Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My orange tabby, Punkin (of course), will be a year old Oct. 18. He has developed a little quirk that I've never seen or heard about. We will be in the midst of one of our "lovin sessions", he'll be purring & drooling, displaying all the signs of a contented cat, except...his hackles are up & his tail is all poofed up! I would love to hear some feedback about this one. Curiouser & Curiouser!

He may be overstimulated by the affection. This happens a lot - some cats just don't know when to say "no" and then they instinctively nip at their humans. If he isn't attacking when his tail starts to poof up, then he might not be as upset as it appears. Watch his ears carefully and see if he lays them back against his head. That is the usualy sign that a nip is on the way.

Good luck!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Actually, there are no signs of aggression whatsoever (thankfully). That's what I thought was strange. I think you may be right about the over-stimulation part, though, that does make sense. I guess that I'll just chalk it up to yet another of his quirks. Right now, for instance, he is laying on my wood floor, 4 legs to each compass point, chin flat on the floor, and fast asleep. He looks like a rug! Crazy cat! Thanks for the input PH!

He sounds like an absolute cutie! He's obviously just one of the special "quriky" cats!

>>Actually, there are no signs of aggression whatsoever (thankfully). That's what I thought was strange. I think you may be right about the over-stimulation part, though, that does make sense. I guess that I'll just chalk it up to yet another of his quirks. Right now, for instance, he is laying on my wood floor, 4 legs to each compass point, chin flat on the floor, and fast asleep. He looks like a rug! Crazy cat! Thanks for the input PH!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

>>He may be overstimulated by the affection. This happens a lot - some cats just don't know when to say "no" and then they instinctively nip at their humans. If he isn't attacking when his tail starts to poof up, then he might not be as upset as it appears. Watch his ears carefully and see if he lays them back against his head. That is the usualy sign that a nip is on the way.

I do believe that MA is right on with the overstimulation statement. My orange cat, Samantha, is exactly like that. She loves for me to hold her and pet her, however when she's finished, she's finished! If I don't get a clue in time, then I get nipped and not too lightly, I'll admit. I've learned to watch her ears and also listen to the sound of her purr, which does seem to slow down when she's had enough.

Here's a photo of Sammi. You don't want to pet her too long because she has sharp teeth!

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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!

How wonderful to do nothing and then rest afterwards. Meow!