Kitty Language: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Your Cat

by Lili Chin

Θέλετε να μάθετε πραγματικά τι σκέφτεται και τι κάνει η γάτα σας;
Μάθετε να «διαβάζετε» τη διάθεση της γατούλας σας με αυτόν τον παιχνιδιάρικο και γεμάτο πληροφορίες οδηγό για τις συνήθεις συμπεριφορές των αγαπημένων μας αιλουροειδών, όπως το χασμουρητό, το ξύσιμο, το «ζύμωμα», το παιχνίδι-κυνήγι και τα περίφημα zoomies.
Το γνωρίζατε ότι, όσο μεγαλύτερη απόσταση έχουν τα αυτιά της γάτας μεταξύ τους, τόσο λιγότερο χαλαρή νιώθει;
Ή ότι, όταν η γατούλα σας σάς κουτουλάει με την κορυφή του κεφαλιού της, δείχνει στοργή και σας ανακοινώνει ότι είστε φίλοι;
Αυτές οι συμπεριφορές (και πολλές άλλες!) εξηγούνται και εικονογραφούνται με ζωντανές, πολύχρωμες λεπτομέρειες, ώστε να μπορείτε να βοηθήσετε τη γάτα σας να νιώθει ασφαλής, χαλαρή και ευτυχισμένη.
Βασισμένο σε επιστημονικές έρευνες και με τον έλεγχο κτηνιάτρων και άλλων ειδικών, το βιβλίο αυτό δεν είναι μόνο ευχάριστο αλλά και απαραίτητο για όποιον έχει γάτα.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cats, Animals, Science, Picture Books, Nature

Hardcover

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Mai H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amuses. I have two cats at home that love to airplane their ears, amongst other funny behaviors. Super cute illustrations. If you have cats, this is a must!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

[Sue Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to interpret what your kitties are saying through their body language. Full of expressive and whimsical illustrations that really nail down the nuances of kitty language with clear descriptive text to illuminate. Of course the caveat at the beginning alerts you to the fact that each kitty is an individual and all details may not always apply. Recommend for new kitty owners especially but there is something for all kitty owners to enjoy and identify with. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Soňa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Občas sa informácie opakujú, ale celkovo výborný úvod do poznania mačiek a ich správania. Príjemné ilustrácie aj vysvetlenie k nim

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estaba en clases y aaa me daba tanta curiosidad saber más acerca de los gatos aveces existen prioridades

[Halah A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

¹

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitty Language, like Chin's Doggie Language, is a heavily illustrated guide to your pet's body language and vocalizations. It's designed to help cat owners better understand their cats. It emphasizes taking into account the cat's whole body in action, as well as the context and your cat's own individual characteristics - if your cat is a Scottish Fold, for example, its ears won't provide the same cues that other cats' would. Chin pays particular attention to body language that's often misinterpreted, like rolling over and exposing their belly.

I love Chin's dog and cat artwork. It's wonderfully expressive and just so good.

As someone who's grown up with cats and read a lot about them over the years, there wasn't much here I didn't already know, but I still enjoyed and appreciated the way Chin presented everything. This would be an excellent guide for someone who's new to cats. Also, those who have been experiencing behavioral issues with their cats might come to the realization that they've been misinterpreting what their cats have been trying to tell them and exacerbating things.

All in all, this is a great little guide. It won't tell you everything you need to know about how to understand your cat, since they all have individual differences (it took me literal years to figure out that several of my cat's annoying behaviors, like squeaking the closet door or lightly scraping her claws on a wall, were meant to get my attention because she wanted to play or cuddle), but it'll help with the basics that apply to most cats.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of adorable and very accurate illustrations, this is a short but very easy reference book that will help you to quickly learn the body language of your cat. I think this book would make an excellent gift to anyone with a new cat member of the family.

Thank you NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute illustrated guide on cat body language!
I’ve lived with several cats with different personalities and volunteered at an animal shelter, and I still learned some new things from this book.

It’s great if you’re like, “Why does my cat randomly XYZ?” Yowl, chirp, trill, zoom around, etc.

I read this because we’re about to move, which is a very stressful process for cats, and I want to be very aware of how they’re feeling. However, I think this should be required reading for anyone with a cat.

[Pink Leaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty cute! 🥰 Also, I had no idea that cats have so many scent glands!

[Kelly M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can confirm, my cats hate each other.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wie süß kann ein Buch den bitte sein ?
Da ich ehrlicherweise schon viel zu viele Ratgeber gelesen habe, leider nicht so viel neues
Aber diese Illustrationen sind einfach zu knuffig
Perfekt für frische Katzenbesitzer

[Mark R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book; something to benefit everyone who considers themselves a friend to cats. Lili Chin's illustrations are fun to look at, and the information she provides, dispensed in easily digestible, thoughtfully worded missives, is very helpful. If you're interested in learning more about your cat's sounds, body language, and moods, check this out.

[Rebecca Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on less than an hour. Absolutely devoured this book; made me love my kitty cats even more 🥰

[Ioana Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiind prima zi a lui 2025, energia mea a fost destul de scăzută, însă acum seara, am zis sa ma relaxez puțin înainte de somn.
Cum moș Crăciun m-a surprins anul acesta de doua ori cu carti, am ales sa citesc pe îndelete Limbajul pisicilor.
O am pe Alma de patru ani și jumătate și cred ca zi de zi am învățat lucruri de la ea și despre ea, însă niciodată nu strica sa cunoaștem mai multe despre animăluțul nostru.
Cartea de față este de fapt un Coffee Table Book. Unul adorabil ilustrat, in care autoarea ne explica intr-o maniera foarte simpla tot ce tine de corpul pisicii. De la poziție pana la mimica feței.
Recunosc ca majoritatea lucrurilor prezentate îmi erau deja cunoscute, însă din punctul meu de vedere, cartea poate fi un cadou foarte potrivit pentru cineva la început de drum în lumea felina. Mi-ar fi prins foarte bine sa citesc informațiile aflate acum, atunci când Alma era mica. Nu știam absolut nimic despre pisici, pana sa apară dorinta de a o avea, chiar nu îmi plăceau deloc 🙈.
Pentru mine, a fost modul perfect de a începe anul. Chiar m-am amuzat pe alocuri și am reimprospatat cunoștințele dobândite de când sunt stăpâna Almei.
O carte delicioasa prin imagini și foarte utila prin explicații, in opinia mea de nelipsit din casa fiecărui iubitor de pisici! 😺🧡

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attractive, kinetic and playful images illustrate this great little book. Author Lili Chin speaks to readers who may be new to cats and their subtle behavioural clues, to help people decipher cats' moods and interest in their surroundings and fellow residents.

The author conveys a lot of information in simple to understand prose, but never talks down to the reader. I also liked the use of colour throughout the book, reinforcing the playful natures of the animals. The author's love and fascination for the furry creatures permeates this cute book, one which I wish I had had years ago when adopting my first cat.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Ulia Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best books about pets - when you can recognise your pets in it.

I think it's a very good beginning of a book about cats - to stress that cats are different from dogs and different cats are different from each other. Also this book debunks the myth that cats are emotionless and hard to read: they are all emotion when you treat them properly and they feel comfortable around you.

Good book to start getting to know cats, I think even kids can understand, can recommend. Big plus for fun pics.

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the art, and confess I read this book mostly because I'm familiar with the writer's artwork in pin form. For someone who is unfamiliar with cat ownership or is more of a "dog person", this book is useful. Cats show similar behaviors (ex wagging tail) to dogs but said behavior generally demonstrates a vastly different emotion, which it's important to know. But I've had my cat for long enough now that I had intuited most of these things just from watching her. For me, the most useful part was about the whiskers. I had no idea they could actually move, and I started paying more attention to my cat's whiskers to see.

[Kat Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having had cats for most of my life, I can't say that I necessarily learned a whole lot, but I did learn the differences between some similar behaviors and enjoyed the refresher. It is very simple and easy to understand with super cute illustrations

[Delynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute, little book! I really enjoyed this book and all the kitty drawings! I highly recommend this book for a person that has adopted a cat for the first time. I, myself, have owned a cat (or two) the majority of my life and still learned new facts about kitty languages especially when it comes from their whiskers, ears and meows. 🐈‍⬛

[Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the cutest book ever on cats and I adore all the illustrations! It has some nice tips too.

[Jochem Wessel]

Huge recommendation for any and all cat owners.

[Taylor Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

wondering how i can escape this capitalist hellhole to be a cat lady in the scottish highlands

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨4.5✨

[Stefan Garland]

"Here kitty, kitty" just got a whole new meaning!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short reference for cat behavior with clear illustrations.

[jolative · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!

[mahee · Rating 4 out of 5]

adorable

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC via Edelweiss+

Nicely illustrated. Perfect for a first time cat owner, or a parent trying to explain to children how cats react and what their body language means. Doesn't go heavily in depth, but I feel that it wasn't really intended to.

Overall, a quick read designed for educating specific audiences, or entertaining a leisurely reader paging through it.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat facts presented through wonderful kitty drawings. Read it and and improve your ability to speak and understand cat.

[Lauren Hennessey]

Scent
- Cats all have unique scents. Cats living together create communal scents, so they may be wary when
one cat returns (ie from the vet) smelling like something else because it makes them
unrecognizable.
- Rhinos, horses, goats, deer, sheep, dogs, cats have the flehmen response

Face
- Each ear has 32 muscles
- The further the ears' tips are from each other, the less comfortable the cat is (straight up = alert,
slightly angled = content, very angled = not ok)
- Rotated (squid) ears = unsettled, confused, frustrated, on guard. Both ears lowered at the same time
= fear
- Flattened (airplane) ears = scared, anxious, trapped
- Cats see movement better than details. If they stare without blinking, they may be looking at motion
in the room
- Cats have difficulty focusing on items closer than a foot away
- Cats have difficulty seeing well in brightness or total darkness
- Dilated pupils = seeing better in low light, excited, or scared depending on context
- Follicles of facial whiskers have blood vessels and nerve endings to help...
- Detect changes in the air
- Measure what spaces they can fit through
- Know to blink to protect their eyes from something too close
- Measure distance to close-up objects/prey

Tail
- Quivering tail = meeting someone (vertical and vibrating, showing feelings of happiness,
excitement, wanting something) OR about to spray
- Tail contact = affection, wants interaction
- Tail flips (top half of tail flips/swishes back and forth) = engaged, excited, fixated (bigger
movements = stronger feelings)
- Full tail swinging = overwhelmed, frustrated, tense, overstimulated, or excitement (depending on
context)

Body Positions/Movements
- Relaxed
- paw pads aren’t touching the ground (i.e. loaf position)
- more stretched out = more relaxed (ie stretching out their toes, kneading)
- Stressed/anxious
- twitchy/jerky moments = agitated, irritated, stimulated, concerned
- the lower the head is relative to shoulder height, the more unconfident/anxious they are
- crouched low with ears back and tail low
- the more scared they are, the smaller they made themselves (crouched, tucked in head and limbs,
all paws on ground, dilated pupils)
- Confident
- Head and tail up, ears forward
- Alert
- on hind legs = alert/attentive, slightly tense (not enough room to run/hide), curious
- Angry, annoyed
- tall, threatening, still, head held high, staring, possible hiss/growl = also prepared to attack,
needing to remove other creature from room, territorial/defensive
- Arched back can signify different feelings
- arched with puffed tail, ears back, bristly fur, and tense = cat is threatened
- arched with head up, long legs, loose body (stretching upwards) = they feel good
- arched with ears forward, soft gaze, sideways walk/jump/bouncy movements (crab walk)
and puffed up tail = they are initiating play

Sounds
- Purring = relaxed, happy to be in warm/familair situation, requesting something (usually a different
pitch), or trying to self-soothe if also tense/restless (needing care)
- Trill/chirp/chirrup = happily approaching someone they know, mom calling kittens, saying hello,
excited, seeing birds, playful, sometimes when stressed/sad
- Chattering = excited, watching birds/other prey
- Long, low-pitched meow/wail (yowling) = bored, in pain, confused, distressed, looking for human,
when in heat

Behaviors
- Scratching = happy/ecited, seeking attention, easing tension, removing dead outer nail sheath,
stretching, spreading pheromones
- Stalking = crouched low, ears are forward (vs ears back = scared, anxious)
- Friendly behaviors =
- nose touching
- rubbing heads/faces
- vertical soft tail
- touching bodies
- flopping/rolling
- Stressed behaviors =
- looking away (I need space)
- nose lick (concerned, uneasy, needing to reduce tension)
- stress grooming/scratching (uncertainty, releasing tension, anxious, needing to focus on
something else)
- short stress yawn
- rippling skin (when touched can show discomfort, irritation, needing to release tension; when not
being touched, it can be due to medications, plants, Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome)
- shaking off (release tension)
- hiding
- zoomies (relief, pressure release, release energy, overstimulated, after pooping, start of their
waking hours (dusk and dawn))
- Pretending to sleep (shut down, maybe they will leave me alone)
- “pain face” (head tucked toward chest, ear tips far apart, eyes squinting, avoiding eye contact,
whiskers straighter/spikier, corners of mouth stretched backwards) signifies pain
- Exposed belly/rolling over
- Defensive when body is stiff, in position to defend with claws, ears back, chin to chest
- Catnip response when rolling on ground
- Trusting when ears are forward, paws stretched, body stretching
- Kneading = affection, trust, getting comfortable, releasing stress, putting out scent from paws,
getting milk from mom
- As cat matures, they play using less “tooth and claw” (scooping/tossing, swatting, grabbing,
holding, bunny-kicking, biting to kill) and more time stalking and ambushing
- Social play = stare-offs, rotating ears, arched backs, puffed up fur, big tail movements
- Fun play is mostly silent (no hissing/growling/squealing), no painful biting, swatting or
smacking with claws in, easy to leave but they choose to return/stick around, cats swap
top/bottom positions, will pause (ie when distracted, needing a break, repositioning, reassessing)
- Not fun play = hissing, growling, shrieking, intense interaction with no pauses, pain or injury, one is pursuing one is hunted, no one can leave (true fight)