12-06-2008, 12:44 PM
(bear with me; it's finals time -and- my husband is out of town working in NC all week)
I've only ever had one cat prior to Atrus (and I only had her a few months before she died) so cat-specific behavior is new to me. I grew up with a dog.
Atrus does some things my first kitten did not do and does not do some things my first kitten did.
Atrus will come up and headbutt me in the face or forehead. I've been told this is a sign of affection/scent-marking? He does it quite often, is that good? He'll also try to rub the sides of his muzzle on me sometimes, is this also scent marking?
And I still don't understand why cats purr. I've heard it's affection, contentment, but also when they're hurt or sick? Well Atrus purrs all the time. All the time. If he's lounging somewhere and I go up to pet him he'll purr before I can even touch him. Sometimes he'll be across the room and I'll say his name to get his attention and he'll start purring (and, surprisingly, I can hear it across the room too). So I'd assume he does it when he's happy, but he also does it when I roll him onto his back or carry him around for long periods of time (he tolerates these things without wiggling or complaining, but I wouldn't expect him to -like- it enough to purr when it happens). Is he just that easygoing? My husband will do things like convince him to sit in a shoebox and then put the lid on his head and Atrus will just purr and purr and lick his hand. My husband tries to get a rise out of him all the time (sometimes I think my husband is obsessed with trying to get the cat's attention, since he only recognizes his name when I say it, and I'm home a lot more since Corey travels for work. He's comically jealous of the attention Atrus gives to me) and the cat will just sit and purr, even if Corey is holding his tail or playing with his feet or ears. I've never seen a cat purr this much, not that I have a ton of experience with cats. What up?
I've only ever had one cat prior to Atrus (and I only had her a few months before she died) so cat-specific behavior is new to me. I grew up with a dog.
Atrus does some things my first kitten did not do and does not do some things my first kitten did.
Atrus will come up and headbutt me in the face or forehead. I've been told this is a sign of affection/scent-marking? He does it quite often, is that good? He'll also try to rub the sides of his muzzle on me sometimes, is this also scent marking?
And I still don't understand why cats purr. I've heard it's affection, contentment, but also when they're hurt or sick? Well Atrus purrs all the time. All the time. If he's lounging somewhere and I go up to pet him he'll purr before I can even touch him. Sometimes he'll be across the room and I'll say his name to get his attention and he'll start purring (and, surprisingly, I can hear it across the room too). So I'd assume he does it when he's happy, but he also does it when I roll him onto his back or carry him around for long periods of time (he tolerates these things without wiggling or complaining, but I wouldn't expect him to -like- it enough to purr when it happens). Is he just that easygoing? My husband will do things like convince him to sit in a shoebox and then put the lid on his head and Atrus will just purr and purr and lick his hand. My husband tries to get a rise out of him all the time (sometimes I think my husband is obsessed with trying to get the cat's attention, since he only recognizes his name when I say it, and I'm home a lot more since Corey travels for work. He's comically jealous of the attention Atrus gives to me) and the cat will just sit and purr, even if Corey is holding his tail or playing with his feet or ears. I've never seen a cat purr this much, not that I have a ton of experience with cats. What up?
