The cat will enjoy the cartoon menace of our teasing actions as long as the cat is in on the joke. Or it’s not a joke.
In the picture at left, RJ is being menaced by the Villain Hands of Mr WayofCats. His legs are still outstretched, he’s alert but not frightened. This game is only funny because both RJ and Mr WayofCats know that the Villain Hands aren’t really threatening.
The game ends with RJ being cuddled by the Villain Hands. Oh, so that’s what they were up to! Funny Villain Hands.
We all tease to show affection; as long as it is only teasing. When we observe the cat, we have an excellent barometer of how well the teasing is being taken.
Once a cat feels secure, they will tease back. We can enjoy being teased by encouraging the cat to interact with us, and express a willingness to follow them or let our attention be directed by them. This will let the cat know we are sharp enough to get the joke once they go to the trouble of setting it up.
RJ, seen here at nine months, is still developing his sense of humor, and he has considerable natural talent. He made up a game in which he sees us going into the room with the computer and he races us to the chair. He gets there first, of course, and spreads himself over the chair to look up at us winningly. We have to pick him up and hold him on our lap when we sit down. After all, he got there first.
Another great trick is the one he pulled on Puffy, who was drinking water under the chair. RJ was carrying around a fluffy toy, so he jumped up on the chair, then dropped the fluffy toy on Puffy’s behind.
He was teasing Puffy, but in a way we, and Puffy, have taught him Puffy doesn’t mind.
Because Puffy looked around confusedly, wondered what he had been doing, noticed he was near the water mug, couldn’t remember if he had been drinking, checked to see if he was still thirsty, decided he wasn’t, and went back to his lair.
We don’t mind that kind of Puffy sequence. Neither does Puffy.
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There’s more ways to understand our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on WHY CATS DO THAT.
Lady is a shelter adoptee. From what I know of her history, she was probably dumped out of a car. She is a lovely dilute tortie, with a smooth grey coat mottled with lighter gray & yellow. when I first had her home, I stroked her back and down her tail, and was rewarded with a yowl and bared teeth as she swung around in a quick 180. So, OK, no stroking of the tail. I assume she was cruelly teased in a previous life by someone pulling hard on her tail. {As an aside, it was an adult, not a child, my grandchildren could pet her on any part of her body, tail included, and she never objected.} As the months went by, she became more and more accepting of my stroking her, and now I can run my hand to the tip of her tail. She swishes her tail back and forth, makes a charming little chattering sound with her meow, looks at me now and then, but no more teeth, no more yowls, no more quick moves to get out of the way. The tail swishing is now more of a game; “if I swing it over here, can you reach it?”
She also will deliberately cross a room to brush herself against my ankles. On occasion, I scoop her up for a cuddle. But I’m often busy and don’t respond. However, I can tell that on occasion, she WANTS to be scooped up and will tangle herself in my ankles so that to avoid tripping both of us, I grab her. She has learned to tease me, as well, in ways that don’t involve her tail!
What a deep sense of pleasure, to take in a cautious previously mistreated little girl and create this mutual trust!
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