, depending on the circumstance or nature of their desire, in order to communicate a more specific intent. Nonetheless, these distinctive patterns are still formed based on previous rates of success for those particular situations.

The remaining sounds that a cat will make with mouth open and then closing – namely the yowl, howl, and caterwaul (the latter being made by female cats in heat) – are all calls related to expressing sexual interest or to give away their location to interested parties. A cat may also yowl when recently relocated to a new space or is being disturbed and distressed by the presence of others in its territory.

Snarls or growls are of a higher pitch than those expressed by their big cat cousins, and are warning signals that will usually be followed by a hiss should the target threat not take heed and back away. These are sounds that are created in the throat occur when the cat’s mouth is closed, though sometimes can be followed by an open-mouthed yowl.

Finally, a cat that shrieks or screams is either in extreme pain or extremely fearful. These sounds are usually associated with the end of mating, when the male’s barbed penis causes pain to the female as it is being removed or during a cat fight when one of the cat receives a bite or scratch.

So as with most animals, the shorter, high pitch sounds – such as trills, chirps, and chatters – are expressions of excitement or pleasure, while the low pitch sounds or those that are drawn out – namely howls, yowls, snarls, and hisses – tend to express displeasure or unease. The meow, which tends to be set at a neutral tone, is the cat’s primary tool for communicating to us outside of a state of heightened emotion.

SCENTING, MARKING & SIGNALLING:

A lot of people operate under the assumption that it is only male cats that mark, and that marking is done for purely territorial reasons, but on both accounts they would be incorrect.

While it is primarily male tomcats that spray, females have been known to do so as well, though less frequently. Both sexes, however, will mark and leave their scent by rubbing against surfaces and scratching items with their claws.

Urine spraying, which can take two forms (where the cat backs up against a vertical surface and sprays the surface with tail-up, or where the cat urinates onto a flat surface) is done as a signal to other cats, be they potential mates or male competitors, and is seen as a means to display an ‘honest’ signal as to the cat’s age, his health, and his capabilities as a hunter.

Another important aspect of spraying is that the pungency of the urine will dissipate overtime (although not soon enough for the human nose!). It therefore also acts as a signal to other cats as to how long ago that particular cat last past that way. Cats do not hold to territories so much as they navigate familiar paths in their environment, and by marking in this manner it allows a number of cats to pass down those same corridors while being able to give each other a wide berth so as to avoid confrontation.

As previously mentioned, cats will also mark through scratching or rubbing against surfaces. When it comes to scratching, the cat is not only leaving a visual signal as to its presence, but it also deposits scent from subcutaneous glands on its paws. These two will fade overtime, which is why a cat will return to the same area to scratch again. This may also help explain why a single scratch post set aside in a space that the cat does not consider part of its main throughway will be considered sufficient, let alone ever used.

LANGUAGE BARRIERS DUE TO BREEDING:

Owing to their less sociable nature, individual cat breeds have been far less affected by selective breeding than dogs in how they interact or take cues from one another as to their ear and tail positions and movement or their facial expressions.

Ordinarily, it would be expected that breeds like the Scottish Fold, with their ears bent forward, or the Manx cat and American Bobtail, with their shortened tails, would have difficulty with other cats understanding their intentions. The fact that this is not the case confirms that a lot of the signals that cats give off are in fact not meant to communicate intentions but rather a manifestation of their state of arousal or contentment.

That being said, there are a number of cat breeds that tend to be more vocal than others, particularly in relation to their interactions with humans. These include the Burmese, Siamese, and Oriental Shorthair. It is interesting to note that nearly all of these more vocal breeds of cat originated from the orient or have been interbred with breed lines from East Asia. While it cannot necessarily be proven, it can certainly be surmised that since these cats were not originally bred to hunt vermin and protect grain stores, as was the case for most breeds throughout the Middle East and later in Europe, but instead that they were bred as companion cats for the royal courts and nobility, that sociability toward humans was indeed selected for in these cases, and hence why these breeds tend to be more vocally expressive.

UNDERSTANDING ‘CAT’ / UNDERSTANDING ‘HUMAN’:

So how does understanding a cat’s body language and vocalisations aid your interactions with a cat, be it your own or someone else’s? For a start, perhaps now you will think twice before extending your hand to rub a cat’s belly when it rolls onto its side as you approach it, especially if its ears flatten and its whiskers push forward. A cat that does so with its ears up, whiskers relaxed to the sides, and rubs flank on the ground may be a different matter, but even then it would be best to follow the advice for any initial cat greeting, as will be explained next.

Since cats find a direct stare to be threatening, it is always advisable never to fix your gaze for too long, or if you do maintain eye contact to break your stare with a few blinks. By dropping down onto your haunches and extending your hand palm up, you are in effect inviting the cat to come to you. Let your cat sniff your hand as it would another cat’s face, and then gently stroke the cat’s chin and around its cheeks and corners of its mouth. In effect, you will be sharing each other’s scent.

The cat may then decide to rub its body against you, at which point you can gently stroke its back from the midpoint down to the base of its tail before returning to stroke its cheeks.  Please note, however, that some cats do not enjoy to be stroked around the base of the tail, so if you are at all uncertain it is best to keep your petting around the face and head area.  Avoid the belly, even if the cat turns itself over, for this is a sensitive area for an animal that is both a hunter and potential prey, at least until you and the cat are on good terms, and even then be on the look for any sign of irritation, as expressed in the ears and whiskers or in the movement of the tail.

And when the cat turns tail to walk away, let it do so. Cats don’t converse for long, preferring their social interactions to be frequent yet brief, and are more likely to engage in a follow-up meeting with those that respect this particular convention.

Your vocalisations should be soft and stated in a neutral to slightly high pitch. Too low a pitch, and your tone may seem threatening. Because ‘Human’ is not a cat’s native tongue, it is best that the words you select for your cat to learn be short, distinct from other words you have selected, and preferably with no more than two syllables.
And remember, it is not only about your voice but your body language. Cats are easily startled by sudden, unpredictable movements, so it is best to keep your movements slow, fluid, and relaxed.

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