Jumping funny = let's play?

[ahem]

Hello to everyone. Sometimes when he initiates play, Piccolino makes a funny noise though not meow, and jumps, up, his four feet almost on the same line and his back arched.
I interpret this as "let's play" because he looks amuzed. If I play in, he plays with me. Am I interpreting this correctly? If not, what it is what he tries to tell me?? Thank you..

 

[dawnofsierra]

Does Piccolino's jump look sort of like a little sideways crab walk? Sierra did that when she was little, and now Serenity does it when she's feeling especially frisky and playful!

 

[rosiemac]

Sophie used to do the side jumps to Rosie as a kitten when she wanted her to play

 

[ahem]

Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

Does Piccolino's jump look sort of like a little sideways crab walk? Sierra did that when she was little, and now Serenity does it when she's feeling especially frisky and playful!

Yes, he jumps sideways and makes few steps towards you.
Is this really a request to play?

 

[solaritybengals]

My kittens do that to each other when they want to play. They are acting out what would later be used in fighting. But for our fur babies this never needs to be applied practically so it remains a play behavior, yet helps them stay fresh with the technique. Do you ever see him puff out his tail too? I love it when the kitties do that. One time Meeka came up and greeted me with a puffed tail. Hope likes to do the halloween kitty dance too, the other 2 don't do it really.

 

[ahem]

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

My kittens do that to each other when they want to play. They are acting out what would later be used in fighting. But for our fur babies this never needs to be applied practically so it remains a play behavior, yet helps them stay fresh with the technique. Do you ever see him puff out his tail too? I love it when the kitties do that. One time Meeka came up and greeted me with a puffed tail. Hope likes to do the halloween kitty dance too, the other 2 don't do it really.

Yes, he puffs off his tail too.
Interestingly, here http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo.html (an EXCELLENT SITE ) it says that this is more an aggressive behavior. Now, he might still be playing with me when he does this .. he might be trying to "frighten" me so as to assert his power.

This is somehow similar to the hide and seek - when he "finds" me he tries to scare me by lifting himself up and waving the front paws.

I hope I interpret this correctly.. it is all done during play only.

 

[ahem]

I found this very interesting sites, I wanted to share them with you all.
Also here there are descriptions of the various positions of tail, and explanations and pictures for each.

http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/tailtalk.htm

 

[solaritybengals]

Originally Posted by ahem

Yes, he puffs off his tail too.
Interestingly, here http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo.html (an EXCELLENT SITE ) it says that this is more an aggressive behavior. Now, he might still be playing with me when he does this .. he might be trying to "frighten" me so as to assert his power.

It is an aggressive behavior...in an adult outdoor cat. But kittens play out these aggressive behaviors to get good at them for when they need to leave the nest. However as they get older, cats never need to use this behavior so they continue to use it in play. Its like he's practicing with you just in case he needs to use it someday and is not meant to be aggressive in this situation.

 

[rockcat]

Tripod is 3 years old and he does it quite often, usually in the morning when I'm making lunches. It is really funny. He makes a loud growling sound at the same time. I then chase him around the house. When I catch up to him he lays down...well more like falls down - and rolls on his back so I can pet his tummy.

This goes on several times until I really need to get back to my morning chores so I'm not late for work.

 

[turtlecat]

Originally Posted by ahem

Hello to everyone. Sometimes when he initiates play, Piccolino makes a funny noise though not meow, and jumps, up, his four feet almost on the same line and his back arched.
I interpret this as "let's play" because he looks amuzed. If I play in, he plays with me. Am I interpreting this correctly? If not, what it is what he tries to tell me?? Thank you..

BWAHAHA! I love Sideways kitty! Paige and Gibby do it to eachother all the time!

 

[carolcat]

Me too, both of mine do it when the are feeling feisty and want to play! :-)

 

[carolpetunia]

We call it Halloween Kitty! Dylan was especially good at it when he was a baby -- he would assume the classic position, all arched up and bristly, and then bounce sideways across the room using only his TOES! :-D

 

[avalon]

Perla does it to me, than when I "catch" her, she cuddles up to me purring and nibbles my nose

 

[lizch6699]

Hehe I remember when I brough home my 2 kitties they unexpectidly ran into each other and must have been starteled, they stood in that position for literatly a good 5 minutes. I was able to find my digital camera and take a couple pictures of it too. They were all poofed up and walking around on their tippy toes. Now they'll do it if I scare them accidently or when they're playing intenstly. When they're playing they'll throw themselvse at each other but they'll do it from the side instead of head on, very cute