…he deliberately falls over onto his back, and then reaches up to me with his paws? He gets really aggravated and tries to bite me when I try to rub his belly, so that must not be it. But when I ignore him and walk past him, he swipes at me with his claws. So he must want something.
Just taunt him with wool
- he is checking whether he can draw blood
He’s probably trying to disembowel you.
I dunno, but my boyfriend’s roomate’s cat does that. It’s like he’s trying to trick you into reaching in to pet his belly so he can play the bite-and-claw game. My cat actually wants you to pet his belly - it makes me nervous, though, and I always think we’re going to get claw-and-bite at any moment.
Claw and bite is Ok
- it is when they use the back legs as scrapers …
Picking them up by the scruff of their neck sorts out most behaviour
- my last was executed when he decided to sh/t in my shoes
It’s the feline equivalent to a dog play bow: dropping down on his front legs while the back ones are straight, with his ears relaxed, tail wagging and mouth open slightly. It the baby animal “come play with me!” gesture that domesticated animals have retained as adults.
It indicates that he wants active play and exercise, not soothing scritchums. Dangle a bit of string, toss a lightweight ball or sock to his tummy - he’ll go all “Fierce Hunter” on it, and have a blast. But yeah, if you reach your hand to his tummy, he’ll assume you want it clawed and bit, because that’s how kittens play.
I think this is addressed in that famous Desmond Morris book about Cats… can’t think of the name of it right now. Anyway, IIRC, it’s a submissive gesture and doesn’t mean the cat actually wants to have it’s belly rubbed.
WhyNot has it. It’s a play invitation and kittens play by mauling each other, including that disembowling ‘bunny kick’ FRDE alluded to. In the course of normal socialization kittens learn just how to moderate their play from their littermates and harried mother. However kittens removed a little early from the litter may remain a little undeveloped in that area as cats and hence a little rougher than they should be. And even properly soft play for a cat may be a little much for an non-fur protected human ;).
You should never encourage a kitten or cat to maul your extremities - it’s one of those minor bad habits. But engaging them with a toy ( including maybe a stuffed animal or something they can safely maul ) is exactly the ticket.
- Tamerlane
Yep. Play. Or sometimes tummy rubs, it’s hard to tell, but in the case of your cat, it seems like* play* is the answer.
USCDiver has it. It’s a submissive gesture. There is a local cat who does this when he sees me and wants me to feed him.
It can mean that and often does, but in the OP’s case I think it is much more likely it is a play invitation. Cats will roll over onto their back both to denote submission AND defensively ( with legs extended and claws out ). Both my kittens will occasionally initiate wrestling matches ( when they aren’t just stalking and ambushing each other like they usually do ) by rolling over on their back or side and reaching out with a paw towards each other.
- Tamerlane
In my experience, the submissive gesture is usually accompanied by writhing around on the floor, whereas the ‘playtime!’ gesture is more legs in motion. 