Why Your Cat Stretches When Seeing You

Big stretch! You've probably seen it. Your cat sees you walk in, and suddenly they're stretching as if they've been waiting for you all along. But have you ever wondered why they do this? Is it just about waking up? Or could there be something more behind that stretch? What if your cat's stretch is actually a secret form of communication? In this video, we'll uncover the surprising reasons your cat stretches when they see you, and why it's not just about relaxing those muscles. By the end, you'll know the deeper meaning behind each stretch, and you might even start seeing your cat's stretches in a whole new light. But before we dive in, why not subscribe and join our feline-loving community for more tips and tricks on how to care for your kitty. Number one. First, you might be wondering how your kitty manages to stretch themselves so far or into such peculiar shapes. After all, if you've ever tried copying any of their stretches, you'll likely have found it pretty difficult. In fact, a lot of people find it difficult doing stretches that have been specifically designed for humans to do, which you'll know if you've ever been to a yoga class. Most people take a while to be able to do all the positions. You've never seen your cat have any trouble with that sort of thing, however. The answer lies in their skeleton. Cats have an unusually flexible skeleton, which helps them when they're jumping or climbing trees, and allows them to do their signature land-on-their-feet trick. This is when the cat twists in midair to right themselves before they hit the ground. One major adaptation your cat has to help them out with this is that their shoulder blades are attached to the rest of their skeleton by muscle instead of bone. Plus, their spines have extra cushioning in between the individual vertebrae, giving them that extra flexibility and freedom of movement. Number two. One of the simplest reasons that you might see your kitty stretching is for the same reason that you stretch. Their muscles feel stiff. The most common cat stretching position involves leaning forward with their butt in the air and their front legs stretched out in front of them, their toes splayed and their claws out. What's happening inside your cat when they do this is that the fibers that make up their muscles are being pulled out to their full extent. This is what the stretch part of stretching muscles is actually referring to. If your cat didn't do this regularly, then their muscles could start getting shorter as the fibers lost the ability to stretch as far. Unlike humans, who for the most part live lives of relative safety and are well aware of it, most cats still think that they live in a stone age world where they are constantly at risk of being attacked by predators and need to catch their own food. If a wild cat's muscles lost their stretchiness, that cat might fail on their next hunt or be fatally slowed down the next time they were running from a predator. As a result, your cat feels a need to stretch as much as possible. For them, it feels like life and death. Number three. You'll likely see your cats stretching a lot when they wake up after a nap. Probably you'll have noticed in your own life that it feels good to stretch after you get out of bed. You might even hear that satisfying click as the bubbles in your synovial fluid, the fluid between your joints that acts as a buffer between your bones, pop. Unless you're a very restless sleeper, your muscles probably don't get much of a workout while you're in bed, so that's one reason why you might feel the need to stretch. But another reason is that stretching is a nice, quick way to get your blood circulating around your body, helping you wake up and get ready for the day. Number four. Another reason that your kitty might feel an extra urge to stretch when they see you coming is that they're getting ready to get up and play. Cats, like humans, know that it's always best to stretch before strenuous exercise, and if you have a habit of playing with your cat when you get home from work, then seeing you might be enough to get them stretching. Even if you don't play with them, the moment you come home, however, your cat will likely get a bit of a workout just from interacting with you. Remember, humans are big, about six times larger than the average cat. For your fur baby, just getting onto your lap requires quite an impressive jump, and they may want to prepare their muscles in advance. Number five. Sometimes a cat might stretch out just to say hello. Cats aren't an entirely social species the way that humans are. While we began living in large groups at a relatively early stage in our evolutionary history, cats only really got into the whole hanging out with others thing after they figured out that the weird hairless apes had access to the best food and were good at giving ear scratches. As a result, a lot of their body language is still based around the idea that the friendliest thing you can do is communicate a cessation of hostilities. I am your friend, cat language, is communicated essentially the same way as I am not currently planning to attack you on sight and hope you do the same. There are a few different ways that a cat can communicate this vital message, and stretching is one of them. While stretching, a cat is slightly off-balance and isn't easily able to attack or run away. Doing this in your presence is their way of letting you know that they trust you enough to let themselves be vulnerable around you. Number six. How good is your posture? In today's modern world, where we spend half our time bent over desks, staring at screens, watching amazing educational videos about cats, it feels like we're constantly being reminded about the terrible harm we're all supposedly doing to our spines. Our cats don't have the benefit of clickbaity ads telling them ten ways you've been sitting wrong your whole life. Number seven will shock you, but that doesn't mean that they can get away with neglecting their posture. Stretching after waking up, for a cat, is a great way to help them realign their spine and get everything back into place after a few hours spent in the typical cat sleeping position, nicknamed the pretzel. Those big, slow, post-wake-up stretches might look decadent, but they're potentially the only thing saving your fur baby from requiring an expensive visit to the kitty chiropractor. Number seven. Most people, when trying to pet their cat, will automatically reach for their head. It's usually the highest part of the cat, and so the easiest part to reach, so it seems natural to start there. However, although a lot of cats do enjoy having their heads petted, many will also go absolutely crazy for being pet lower down on their back, by the base of their tail. For the enterprising kitty who wants to encourage their human to pet them on their lower back instead of on their head, stretching in such a way as to raise their butt in the air helps put their preferred petting spot within easier reach of the human's hands. Clever kitty. Number eight. Cats are highly scent-based creatures. They rely on their sense of smell to navigate the world around them, and one way that they do this is by leaving messages for each other using their scent. A cat has special glands on various parts of their body that release a pheromone scent that, when smelled by another cat, can communicate anything from go away, this is my territory, to come over, I'm looking for a mate. You might already be aware of the most common way that cats try to scent-mark their territory, by rubbing their cheeks against furniture or the legs of nearby humans, but that's not the only way. Cats can also spread their scent with their paws, doing a big stretch and splaying their toes or stretching their legs up high to scratch against the furniture are ways in which cats can spread their scent. And it's not just your little fur baby at home that does this. If you live in an area where big cats like mountain lions can be found, you might spot claw marks on trees where the animals have left their scent on the bark to mark their territory. Number nine. Of course for a cat, stretching out their paws to scratch against something isn't just about marking their territory, it's also about sharpening their claws. Sharpening is a bit of a misnomer here. People will often picture something a bit like sharpening a knife or pencil, grinding off the rough edges to produce a sharp point, but that's not actually what's going on. A better word might be unsheathing. Cats' claws grow in layers, and when a cat scratches against a rough surface, the loose top layers can get pulled off, revealing the newly grown sharp claws underneath. Some cat parents will find these cast-off sheaths and assume that their cat has somehow ripped out one of their claws. Don't worry though, that's not what's happened. Your kitty's claws are as safe and sharp as ever. Number ten. Going back to the classic big stretch pose, if you have an intact female cat, then you might not realize that your fur baby isn't actually stretching at all. An unspayed female cat with her butt in the air, her front legs stretched out and her tail raised, especially if she's stamping her feet and making loud crying noises, is likely in heat. This position is slightly different from the big stretch pose and is called lordosis, although some cat parents will affectionately refer to it as the frog pose, because it looks like your kitty is getting ready to play a game of leapfrog. It's the position that your kitty takes when she's trying to signal to any nearby male cats that she's ready to mate. If you see your female cat standing in this position, make sure you don't let her outside or near any unneutered male cats. Number eleven. We've already covered why your cat might start stretching just after they wake up, but what if you catch them stretching while they're asleep? A sleeping kitty who is lying on their back or side with their front and back legs stretched out as far as they will go is signaling that they feel safe and secure in their home. Cats know that they are vulnerable when they sleep, and they know that one of the most vulnerable parts of their body is their belly, where they keep their delicate vital organs. As such, they feel a natural instinct to shield this part of themselves when they're feeling sleepy. For them to overcome those instincts, they have to be feeling extremely safe in their surroundings. A cat who sleeps in this position is truly happy and relaxed, and has complete trust in their cat parents. Number twelve. Another unusually stretchy sleep pose that you might spot is the so-called superman pose. This is a bit like the previous pose, but with the cat lying flat on their belly rather than with their belly exposed. It gets its name from the fact that lying on their tummy with their limbs stretched straight, your kitty may look a little like superman in mid-flight. You might think that if exposing their tummy means that they're feeling safe and trusting, then sleeping flat on their belly must mean that they're feeling unsafe. But that's not necessarily the case. It certainly doesn't suggest that your cat feels as safe as they would if they were sleeping in the previous position, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're feeling scared. It could just mean that Since they originally evolved in a desert, cats can often cope with higher temperatures than we humans can. But this will vary from breed to breed, with cold weather breeds like Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats being less able to cope with high temperatures. And there's always going to be a point where even the coolest cat decides that it's too hot. In comes the superman pose to, like its heroic namesake, save the day. Lying on their belly against a cool surface like kitchen tile allows your cat to cool down their vital organs as quickly as possible, in the process cooling their blood, which will then be pumped around to their extremities. Your cat seems to be doing even more stretching than usual, or perhaps they've taken up aerobics. Anyway, one minute they're sitting on their haunches and stretching their front legs into the air. The next they're on their hind legs and resting their front paws as high as they can reach against the wall. What's going on? Probably not stretching. They're more likely to be on the hunt. Although they evolved to hunt slightly more substantial prey like small birds and rodents, cats will often be fascinated by and try to catch small flying bugs as well. If your kitty seems to be jumping around, reaching their front paws up towards thin air, listen out for buzzing. They might be trying to catch something so small that you haven't spotted yet. If your cat has managed to track down something a bit larger, maybe a live house mouse or a particularly feisty looking foil ball, you might see them doing something kind of similar to the big stretch pose, but with their front legs drawn in a bit closer to their body. You might also see them wiggling their butt a bit, in a weirdly anticipatory way. This is what your kitty does when they're aiming to pounce. The lowered head and upper body allow them to build up a bit of force to help them spring forward with more power. The wiggling raised butt, meanwhile, is a bit of a mystery, but scientists theorise that it might be a side effect of the cat shuffling their feet so as to make sure the ground beneath them is firm and solid before they spring off from it. 15. Of course, for cats, hunting isn't always about food. Cats also like to engage in hunting behaviours during play, which is why they get so into chasing feather wands or thrown catnip mice. As a result, a cat stretching can sometimes be the feline equivalent of a dog's playbow, a signal that they are ready to have some fun. If your cat is leaning forward with their butt in the air and their tail on end, and they seem to be following your movements with their eyes, then that could be a sign that they're asking for a game. Watch out how you play with them. It's always best to try and redirect a cat's playful instincts towards some kind of appropriate toy, rather than letting them pounce on your hands or feet. Even if it seems cute to see them doing this when they're an adorable little kitten, it might not be as cute when they're a full-grown cat who still sees your 16. One stretch pose you really want to watch out for is the one where your kitty stretches their back into an arch shape. This pose can be accompanied by fluffed fur and a raised or wagging tail, and is generally bad news. Cats arch their backs to make themselves look bigger and therefore less edible, or at least less easy to catch, to potential predators. It's a sign that the cat in question is angry or afraid. It's not necessarily a sign that the cat is about to lash out or run away, but it clearly shows that they are feeling uncomfortable, and is often done in response to new and surprising things. If you introduce a new cat to your household, for example, then when the new arrival meets your existing kitty, you're likely to see one or both of them making this pose, even if things don't escalate beyond that. It's a cat's way of saying, don't mess with me. Number 17. When you're petting your cat and you go to move your hand away, you might find they start stretching their neck towards your hand. When you come in the door, you might find them jumping up or even standing on their hind legs to try and crane their neck as high as possible towards your own head. Why do they do this? Is it just their way of begging for even more pets? Well, begging for pets certainly could be part of it, but it's not the only explanation. If your cat is trying to get their head specifically closer to your head, then they're likely trying to headbutt you. Headbutting or bunting is a way that cats exchange scents with each other. You might notice two cats doing this when they meet each other. Your own kitty can't properly exchange headbutts with you, however. You're just too tall. Some cats will choose to take the easy way out and just bunt against your hands, as they tend to be more easy for them to reach. Others will try to stretch themselves as high as possible in the hope that one day they'll be able to get tall enough to give you the proper headbutt that you deserve. Did you know that if you start ignoring your cat, something really unexpected will happen? Check out this video to find out why you should start ignoring your cat as soon as possible.