How to Think Like a Cat

Know that some cat behaviors are meant to mark their territory, such a spraying and scratching on things. Cats are territorial by nature, and both scratching and spraying on things tells other cats that a fellow feline already occupies the area. Sometimes spraying can be avoided by having the cat fixed at an early age, typically before they go through puberty.

Rub the sides of your cat's face and you'll probably have a very happy kitty. Doing this allows them to deposit their scent on you from tiny scent glands located at the sides of their faces, and elsewhere. This is their way of telling other cats that you belong to them, and is considered another way that they mark their territory.

Think like an undomesticated cat, as some behaviors are leftovers from when cats were wild. Cats will frequently hide when they are sick or dying; in the wild this behavior protected them from predators. Scratching around their food bowls, as if they are trying to bury it, is what cats in the wild will do if they want to save some of their meal.

Realize that some cat behaviors are a compliment to you. Lying down in front of you with their belly exposed is a sign that they trust you completely and know you would never hurt them. Kneading on a part of your body is a behavior from when they were kittens, when they kneaded their mothers to stimulate milk flow. Doing this to you says they think of you as a surrogate parent.

Learn the behaviors that cats do to express displeasure. If your cat suddenly hisses at you after you've been petting it for a while, it's telling you its done being petted or that it's become annoying. A cat that is vigorously swishing its tail from side-to-side is annoyed about something, so look out.

Understand that some behaviors, while they seem violent, are actually signs that the cat is happy. Your cat may gently take a piece of your skin in its teeth as you are petting it. He or she isn't biting, but is showing affection toward you. It's actually called a love bite.

Recognize that your cat doesn't have the mental capacity to be angry or spiteful. It may make seem to us that the cat has stopped using its litter box because he or she is angry at the addition of another cat to the home, but the truth is that the cat is responding negatively to the change it's experienced in its territory. Be patient with the cats and allow them to get to know each other at their own speed.