I've been talking about Timmy recently, a stray who comes in frequently. After he's had a belly full of the best canned and cooked food he can get off me he goes to sleep it off on the sofa. Typical cat of course.
Despite only knowing each other for a relatively short time, he has demonstrated to me that he is very relaxed here.
When he's dozing he'll go on his back, belly up, and into a contorted position that actually looks very comfortable in a contorted kind of way.
That's a sign that he feels secure as he's put himself into a vulnerable position. He is telling me that he's secure. It is a form of communication and friendliness. There are many human to human forms of friendliness that are communicated through actions similar to this.
But Timmy goes a step further. He also lets me rub his belly. A cat's belly is a well protected part of a cat's body and he would not normally find direct contact there pleasant or acceptable.
But in a sign of his acceptance and the friendship that he has granted me, he likes me to rub his belly. This can lead him to think that it is play time though......more about that next time.
Photograph reproduced under creative commons (Flickr) copyright Cherie Priest
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