Marking Signs...

. Bunting - Your cat may rub or push their face against objects with their forehead, cheeks or chin. What your cat is doing is marking them with subtle biological scents. Some say that a cat's rubbing with the forehead or cheeks indicates affection, but rubbing with the chin is usually reserved for territorial marking.

. Furniture scratching. Contrary to popular belief, (Ask Ms. Stinky she know about this addiction)furniture scratching is not the cat's way of sharpening their claws but is a form of visual and scent marking. Your cat's paws are equipped with scent glands to facilitate this function.

Territorial concerns will increase furniture scratching/marking and should be addressed if furniture scratching becomes a problem.

. Marking objects with urine or feces, This is an even more distasteful form of marking behavior to most cat owners. The function is similar to furniture marking signifying a olfactory warning.

. Anal sac secretions. Your cat may sometimes discharge their anal sac, when in situations of extreme fear. Anal sac secretions are thought to contain a fear pheromone that serves to remind the cat not to pass that way again.

. There are benefits to caring cat owners in obtaining glimpses into the mind of their pet because it enhances their bond with their cat and facilitates communications. So next time you are alone with your cat and do not have anything to do, try reading your cat's mind...

You will probably learn something you did not know before and have a greater understanding because of it......

Tell-Tail signs...

Tail position and movement offers insight into your cat's psyche. Basically a cat's tail can be up, down, or sideways; it can be curved or straight, and it can be still or moving. Here is how to interpret the various positions and movements of the tail:

. Tail tucked - fearful, defensive
. Tail held at half-mask and moving slowly from side to side - indicates mild interest
. Tail vertical or straight up - indicates anticipation and/or greeting
. Tail vertical but curved to one side - indicates expectation/monitoring
. Tail held completely to one side in a female - indicates sexual receptivity
. Tail held low with tip twitching - indicates a stalking predatory stance
. Tail frantically switching in wide arcs - indicates heightened affect/aggression
. Tail puffed up (piloerect) - indicates fear and aggression

Head & Body Position Of Your Feline...

A cat on the offensive often walks directly toward the subject of his or her angst with their head heald low and moving slowly from side to side, with thier eyes fixed on their target.

When in this mode , your cat will swivel their ears sideways and their body will appear wedge-shaped as thier rear legs stiffen. Watch out for this cat: it means business.

When your cat is on the defensive, they will hunker down while backing up and lean away from the threat.

Their head is sometimes deflected to one side giving the appearance of a sideways glance and they will vocaloze (hiss,. growl or shriek).

Other signs of defensive aggression include extension of claws in readienss for a fight, and pilorection (hair raised) - making them appear larger and thus more fearsome

A cat in this posture is less likely to attack than retreat beacause they are afraid.

The Ears Have It, Too...

A cat's ears can adopt several different positions and for several different reasons:

Ears erect and forward - alert with attention focused ahead.

Ears swiveled sideways like a swing - wing fighter - on the offensive.

Ears pressed backward onto the head giving the appearance of a snake - extreme defense.(ears folded back to protect them from harm)

One ear forward and one back - ambivalence.

Ears rotating like radar dishes - listening carefully in an attempt to find the source of the sound.

Mouth

Your cat normally keeps their mouth closed. This tells us very little about a cat's motivation.

When the mouth is open, however, you can sometimes learn about your ca't's motiviation.

Open mouth with lips retracted. Your cat stares, bears their teeth and hisses .

This indicates intimidation and aggressions.

The yawn, Yawing indicates stress, ambivalence, or sometimes preparedness for action.

Ways To Read Your Cat's Mind Part 2.....

The Eyes Have It..

Look into your cat's eyes and you can tell a lot about their state of mind.

The direction of your cat's gaze will direct you to the subject of their attention, but gazes vary.

Some are intense and focus while others are haphazard. When your cat stares without blinking, do they want something from you, or are they feeling hostility?

Either could be true.

Although a fixed gaze and rigid body posture might mean hostility the same look might be soliciting petting or some other form of attention in a relaxed, purring cat.

Another fairly definite eye sign relate to pupil size. If your cat's pupils are constricted and sit=like. their mod is probably ambient,m bordering on vegetative.

Or perhaps it is predatory. However, if your cat's pupils become fully dilated in broad daylight appearing as large black pools, they either are in pain or ready to fight or run away.

Increased pupil size is not intended to intimidate other cats or people but rather to allow more light into the eyes. Cat's pupis are always large at night but veterinarians learn very quickly to beware when a cat's pupils are fully dilated in a brightly lit examination room.

The degree of opening of the eyelids can tell a tale too.

Wide-open eyes correlate with alertness and increased levels of metal activity-ready for action if you will.

Semi-closed or fluttering eyes means that the cat is in a more dozy complacent mood or may be in the mood for a nap.

So if your cat's eyelids flutter and periodically close while the are looking at you, it is a sign of faith or trust.

Even if they are on the brink of falling asleep at the time, squinting at you is still a compliant because your pet is showing that they are comfortable and trusting enough to take a nap in your presence.

Ways to Read Your Cat's Mind. Part 1...

Wouldn't you love to know what your cat is thinking?

You can sit and watch your cat for hours, but you never know just what is going on behind those big dreamy, blue ,green, amber or golden eyes.

Your cat squints at you, fluttering their eyelids until they almost close.

They switch their tail. Are they angry or just excited.

We may not know, but we can make some pretty good assumptions about what cats are thinking based upon the full context of their behavioral signing and events that normally follow.