He meows. Makes hard eye contact but if I touch him , he gets mad and runs off.
What? What do you want!?!?! Why are you staring at me and meowing if you don’t actually want me to do anything?!
He also seems to get mad and run off if I just look back at him and not try to pet him.
If I try to ignore him he just rolls around and sometimes does this little ridiculous “tantrum” deal where he will stand up and dramatically throw himself down and then roll onto his back. It’s always loud cause he’s a big cat. It can’t feel very good. But he does it all the time.
Idk. Maybe he just likes being dramatic.
Anyway. Any cat whisperers who have figured it out, let me know.
Touch but don’t touch.
Belly rubs
With my cat, it’s an invitation to play fight.
So I put on an oven mitt, tickle her belly and she clamps down on it and tries to kill it.
But she doesn’t extend her claws or actually bite down, and when I remove my hand she goes back to the position on her back. Which tells me she seems to enjoy it.It’s a trap!!
If pets aren’t what he wants because he runs off if you get close, try laying down next to him, as close as he’ll let you, and imitate him. Curiosity may get the best of him and he may come over to you and scope you out!
Cats will often show you their belly as a sign of trust, as it makes them vulnerable. Some cats love to have their bellies rubbed, others view it as a breach of trust and will shred you, even though they flopped over. If it’s a cat you don’t know, the best thing is to just reach down and scratch the top of their head around the ears. If you want to see how far you can push it, give them scritches under the chin, move down to the upper chest, and inch your way lower to see how far they’re okay with going.
give them scritches under the chin, move down to the upper chest, and inch your way lower to see how far they’re okay with going.
This quickly turned into cat fan-fiction
I think you might be right from what I can gather without a video to check the body language and a longer term observation.
Spot on, but I would personally go for slow horizontal approach to cheeks if you don’t know the cat, a lot of cats freak out about things above them, so going directly to top of head is a bit risky, and has gotten me bit before. I would offer a scent mark target first, just stick a (tucked in, hard to bite!) knuckle out for them and if they rub their cheek against it, you’re golden. After that I would move to chin and then top of head/behind ears.
If I even approach with my hand he gets mad and runs off before I even make contact. He is generally fond of cheek rubs. But he won’t even let me do that when he’s on his back.
To me it sounds like it could be what some littermates do to eachother, he’s calling you to play. Our cats will do this same thing, but to each other: Jade will first go groom Ciri’s face for a bit, perhaps a little stranglehold here, or she flops down in front of her sister, asking her to jump on top and wrestle, a lot like what you’ve described in the post. YMMV obviously, you know your cat better than a stranger online etc., but my two cents from my experience with a lot of litters in the past, I’ve seen this before many times.
It can also be what comment above said, he could be just showing his trust to you, but since it’s such a high stakes thing, he could be a little overstimulated and doesn’t know what he actually wants, and just reacts like his instincts are telling him.
If they lie like that peacefully and contently then it’s because they find it comfortable.
If they’re active and trying to get your attention, but don’t want pets, then it’s because they want to play.
He wants you to chase him
I’m more curious, do y’all have a green carpet? Am I about to find out I’m cllourblind? Is this outdoors?
It’s a very old olive green carpet. The owner of the house I’m in said it’s from the 70s. Isn’t that crazy!?
It’s in decent condition but it’s super flat. Probably because of its age.
Amazing! 70s choices were so danged bold! Yeah, not all worked out but…!
Most of my walls are a fun but oft complained about, green. Here’s the walls, with her highness basking in having successfully dethroned me:
Blood (yours)
My cat will allow brief chest pets. NOT belly rubs!!!
Mostly I think she just wants me to stop walking and give her my full attention. She flops right at my feet. Usually while I’m carrying something.
Sometimes she’ll let me touch her paws too, NOT in a grabby way, just with my fingertips.
(She normally allows face scritches and back pets but this position isn’t conducive.)
And sometimes I just take a few seconds to tell her good things about herself, like she’s smart and pretty and brave and strong.
Fortunately, cats are cool with the attention only lasting a few minutes.
My cat does this for belly rubs… Her software is bugged and doesn’t have a limit on belly rubs. Also to scratch her back on the carpet. She will also let me spin her like a beyblade while doing this for some reason and keep laying on her back for more belly rubs
Attention, pets, or possibly play time. Try a string or wand toy?
I have both. I’ll give that a try next time
Never had cats, but is that not a playful pose? At least, I believe they do this when they want another cat to play with them.
Of course, there’s the trouble that you’re not a cat, so can’t really wrestle with them like another cat would. But yeah, maybe you can poke at them or next to them, so they can avoid your ‘attacks’ as a game.
can’t really wrestle with them like another cat would.
You can, if you put on an oven mitt.
I have a few of the wand toys, I’ll give that a try
Belly rubs :D
Trying to set me up ?
Haha. No he does not let me touch the belly. Ever.
