When I was growing up, my grandmother had a black cat named Shelby who I was just determined to make friends with. Every time we went over to her house, I found where the cat was sleeping and attempted to put my hand on her head. She always hissed and pulled away, but not before batting at my hand with her claws.
I didn’t really know why she didn’t want me to pet her, but I knew enough to stop. Actually, the hissing kind of scared me. I was a tiny kid, after all. Let’s just say, I would leave her alone after that.
Now, I have two tabby cats that are much more affectionate than Shelby ever was. When they were tiny baby kittens, I spent a fair amount of time Googling what they were doing or trying to tell me so I could be the best cat mom I could be.
Luckily, I found this infographic that I (basically) memorized to help me figure out if Cortana wanted belly rubs or not. (Here’s a hint: not.)
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) published the cat body language infographic to help cat people like you and me learn how to better take care of our animals. If you can understand how your cat is feeling, you can take better care of your little one.
Featured photo credit: Mike Lawson via flic.kr
