If a cat has taken to you, it will generously show its affection – in the cat way. Rubbing their body along your legs means ‘we are family’, as it mixes the cat’s special scent from the glands located along its body with the scent of the human body. For cats, the world is all about scent. If you smell right, you belong. If you smell wrong, you need to leave!

Rubbing the chin on objects and furniture goes a step further, it is a marking for the most secure part of the cat’s territory, the ‘bedroom’ area, if you were to compare it with our human world. This is the true home and a sign of well-being and comfort.

And some cats will even treat their favourite human to a kitty kiss, which will be a gentle head bump in the kitten language, or a slight nose touch (nose to nose preferable) for adult cat language. Cats may maintain the ‘kitten vocabulary’ around their human family members. All these are true signs of affection. 

Beware of play bites and nibbles.  Some cats get carried away during cuddles and play time, especially male cats, as they like to play rough. They like to turn playful and grab or gently bite the human hand. While usually not intended to hurt, one has to be cautious, as any sudden move from the human in this situation can lead to painful scratches. It is, however, a move of affection and has good intentions from the feline side. To prevent your cat from getting carried away, it is best to stop interaction at this point and let him calm down a bit.

Some cats are very particular about the type and amount of human interaction they will tolerate, and since cat language is generally very subtle, many humans will find themselves suddenly and ‘viciously’ attacked mid-cuddle just because Miss Kitty (this is far more common in the female cats!) suddenly had enough of the attention and turned on the human. This behaviour is partly due to the cat’s nature of easily feeling threatened by larger species. They often have a degree of uncertainty or bias about the interaction and may not be 100% at ease with the touch. Furthermore, many of the warning signs that the cat may have given are often ignored or simply undetectable for our human senses.

Do watch for the twitchy tail again, as it may give you clues.

Unfortunately, we are simply deaf to certain sounds that the cats can make and we do not have the fine nose to understand olfactory messages. Know your cat’s character. This will help you read him/her better. But if in doubt, just always keep any interaction and cuddles very short and rather wait for the cat to ask for more, instead of risking that scratch of ‘It’s enough, Human!’.