<div class="block">When you should pet your cat and when should you stay away? If your cat is squinting at you, what does it mean? Alina Hauptman of Best Friends Animal Society brought Dolce to Cheddar News studios to offer tips about how to understand your pet. </div>

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Cheddar Paws: Understanding Your Cat's Body Language

It's time now for Cheddar pause. And have you ever wondered what it means when your cat holds its tail up straight or what the difference is between a friendly stance or a more aggressive one? So, joining us this morning with all the answers is Alana Hopman from Best Friends Animal Society and the special guest, Dolce. Hi. So, yeah, tell me a little bit about Dolce. So do is two months old. He is available at Best Friends Animal Society in New York City and it's the perfect time to adopt because Monday is National Kitten Day. Oh, even better. Is it still kitten season right now? It is kitten season runs from May until October. Ok. So let's talk about Michelle when she was talking about how cats are ex how expressive they are, especially with their tails and stuff like that. But how would they, they express their feelings through their eyes because this one l seems like he's very expressive in the eyes. Absolutely. And right now you can see his eyes are kind of squinted or half closed. That means he's really comfortable in the environment. Good. I'm doing good. I'm Wrangler when their eyes are wider. That means they're more nervous they're taking in the environment looking for any threats. Are dogs similar to like that? Or, or is that more specific just to cats? I think that's more specific to cats. I mean, dogs have their own ways of showing it, you know, ears back, things like that tail down. So now is purring right now, like that's also a sign of being. But what does it mean when a cats tail is thrashing back and forth? So that means they're really over stimulated and that means they just have all this excess energy and they don't know where to put it. So it's coming out through their tail and is that a good time to pet a cat or interact with them or when it's tail is thrashing? It's absolutely not a good time. Um, that can be a precursor to hissing, growling or even, you know, nipping. So you want to kind of give your cat or kitten their space? Ok. So I've heard this making biscuits that cats do. What does that mean? I, I don't have a cat so I don't, I've never heard this before. So it's kind of like that tap, tap, tap, that kittens do and it means they're really happy and content and it's interesting that's actually what kittens do when they're nursing. So it kind of gives them this feeling of, you know, when they were newborns with their mama. Ok. So are there any other tail positions that cats used to communicate? Oh, are you gonna say something? Yes, he's gonna take this one. No, when their tails are up and curved slightly, that means, you know, it's a good time. They're happy come and pet me, play with me. Ok. So how do you differentiate between a cat's friendly tail position and maybe more aggressive? What are the sort of characteristics to look out for? So, I would say if it's up and curved, that's, you know, the good one, come on in belly scratch, do whatever you want to do behind the ears and when it's thrashing or, you know, stiff, you know, take your cues from your animals and your cats and, you know, kind of give them their space now has such beautiful eyes. Now, is there anything you can tell from a cat's expression on its eyes, like how it's feeling or whether you should approach it? I mean, I think that really goes back to, you know, when their eyes are squinty, if you squint at a cat and they squint back at you, they're mirroring that and they're comfortable in the environment when they're wide open, they're feeling scared, they have anxiety. So, you know, definitely try to calm their nerves, but don't, you know, that's not the best time to engage. They're feeling more fearful and the eye signals indicating trust in their environment. That's sort of what you were alluding to right there. Exactly. Interesting. Ok. So do cats exhibit similar rubbing head butting behavior as humans or other cats do? Yes. So that's the way the cats really, you know, play with their group and, you know, show that they're really comfortable. So if you put your hand out and your cat head butts against you or rubs against you, they're telling you, hey, I welcome you into my group and they are approved. Uh, do we think Michelle is approved here for? I mean, Dolce doesn't look like she's, he's leaving Michelle. Oh, no, I think, I think this is gonna be my friend made on air, but my dog does like cats more than she likes other dogs. Well, if, if Michelle adopts Dolce, there are still tons of cats and kittens at best friends and at your local shelters looking to be adopted.