Don't stroke your cat.

Over the past week, I have seen a cat in my garden every time I go out.
It snarls at me as if I have no right to be in my garden. It's there in the front and the back, and I've never sen it before. I certainly would not go up to it to pick it up and stroke it!

I'd advise you not to bow before Angel, Deedaa - she'd have your scalp off in an instant.

My poem "Whatever's the matter with Maurice" covers the lengths he will go to with regard to my sleep deprivation, head tapping, loud purring etc. Bastard!

Absent, your cats certainly do no like to be petted!!!

I have just consulted Dingbat (aka Fatty), a cat that is so laid-back that he is almost horizontal. He wriggled his head further under my hand for ear scratching, then rolled over on his side so that I could reach his belly. Meanwhile, Frutiger sat on the arm of the sofa, pushing her head under my other hand. Bodoni stayed curled up on my lap occasionally kneading my thigh. I didn't really detect a sign of stress.

Ignore a cat at your peril. Hiding behind a bush as you walk by, jumping out and performing that 'winding round your legs' routine is actually designed to trip you up!

I always thought our bad tempered old cat Sweetie had the most inappropriate name Maggiemaybe but I bow before Angel
My youngest cat hates being stroked and never purrs, but if he comes to bed with me he's all over me????

One of my cats sits on my armchair side and pulls my hand towards her to be stroked and petted -the other one lies on his back and paws the air begging to have his tummy tickled (oops sorry thats my DDH) - joking aside it is the cat. Yes, my little Mau also head butts for attention and taps me on the nose when I am asleep to wake me for food, to be let out or a stroking session.

One of my cats, Angel (possibly the most inappropriately named cat ever), will wrap herself lovingly round the legs of unsuspecting guests so that they reach down to stroke her, whereupon she'll launch a frenzied attack on the approaching hand and stalk off imperiously. This never seems to cause her any anxiety whatsoever.

My cats love to be stroked. What they don't like is strangers in their home, let alone touching them. They would probably also dislike a gadget that measured their hormone levels. This piece of research sounds to me as if it's coming up with the feline equivalent of white coat syndrome when people have their blood pressure measured.

And when they do something which makes them look silly, they look around to see if anyone has noticed and then lick their bottoms [I think Mog the Cat does that in one of her books ].

I had a ginger who purred when he was puzzled about something.

Tara my cat loves being stroked. Cats can purr when they are in pain or stressed but most love the personal attention from their owners. Tara loves to lie across the keyboard, me stroking her with one hand and typing with another. She is another head butter asking for attention.

Cats in the wild, unlike dogs, are solitary creatures except when they have cubs or are looking for a mate. Whereas dogs use physical behaviour as a way of bonding within their social group. I would imagine that the desire to be stroked goes back to when it's a kitten and they look on the owner as a surrogate parent [?]. They certainly purr when ill or under stress so I'd imagine stroking [ie licking] is seen by them as a reassuring gesture when they're under stress [??]. Just thinking out loud here by the way [obviously]. If you want a cat to come to you, you ignore it [that's why people who go into cat homes and don't like cats end up with them all sat on their lap; if you look at them it's a sign of aggression]. Complicated creatures, cats. I'd imagine that they also bond more with their home [ie territory] than their owners. Saw a programe about that recently but blow me if I can remember what I heard .

Yes, often find myself trying to type over/under a mog who had decided to ponce about on the desk!

Do your cats jump on your computers to stop you ignoring them? Mine did and my daughter's does.
Yes, Anno, I do need a bit of a stroke, but I will get plenty in December - plus some purring from the cats and tail-wagging from the dogs. The chooks are always glad to see me as I feed them - I haven't met the horse yet. Oh, and the family are quite nice to me too.

Actually, in all seriousness, cats do sometimes purr when under stress, Maurice purrs at the vets but the tell tale sweaty paw prints on the examination table give him away.

This does not of course mean that purring is a sign of stress per se. Maurice will often present his tummy to be stroked (really handy when you are trying to get on with preparing supper) and if stroked sufficiently he gets so ecstati-cat he dribbles.

Digby has his own funny little ways. He will suddenly decide that he must have a pick-up cuddle, and will continually get under your feet or between you and where you are trying to get to until you give in.

He seems to be particularly in need of this when he has just come in from the rain

Greatnan I was being polite too, in my own way.......

That's as good as saying dogs wag their tails because they're NOT pleased to see you as they're fed up with being given STUPID treats!

And the next time my cat jumps on the bed and headbutts me because she wants to be stroked I'll tell her to b****r off because I don't want to increase her anxiety levels.

Do you need to be stroked then, Greatnan?

All the cats I have known have positively asked for strokes. And if purring is a sign of stress, I want to be that stressed!

Male cows droppings

When my late cat, Sam, sat on my lap being stroked, he sometimes seemed to get so blissful that his purring sounded like singing (Mozart's cat duet?) and he became so ecstatic that he had to go and sit on another chair to calm down. Was that stress? I don't think so. He certainly seemed happy. In fact, he was the most laid back cat I ever met.

Piffle.