We invoke this, or ignore this, at our peril.
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Fur puffing is a survival instinct designed to make our cat look bigger to whatever is threatening them. Make no mistake: fur puffing is always a threat response.
Kittens look comical when they do it, usually at any unanticipated move or noise, because kittens don’t know what to make of a whole lot of things. Kittens use this as a constant default move, because they don’t feel confident dealing with threats, and don’t have much experience evaluating the source of threats. So we can see our kittens puff up and deflate very easily, just from being jumped by another kitten or a shift in light or motion from an open window.
This can be involuntary, as when a cat hears a sudden loud noise. It can be chronic, as when a cat is wary in a new situation and hasn’t calmed down yet. It can be deliberate, as when people ignorantly assume a cat is having as much fun being teased as the person is having from teasing them.
But this signal is a very important one; it is never done by the cat on purpose, or pretending. So when a cat puffs up, it is because they feel threatened. For real.
I tease our cats all the time, yet never get the puffy fur signal. That’s because my cats know I’m teasing them in play. I’m not doing it to get them angry or frustrated or frightened.
When I grab their paw in play, they are always in a comfortable spot and know I’m about to grab their paw, and that I’ll do it gently. When I poke their belly, it’s because they have presented their belly to me, and I move my fingers slowly. When we play Villain Hands with RJ, he might be alert, even puzzled, but he’s never actually frightened.
If we make the cat puff up, we’re doing it wrong.
Whatever we’re doing, we are actually scaring the cat. This can only lead to fear, mistrust, and someone getting hurt, either physically or emotionally.
When we are settling in a wary stray or sensitive shelter cat, we might observe the cat has a vaguely puffy appearance. We might think this cat just has a lot of fur, but if we pay special attention, we might see the “spiked spine” or “bottle brush tail” that indicates a cat under stress.
RJ is one of the most furred kitties in the world, but his generous tail forms a fan when he’s happy. Stress causes the fur to stand out from the spine in the opposite way of a cat who feels secure, where their fur spreads from the sides of the tail.
When our cat is relaxed, so is their fur. We should always listen to it.
It says a lot.
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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.
This isn’t always strictly true. Some cats Puff fur when playing, for example with a small ball, in an obviously non threatening situation, puffing -localized at the base of the tail especially- can sometimes be a play response (legitimately), and can also indicate excitement or arousal, depending on the cat. This may be a good general rule to follow, but there are exceptions to every rule, especially with animals that we have “line bred” so heavily as cats and dogs. The hair response -in some cases- would seem to be automatically brought on by adrenaline regardless of the stimulus or attached feelings.
Quite true, some cats will try to “intimidate” their toys if the instinct is strong. But while it happens in play, they don’t do it in play.
So you’re saying that when my cats tail puffs up when he knows he’s getting wet food, I’m really scaring him? And when he’s playing, the back of his spine is puffed up because he’s intimidated by the stimulation?
In this case, it’s adrenaline; and he’s excited. It is a cranked up excitement; I didn’t want anyone to mistake this for a calm cat, who might welcome petting. Puffed up fur can turn into overcranked cat.