Cat-speak
In addition to ears, tail, posture and vocalizations, cats speak with their eyes. I think it's the least known part of their language, because it's so subtle. If your cat likes you and is relaxed with you, she will close her eyes when in eye contact with you. In a way it's similar to people smiling. She wants to let you know you're her friend. She tells you: "Hi, you're nice and I like having you around."
If she doesn't like you, feels anxious or threatened, she opens her eyes wide and licks her lips. She means: "I don't know if I can trust you. You make me nervous."
Cats are small creatures and sometimes are afraid of things that we see as everyday objects. Vacuum cleaner is a great example. To a cat it's like a big, howling monster. Would humans be comfortable with something that's twice their size and howling like a doomsday machine? We have the advantage of thinking that it's just something we use and control to accomplish something else, but if what if we didn't? We would be running, too!
My cat gets nervous if we move furniture around. We push couches and stuff around (yes, it's a great way to scratch your floor, but those things are so heavy!), and the noise it makes sounds like howling, growling and hissing. Big, moving, growling objects are scary. To a cat it makes perfect sense to be scared.
If she doesn't like you, feels anxious or threatened, she opens her eyes wide and licks her lips. She means: "I don't know if I can trust you. You make me nervous."
Cats are small creatures and sometimes are afraid of things that we see as everyday objects. Vacuum cleaner is a great example. To a cat it's like a big, howling monster. Would humans be comfortable with something that's twice their size and howling like a doomsday machine? We have the advantage of thinking that it's just something we use and control to accomplish something else, but if what if we didn't? We would be running, too!
My cat gets nervous if we move furniture around. We push couches and stuff around (yes, it's a great way to scratch your floor, but those things are so heavy!), and the noise it makes sounds like howling, growling and hissing. Big, moving, growling objects are scary. To a cat it makes perfect sense to be scared.