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All cats communicate very well with each other. How well a cat can communicate with a human depends upon you.

Cats are said to be solitary. On the contrary, cats are social animals - as any pile of furry bodies taking turns on the outside of the heap on a cold day demonstrates. Cats will share their food; they often adopt starving kittens and puppies. If there are many outdoor cats in your neighborhood, do not be surprised if you find that your cat has brought its friends home for dinner. Even a very small amount of food given to the friends will make life for your cat much easier when it wants to go outdoors to socialize.

Sometimes, along with all the mostly indoor cats, every outdoor cat in the neighborhood disappears. The cats have gone to a convention. The following are the five most common modes of body communication that can be seen at a cat convention. As cats apply these same types of communication to humans, you should learn how to respond in cat "language."

1) Nose-touching between cats is the greeting acknowledging that a given cat belongs in this territory. Outsiders are not welcome and are chased away.

If a cat accepts a human, it will, at some point, touch the person's leg or hand with its nose. In return, the human should acknowledge his or her acceptance of the cat by placing a finger gently on the cat's nose. If nose-touching is not possible at that exact moment, say a few words of approval and use a warm tone of voice.

2) At conventions, the mother and father stand next to their kittens while the other cats sniff the new crop of 8-week old kittens to learn their scents. This protects the young by admitting them to the territory.

A cat will sniff out every corner of your home to learn the scents of its territory. If the cat is pleased with what it finds, it will come back to its human and rub against the human's leg.

3) Rubbing against another cat indicates ownership: this is mine: my mate, my friends, my kittens. At a cat convention, ownership rubbing is a territorial warning to the other cats.

In the home, a cat will rub against anything and anyone it considers its property, including you. You should good naturally accept that the cat considers that he or she owns you.

4) Head-butting is a sign of affection and expects reciprocation. There are, however, different types of head-butting depending upon where the cat butts its head. Kittens butt their head into their mother's stomach. A butt in the stomach means "I love you." Forehead to forehead butts between siblings, parents, and playmates means "I like you" and "you are my friend." A butt on a paw says "thank you."

Be aware that these types of head-butting mean the same things when cats apply them to humans. Cats have very good manners and they expect good manners from you. Always reciprocate a butt; say "thank you" by petting the cat on the head whichever butt is used.

5) Cat conventions are not always peaceful. Meetings are called to decide who is the alpha cat in the territory. All the other cats will sit a safe distance away while the contenders fight it out. A cat has no defenses on its back; when a cat turns over on its back exposing its stomach it means "I surrender; you are the boss."

In the home, a cat will often respond to a scolding by turning on its back. Once the cat has admitted that it is not the boss in your home, at least in the current situation, let the cat know that it may remain in your territory by gently patting it on its stomach and speaking a few words in a kind tone.

Cats have many ways to communicate; humans cannot always respond in their language. The five modes listed above allow you to communicate with your cat in a mutually understood language.

Learn more about this author, Risa Wolf.
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