Cat Communication and Language

The first language a kitten learns is that of smell. It is blind, deaf and defenseless but it has well-developed senses of smell and touch (including warmth detection) to guide it to the mother cat's nipple. A kitten recognizes its own scent on the nipple and aims for the same nipple each feeding time. The mother identifies her kittens by their individual scent and by her own scent on them. This then is the first mode of communication the kitten learns. Scent will play an important role all through the cat's life.

Cats have scent glands on the chin, lips (in the corners), temples and at the base of the tail. Each cat has its own scent signature. When it washes, a cat transfers its scent from these glands to its fur.

They use this scent to mark areas and objects around them, other cats, humans and other animals in the household. This helps create a communal smell. A new cat must literally rub up to superior members of the group to mix their scents before becoming an accepted member of the group. Its home territory also has a smell profile and any new smell - another cat or even a new piece of furniture or a scent carried in your shoes or clothing - can cause insecurity and lead to a frenzy of marking activity!

When a cat scratches it leaves both a visual marker and a scent marker from its paw-pads. It will mark its territory by rubbing its chin or cheeks onto upright objects (posts, chair-legs, door edges etc) and also by spraying or depositing feces. Scent is so important that blind cats can navigate around their indoor territories using a combination of memory and scent trails.

Cats who are familiar and friendly with each other often have a greeting ritual. They use a similar ritual to greet their humans or other household animals. They rub their head, flank and tail against the other cat or person to exchange odors. They hold the tail straight up so that the other cat can sniff the anal glands. When stroked, cats raise their rumps even higher (almost standing on tiptoe) to invite you to sniff their anal glands!

Body Language

Unlike dogs, cats do not generally co-operate to hunt or form cohesive packs. Cat colonies are much looser groupings than the strictly hierarchical wolf-pack. They haven't needed to evolve the social rules for pack living. They mix with other cats when mating, raising kittens and in sociable groups such as feral colonies or multi-cat households. Feline body-language is complex and subtle with ate least twenty-five different visual signals used in sixteen combinations. There are doubtless many other, more subtle, nuances which we don't notice. Most owners can learn to recognize at least some of their cats' visual signals.