I have three cats - two females and a male. The females each have a “sweet spot” on their back, right at the base of their tails. If I scratch them there, they go nuts. They start licking the air like they’re insane and moving their heads back and forth. Trudy sometimes will do a move where she bites without using her teeth - she’ll put her mouth against my hand, or the floor, or whatever, and start gnawing without actually spreading her teeth, so there’s no pain or blood, just pseudo-biting.
Butch, our male, has no such sweet spot.
It freaks my wife out, she’s afraid I’m molesting our cats when I do this - not seriously afraid, but it makes her squicky.
Both of my males do that. (Well, all three - my boyfriend kind of does too.) I’ve always kind of wondered if it’s inappropriate touching. The orange one yowls, too. We decided he’s saying “You’re touching my butt!” They seem to enjoy it, though, so until Cat Welfare knocks on the door we’re not going to worry about it.
No cite, but I’ve been told that this is a good way to make female cats in heat less horny. Grab the neck, hold her down, and rub the sweet spot. She’ll think she got shagged good and bother you less for a while.
I don’t think it’s a sex thing, as I have had both male and female cats react this way. My vet told me this was a reflex and some cats are more sensitive to it than others, similar to how many dogs have a “scratch reflex” when you hit a certain spot on their bellies.
And, having missed the edit window, I submit to you the skin-spinal reflex phenomenon. I’m not sure what to think about veterinary chiropractic care, but there you go. Further searches suggest that in some cases it may be related to Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome, too.
I am NOT going to click on something labeled ‘could be worse’.
My two boy kitties, neutered, like to be scratched there. They’ll turn and lick my arm, or at least rub against it. I always thought it was a hard place for them to reach, themselves, and that they liked to have it ‘groomed’.
I’m having trouble seeing it as sexual, just because I can’t picture it as a place that either cat could reach while mating. Maybe my mechanics are off.
One of our cats (female) really really reacts to it. In fact, that is about the only spot she likes to be scratched. I won’t do it. Our other three cats (one male, two female) don’t care.
Heh, yeah, there’s a certain posture associated with it.
I’m touching Eddles’ butt right now, and he’s making the “you’re touching my butt!” noise, and also purring so loud I’m surprised you can’t hear it from where you are. I feel a little used, but I don’t mind.
I’ve had one cat in my life (Big Kitty, Little Kitty, Figaro, Snicklefritz, Munchkin, Pooka, Mandu, Peepers, Frank, Sunshine, Panic, MonsterKitty, Bat, Bugeyes, Rasputin, and Incerta, 9 males, 7 females) who didn’t have a Butt Button, and she fell in madly, passionately, thoroughly and publicly inappropriate lust with my fuzzy, green “Grinch who Stole Christmas” slippers.
There was a previous thread on this which was titled, I believe, “Elevator butt”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be showing up with the search tool.
Two of our neutered males do this, and another one always raises his butt as high as he can as if he wants us to scratch under his tail as well. Like that’s going to happen.
I didn’t think it was sexual. I thought it was an infantile instinct and that they were reacting as if they were kittens and the mother was grooming them back there. Our cats do a lot of social grooming among each other, but I’ve never seen one groom another just above the tail.
