This article will hopefully help you to better understand your cat’s mood as well as their body language in an attempt to better you and your cat’s relationship.  If you’re not a cat owner you likely think cats have but one mood, indifference, if you are a cat owner you know differently but likely have a hard time telling one exact mood from another and what signifies each mood.

Even though cats speak and tell you how they are feeling their body language does most of the speaking for them.  Cat owners know cats have many different moods and different things they are trying to tell them, but people who don’t have cats aren’t so aware of that.  Each particular part of the cat’s body displays its emotions; its ears, tail, and even muscle tension all are telltale signs of the cat’s mood.  It is really important to look at the cat as a whole to determine what is really going on.  If your cat is happy and resting, it is going to have very relaxed muscles, its tail will be drooping or moving slowly, its eyes will likely be half closed, and its ears will be at a forty- five degree angle from the top of the head.

A cat that is fearful or anxious has a lot of tension in its body language.  If you look closely you will see their muscles tense, their tale is usually close to the body or tucked under the body, the head might be pulled down into the shoulders, and you might see the ears plastered back against the head, the whiskers will also be pulled back as well.  When you first take a cat home they likely will be quite nervous.  If you spend a lot of time with it though its true personality will slowly emerge, this is when you can truly bond with your cat.  Remember it usually takes at least a couple of weeks for a cat to settle into its new environment.  So encourage the cat to spend time with you in fun ways like playing or feeding but don’t overwhelm him or her in the first couple of weeks.

Remember to watch your cats entire body to learn their body language and you will learn what they are trying to tell you with ease.

Filed under: Cat Behaviors

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