Cats can overreact when you stroke their tail or belly. Did you know?
Did you know that you have been stroking your cat wrong all this time? Yes, it’s true. If you have been belly rubbing your cat (it’s not a dog) or, worse, stroking its tail, you’re actually pissing it off. In fact, they only let you do it because they tolerate you for the sake of food. Always go for behind the ears, under the chin or on the cheeks. Yes, actual research went into this and it is that interesting.
In the real world, a cat’s tail often helps them navigate and respond to threats around them. An enemy cat may pull or bite their tails, to which your cat can switch to flight-or fight-response automatically (example, swat or bite you), and respond unusually, even if it’s someone they trust, like yourself. It’s a defence mechanism that can make either make a cat feel safe, threatened, or unstable. Overall, they are highly sensitive of touch.
Same principle applies when it comes to their bellies. While a belly rub for a dog means “I feel safe with you,” (reason why they expose their bellies to you); for cats it would mean, “I’m exposing my belling so that I can relax. But it’s not an invitation for you to belly-rub me. It makes me feel overstimulated.”
Is that the reason why Napoleon Bonaparte feared cats?
