Dear Sparkle,
I spend most of the day hanging out by the glass doors in the living room, watching the birds and squirrels in the backyard and sunning myself. My favorite position for sunbaths, as it is for many cats, is lying on my back. I love the feel of the warm sun on my belly fur, and if my back is itchy, I can scratch it by rubbing against the carpet. Heavenly, right? Well, not exactly because my human always seems to spoil things. I’ll be dozing and all of a sudden there’s this hand tickling my stomach! It’s so annoying. I really hate my belly being rubbed — and my human can’t seem to keep her hands off it! So I do the logical thing: I bite her hand (not too hard) and give it a couple of bunny kicks, then run away. You’d think she would get the hint, but the moment I’m on my back, napping, she’s right there again! I’d really like some peace, and this must stop. What’s the best way to keep her hands away from me without making her think I’ve gone feral?
Signed,
My Belly Is Off Limits
Dear MBIOL,
I know what you mean — humans seem to have some weird cat belly fetish. And the curious thing is that 63% of cats do not really like their belly being rubbed. (Okay, I’m not really sure if the correct percentage is 63 — I haven’t taken a poll — but judging from the cats I’ve talked to, more dislike it than like it.) And to take their obsession even further, humans have all sorts of theories about why cats either accept or reject belly rubs. They say that when we lie on our backs, it’s a form of submission, and that cats who allow belly rubs are showing trust. Well, that’s not exactly correct. Dogs show their bellies to express submission — for cats, it’s actually a fighting move that puts all four of our fiercest weapons (our front and back claws) at attention. So a lot of times, even if we are relaxed and sleepy, when we feel our bellies being touched, we are immediately alert and ready for battle! Often the fighting instinct trumps how much we kitties trust a human. Take Binga, for example — she’s the friendliest cat here and the humans can do almost anything with her — except rub her belly! So, your human may think she is making you feel good by touching your belly, but she is really doing the opposite and putting you in attack mode!
Unfortunately, human minds are simple and they cannot easily wrap their heads around the concept that cats react differently to belly rubs. Clearly you are one of those cats who hate having their bellies touched and your human isn’t getting it. There is no easy solution to this. Frequent negative reactions (“going feral,” as you put it) may hurt your relationship with your human, and of course, just lying there and taking it is not satisfactory. If you can’t find a good place to sunbathe that’s out of human reach, I’m afraid the bite-and-run technique is the best you can do. Hopefully one day your human will stop her thoughtless behavior.
I have a poll now — look to your right! Tell me if you like your belly rubbed or not!
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I learned a long time ago not to try to rub a cat’s belly. I know dogs like it, so I thought cats would too. But whenever I would try it the claws would come out and teach me a sharp lesson. Cats don’t like this.
Just like humans, some do and some don’t. And some do but only for a little bit of time, and some will just take as much belly rubbing as they can get.
I love to have my belly rubbed! I begin purring just as soon as mom starts rubbing it.
For me, it’s all about the approach. If Mama comes in right toward the belly, that’s a no-go! But if she approaches my tummy from around the sides, that’s OK and feels pretty good, as long as she doesn’t get to where my spay scar is (I still haven’t forgiven her for that–not that I’m unhappy to be fixed, mind you, but I had to go back for a second operation because I licked my incision open–it itched, what can I say?).
Cassie loves it. She will let me rub her belly for hours.
I love belly rubs! Harley likes it too, but it makes him over-excited and he starts biting. But not in a mean way.
I don’t mind a quick stroke but certainly no lower belly rubs!
Hey, did Hobbes mail in that letter??? I’m thinking it was him because he really hates his belleh rubbed. Maybe if kitties bellies weren’t so soft we wouldn’t be so tempted. And their sitting on my chest while I sleep is really annoying too, so I guess we are even.
@Lin Sorry, but I am sworn to secrecy and cannot divulge the authors of the letters and emails I receive. Especially when they’re red and stripey.
That is too funny. I do that to my cats all the time. The belly is just too hard to resists.
Our mommy also likes to give us belly rubs, and we too, give little bites and bunny kicks. Humans!
My granny helps ease my indigestion with some soothing tummy massage as she cradles me in her arms. I’m an old fellow now and I lap up the attention like I always have. I lie on my bed groaning a bit after a feed or a drink so she’ll come and pick me up. If she takes too long, I’ll sit up and be sick on my bed as a lesson to her. My mum was not as into the attention as I am. She’s not with us any more, so I get extra loving now.
Granny loves looking for my belly button. It gets me purring…..
But my all time favourite place to be rubbed is between my eyes. Mum used to lick me there when I was little.
Hi Sparkle, I’m a new blogger and I can’t stay long as my human hates me sitting on her keyboard. I have to confess I just loovvveee my belly being tickled. Maybe it’s because I’m an abysssinian, though from your photos I’d say we’re related? So maybe not?
@Libby – I actually like mine rubbed too, unlike certain other cats (ahem!) around here. We are probably distant relations, as I am a Somali, the fluffier version of Abys.
Pepper puts the F in finicky. Some days, it’s “Rub my belly, dammit!” Other days it’s, “If you even think about touching my belly, there’ll be hell to pay!” I can’t win, so I just wait for her to let me know how she’s feeling:)