How come a cat's rear end lifts up when you pet it the full length of its back?

Question

When I pet my cat the full length of it's back,and it's laying down or something,it lifts up is rear end.Why is this?

Just curious,i've always wonder this.Is it because they dont like it? Or do they? Hmm....

Answer 1

HI... you ever had a spot you couldn't itch? or want to get a little closer to help it feel good? :) my cats.. love that part above the tail/rump... PURRR FEELS GOOD MOM.. ITCH OVER HERE ...THERE... YMMMMMM they just love it...

Answer 2

Dr. Bernstein from Kent State is doing research on petting cats. So no one knows for sure.

"The information she's collected so far hasn't been well-documented, but it won't startle cat owners. Cats like to be petted on certain areas--the top of the head, the cheeks, the face, under the chin, on the chest, on the stomach, and at the base of the tail.But many owners also said their cats preferred a certain order to the petting.


For example, a cat might present its head to be petted, then expose a cheek, lift the head for the chin to be scratched, then move so the owner would run a hand down the back, and finally pause for the owner to rub the base of the tail.

" One person said the cat didn't like him to move his hand--he would like him to put his hand out, and [the cat] would move under it," she recalled.

The degrees varied--some fairly democratic cats could be petted everywhere but on the stomach. Others took a totalitarian view--"Only the head and nowhere else. You had to stop at the neck or it would bite you."

And then there were the cats that only like to be petted in a certain place--no, not the head, not the back. These cats preferred a certain location. Think "location" in the sense of "Finland."

Those cats would lead their owners to the appropriate spot in the house--the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom--where it wanted to be petted. "Some cats will only be petted in the bathroom," Dr. Bernstein noted.

She calls it the "leading ritual." The cat would appear and solicit petting. The owner would put out a hand, and the cat would move away, occasionally glancing back to make sure the owner was following. When it reached the appropriate spot, it would flop down on the floor, a signal for the petting to begin."

Answer 3

Ok, so I don't have an answer to this, but I have a funny addition. I have six cats and four of them do this plus when I am scratching/rubbing the base of their tail they go into a mad grooming frenzy. They will either groom me or themselves.
With my one female, I find it funny to start scratching the base of her tail when I have someone sitting next to me. She will start "grooming" them. She licks and nibbles just like she would if she was gooming herself. It's even funnier to do if the person next to me is sleeping.

Answer 4

I've been told that cats auctually have a sensory gland at the base of their tails--which is why it lifts. Apparently they won't lift their tails if they have intestinal problems.

Answer 5

For the same reason you arch your back when somebody is giving you a good back scratch; because it feels good!

Answer 6

I've heard that there's a dense collection of nerve endings there, so it feels especially good.

Answer 7

almost all cats do that, its because they like being loved on, give the cat a break at least he isnt biting you.

Answer 8

they like it...is like when you scratch them on the neck, they just love the kind of attention

Answer 9

because it feels good to your cat.

Answer 10

'cause they are evil. and want you to know you are a 'butt'....