(no subject)

[bobkitty]

Can some cat owner *please* explain the head-butting thing? I'm sitting here calm as could be, and Mr. I-Need-Attention-Constantly Cat (geez, you'd think he gets it from his father) decides to A) jump up in my lap so I can't see the computer, and B) Turn around and *WHACK* me repeatedly in the chin with his head.

WTH???

Though I suppose it's better than the "I'm going to lure you into a false sense of security, let you rub my belly, and then grab onto your hand with all four claws-splayed paws and teeth." He's never actually drawn blood doing that, but it's a bit on the shocking side.

The cat's a freak, I tell you. And, luckily for us, has come fully into his inherent cat ability of apporation. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to get into the bedroom the other night.

Comments

[whyaduck.livejournal.com]

Getting head-butted by a 15 lb cat ain'y so bad. Try getting head-butted by a 1200 lb horse. That's annoying.

[bobkitty.livejournal.com]

Been there, done that. As long as you managed to deflect it slightly, the bruises aren't too bad. They're so sweeeeeeet. :D

Actually, I was extremely amused when we went over my stepdaughter and her husband's house for dinner and stopped to pet the horses that belonged to the owner of the house they rented. Big babies, is all they were- and one of them bit everyone there but me. Had good taste, that horse. Or bad taste, depending on how you look at it. ;) Either way, he let me pet him and rub his nose and everything and didn't make a move toward me- the others got within reaching distance and *wham*. Drew blood from stepson-in-law.. got stepdaughter and Mr. Kitty pretty well.

I want a horsie!!!!

[zyada.livejournal.com]

"Cats have another, slightly unusual way of showing their contentment with life: They'll butt you with their heads. ... that's the same signal kittens use [with their mother] when they're happy and comfortable." - Petspeak, by the editor of Pets magazine.

And after typing that, the association of "head" and "butt" is getting a little strange!

[bobkitty.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was acutely aware of *exactly* how I was phrasing that question, for just that reason. :)

Sooooo.. it's a good thing. Right. I'll put it on my list of weird animal behaviors, right next to the dogs wanting to play that age-old game "Baby Wolf." Usually when I've got something really good and bloody for dinner. ;)

[terracinque.livejournal.com]

Cats do many things that seem affectionate but aren't, like rubbing up against your legs (they're just putting their scent on you; it's a marking-the-territory kind of thing, and no affection should be inferred).

But the head-butting thing is one of the few unambiguously affectionate things they do. A cat likes you, muchly, if it butts you with its head.

When I feed my cats, I scoop Cat Chow out of the bag with a measuring cup and then pour it into my cats' bowls.

Often Jack (seen above) is waiting for the food, and is so happy about getting fed that he head-butts my hand coming down, causing me to dump all the food onto the floor.

Drives me crazy, but whattaya gonna do?