Tummy Rubs--A Poll

"Adrian" wrote in message
...

Snoopy likes to cuddle next to me on the bed with her head on my
shoulder while I put my arm round her and massage her thigh. She likes
tummy rubs sometimes, other times she'll grab my hand and give bunny
kicks.

Snoopy sounds like the same sort of lovebug my Cheeky is. She stretches
out beside me and does what I call "the boneless cat," just totally relaxes
into a flat cat and waits to be petted from her head to her toes. This is
the first
cat I have had that seeks out affection. What a treat!

"Donna" wrote in message
oups.com...

Of course, I helped that process along with them, and with my previous
cats who DIDN'T necessarily like their toes, tail, belly, etc touched
at first. To get cats who objected to that sort of contact accustomed
to it, when I was in the middle of a major dote session, and said cat
was in total bliss, THEN I'd sneak in a brief tummy tickle. Or toe
touch, tail touch, etc. Then I'd go right back to petting and fussing
over the cat the "normal" way.

The result would be a momentary glare in my general direction when I
made contact with the off-limits site, after which the cat would return
to purring and generally blissing out. )

If you do that enough times, the cat gets used to being handled.
Eventually.

But it helped matters a lot when it came to building trust. I became
grateful that the cats would let me do anything with them, when the
time came for me to administer pills, insulin shots (Misty), and
syringe-feedings and sub-Q fluids (Harmony) to the cats.

Interestingly enough, I saw a brief segment on a dog-training show on
Animal Planet about a technique called "gentling", where it showed how
people can train their puppies to be amenable to handling. The process
involves taking the dog and deliberately spending a few minutes per day
handling its feet, carefully flexing its legs by hand, turning it over
on its back for a few moments, etc. Then I realized that I'd done
something similar to my cats, without realizing that it was a training
technique.

Anyway, if you have a cat that objects to certain types of handling,
this might be a way to acclimate them to it.

Donna and the attention sponges who love belly rubs, Captain and Stanley


I didn't snip because I think what you have to say here is very
important. If I ever raise an animal from a baby I will do just what
you describe. It might work with older animals too. It honestly
never occured to me to try to train Gnarly this way, but then
the first thing she did to me the day we met was bite me--
to the bone. I think she had been abused as a stray. I loved her
anyway, all 20 years she lived! But now that i know how nice
it is to have a cuddly cat, if I ever get to have another cat I will
try to encourage it.

"Elise" wrote in message
. com...
Mary wrote:


Does your cat like tummy rubs?


Jeeves doesn't care for them although I can bury my nose in his bellyfur
without any objections.

Aww! I am picturing Jeeves as a tuxedo cat. Is he? Oh, wait,
just found your photo link, and sure enough he is! Brilliant name
for a tuxedo boy!!


Gossamer never liked them until DH came along and she prefers to get her
belly rubs from him. Her preferred method is to wait until we're in bed
then snuggle next to Mommy so Daddy has to reach across Mommy to belly
rub the spoiled little princess



I see that Gossamer is a tabby cat, my special favorite. So is my cat
Cheeky. Around here, both girly cats love to be petted by both of
us, but they only get rapturous over Daddy. I think they just like
that boy smell. Like Gossamer, they positively *flirt* with him.
Buddha falls asleep on him in a little headstand kind of pose, the
top of her head on his leg and her chin tucked in. I can't say
much, as I like him too. 8)

"Enfilade" wrote in message
om...
Kumani and Tyche: We can get them to stay still long enough to rub
their tummies?!


Are they babies?

They /were/...now they're almost two years old and STILL acting like
they have since, um, eight weeks of age or so. If they're not running
around the house like little maniacs, they're curled up with each
other sleeping.

Since DP still cares for them, and since they firmly believe DP to be
their natural mother, they've never really outgrown kittenhood. (HE
raised them from 3 weeks of age.)


Oh how sweet!

Mary wrote:

Does your cat like tummy rubs?


My RB Mikey would try his best to kill you if you touched his tummy.
Hubert doesn't care for them, but reacts by rolling over, rather than
by becoming murderous. Tallulah doesn't like them now, but couldn't
get enough of them when she was pregnant and nursing; they must have
felt good on her poor uncomfortable tummy.

------
Krista

Mary wrote:

Does your cat like tummy rubs?

Skeeter and Kyle, our senior citizens, don't approve of them. Jake (+/-
2 years old) takes them as the starting bell for a wrestling match and
starts bunny-kicking and munching on my arm (gently). T.K. (6 months
old) absolutely loves tummy rubs; just a few minutes ago, I noticed that
he was lying on the floor on his back, looking hopeful, so I squatted
down and rubbed his chubby little belly for a few minutes, while he
writhed from side to side to make sure that every centimeter of tummy
got rubbed. Meanwhile, I was explaining to him that he really needs to
learn how to wash his undercarriage, or it will soon be as grey as his
"jacket", and then he won't be a tuxedo cat!

Nina in Texas, servant to: Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB 12/03), Rusty
(RB 9/04), Seth (RB 12/04), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and T.K. [Tuxedo Kitty]
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

"Nina K Pettis" wrote in message
ink.net...
Mary wrote:

Does your cat like tummy rubs?

Skeeter and Kyle, our senior citizens, don't approve of them.

Ha! The way you put this I can just see their scowly, grumpy
little faces!

Jake (+/-
2 years old) takes them as the starting bell for a wrestling match and
starts bunny-kicking and munching on my arm (gently). T.K. (6 months
old) absolutely loves tummy rubs; just a few minutes ago, I noticed that
he was lying on the floor on his back, looking hopeful, so I squatted
down and rubbed his chubby little belly for a few minutes, while he
writhed from side to side to make sure that every centimeter of tummy
got rubbed. Meanwhile, I was explaining to him that he really needs to
learn how to wash his undercarriage, or it will soon be as grey as his
"jacket", and then he won't be a tuxedo cat!

They all sound perfectly adorable.



Nina in Texas, servant to: Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB 12/03), Rusty
(RB 9/04), Seth (RB 12/04), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and T.K. [Tuxedo Kitty]
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

Mary wrote:

"Nina K Pettis" wrote in message
ink.net...

Mary wrote:


Does your cat like tummy rubs?

Skeeter and Kyle, our senior citizens, don't approve of them.


Ha! The way you put this I can just see their scowly, grumpy
little faces!

S&K are 17 and 14, respectively, and they make it clear by their
expressions that the two youngsters are too rambunctious, too loud, too
MUCH entirely. But sometimes they forget and play with them, just a
little bit...

Jake (+/-
2 years old) takes them as the starting bell for a wrestling match and
starts bunny-kicking and munching on my arm (gently). T.K. (6 months
old) absolutely loves tummy rubs; just a few minutes ago, I noticed that
he was lying on the floor on his back, looking hopeful, so I squatted
down and rubbed his chubby little belly for a few minutes, while he
writhed from side to side to make sure that every centimeter of tummy
got rubbed. Meanwhile, I was explaining to him that he really needs to
learn how to wash his undercarriage, or it will soon be as grey as his
"jacket", and then he won't be a tuxedo cat!

They all sound perfectly adorable.

They absolutely are; and I need to get some more pictures of T.K. before
he becomes solid grey... He keeps his paws nice and clean, but the
underside is as grubby as any little boy could hope for!

Nina in Texas, servant to: Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB 12/03), Rusty
(RB 9/04), Seth (RB 12/04), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and T.K. [Tuxedo Kitty]
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com