Body Talk…
When I was a small child, we had a family cat called Gem. Gem was fascinating to me, and was for the most part, extremely accepting of my attention. On one occasion though, she displayed her dissatisfaction with me extremely directly.
She had gone behind the settee to find a quiet spot and I crawled behind there to fuss her. I’d been repeatedly told that if the cat moved away from me, she no longer wanted my attention. But as children often do, I believed I could convince Gem to have fuss on my terms.
Obviously that wasn’t the case, and I received a swift swipe to the face. She scratched extremely closely to my eye, and after ensuring no serious injury had occurred, I was told in no uncertain terms I should’ve have acted accordingly when Gem moved away from me.
Years later, I see this meme and recollect the interaction with Gem. How she established her boundaries very clearly when I continued to push them.
Recognising a cats body language is key to showing them the autonomy they deserve. And the more you know, the better your relationship with your feline family member will be.
You can find a good resource for knowing the basics here:
