Lying on Back but He Hates Belly Rubs/Biting

[icoele]

Hi, my lovely jubly kitty Minnow absolutely despises belly rubs. I think this is partially my family and I's fault as he doesn't seem to actually dislike them, but attacks when we rub his belly. The reason I suspect this is that my family likes to use their hands and feet to initiate play time. I know this is very bad and encourages him to bite, so I've been trying to get them to stop, but no one ever listens to me, lol. It has gotten to the point where he will trot up (that's the best word I have for it, it's like a bouncy jog) and just bite your ankles, then roll onto his back after you detach his jaws from your flesh! He loves his neck scratched/rubbed but once you get past a certain point you could plausibly lose a finger. I call this position t-rex, or when it's something he's doing, he's t-rexing. He lays like this more than he lays in any other position. He sleeps like this, and only like this. Why does he lay like this if he hates belly rubs? Is there any way to stop the ridiculous biting?

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• icoele
• Oct 20, 2015

^This is the earliest picture I have of him t-rexing. This was probably when he was 5-8 months old. At the time I'm posting this, he's a year and a half old (17 mos). He was asleep in this picture.

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• icoele
• Oct 2, 2015

asleep... again.

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• icoele
• Oct 2, 2015

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• icoele
• Oct 1, 2015

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• icoele
• Oct 20, 2015

^More recent pictures, earliest from July 2015. 

 

[pusheen]

Why does he lay like this if he hates belly rubs? Is there any way to stop the ridiculous biting?

Ha! It's pretty simple. He enjoys lying down on his back, but lying down on his back is not an invitation for you to pet him. It's just him lying on his back and enjoying his rest. He's showing you he trusts you by bearing his belly, but that doesn't mean he wants anyone touching him there. And biting is his way of telling you to stop. Isn't there a part of your body you don't want people to touch because it tickles or it's sensitive or you just don't like it? Listen to your kitty--when he starts biting or scratching, it's time to stop touching.

 

[Kat0121]

 
Ha! It's pretty simple. He enjoys lying down on his back, but lying down on his back is not an invitation for you to pet him. It's just him lying on his back and enjoying his rest. He's showing you he trusts you by bearing his belly, but that doesn't mean he wants anyone touching him there. And biting is his way of telling you to stop. Isn't there a part of your body you don't want people to touch because it tickles or it's sensitive or you just don't like it? Listen to your kitty--when he starts biting or scratching, it's time to stop touching.

That's is correct. They show us their bellies (arguably the most vulnerable part of their bodies) because they love us and trust us but most cats don't like belly rubs. It's so hard to resist. I often give a VERY quick belly tickle but then stop. Just long enough to get my belly fix and by the time they realize I got my belly fix, it's over. No time for bunny kicks or biting. Just a "HEY- you touched my belly" look. 

Of course, some cats DO like it but they are in the minority. Unfortunately so for us. 

 

[di and bob]

My Casper is the same way, it is SO hard to resist that furry belly! But I have to be really quick, his bunny kicks HURT!  

 

[caitini]

Fuzzy loves his belly rubs and will sometimes greet me at the door when I come home from work and immediately lie down and demand one. A couple times I've forgotten that Pierre doesn't feel the same way and reached for his belly ... he put me right very quickly!!!!  It's an individual cat thing, but the others are right, the pro-belly-rub cats are in the minority.

 

[ossifraga]

One of my cats lies on his back when he wants to play. I mean he has well trained me, so when in the mood to play some fight game, he lies down on his back somewhere near me, and knows I would go there to rub his belly and then we can start playing. If I don't pay attention, he will even give "listen to me" sounds, too. He also does it as an invitation to my other cats. He otherwise doesn't like to show his belly while resting, so in his case, it is really the sign that he wants to play.
My two other cats show their belly only when sleeping really comfortably, but I know they would just run away to sleep somewhere else if I touched their belly.

 

[ritz]

A vet once told me that there are two kinds of cats: those who like belly rubs and those that don't!
Ritz loves belly rubs, she turn on her back on my lap when she wants a belly rub--and that's the only time I will rub her belly. Note that she initially didn't want her belly rubbed, so I would rub her belly once and quit. She gradually liked them.
I agree with the other posters: showing you her belly is a sign of tremendous trust--but not necessarily an invitation to rub it. (It can also be a sign of submission to another cat.)

 

[macha 143]

 ​Macha loves belly rub, she purrs non stop but I'm careful sometimes because it tickles her and would bite me.

I tell her no biting please, it hurts you know then she will lick my hand like saying "I'm sorry" too cute.

 

[mingking]

I know the pains of family members who don't listen. I have often wished horrible things via my cat to them 

 Okay, I sound crazy but I mean, when my family members go to pick my cat up and CLEARLY, he hates it, I would wish my cat would swat at them to give them a lesson!!!

Unfortunately, I don't know how you can get your family members to stop using hands and feet as play things. Maybe purchase a wand toy for each family member and encourage them to use it to play with your cat rather than to use their hands.