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Take a look at your cat. Does he feel happy? Anxious? Threatened? The truth is that he may display any or all of these emotions during a single day. Here is how cats use a clever combination of body language techniques to convey their moods.

Eyes: Its said that the eyes are the window on the soul, and this is never more true than with the expressive eyes of a cat. If he is feeling happy and relaxed, your cat's eyes will be half-closed, indicating that he is confident and trusting. On the other hand, if he is very anxious or curious his eyes will open wide and the pupil will expand, so that he can see better and assess the overall situation. Dilated pupils can also be an indication of agitation or excitement.

Ears: If your cat is feeling happy and relaxed, his ears will be pointing forwards and slightly outwards and may move gently as he listens for any interesting sounds. If he becomes tense, his ears will be pointed slightly backwards and twitching as he tries to interpret what a particular noise means.

When a cat is frightened, he will hold his ears up and back for protection. If this progresses to him being threatened by a dominant cat, he will flatten his ears against his skull to avoid injury to them.

Whiskers: An unhappy, frightened cat will pull his whiskers back tightly against his face, in order to make himself look smaller and therefore less threatening to another hostile cat or animal. Angry cats will push their whiskers forwards, to indicate they mean business.

If your cat is happy and relaxed, his whiskers will droop naturally to the sides.

Tail: A happy cat mostly lies down with his tail tucked under him.

A cat that's feeling very uncertain or threatened will arch his tail: a sure warning of imminent attack. However, when a cat play fights with a feline friend his tail may bristle and be held up in excitement rather than fear.

A submissive cat that is being attacked may lie down on his side and thrash his tail from side to side, to try to deter his opponent by imitating a scary snake! Alternatively, he may wrap his tail around his body in an attempt to prevent possible injury.

Claws: A contented cat will keep his sheathed. In contrast, a frightened cat will unsheathe those sharp talons, ready to use if necessary. However, unsheathed claws are not always a sign of aggression: for example, the cat may be curious about something and use his claws to touch and investigate an object.

Learn more about this author, Sheetal Ahlawat.
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