![]() So, a cat isn’t really thinking to himself, “I need to look bigger right now.” Thousands of years of evolution have made the arched back/piloerection response automatic.Ī cat who is arching his back because he is afraid will have an increased heart rate and dilated pupils, too. It’s kind of like goosebumps in humans, but we mostly-naked creatures don’t look dramatically different when we piloerect. Adrenaline is the “fight or flight” hormone, and when it’s released, the tiny muscles around each little strand of hair contract, making the hair stand erect. Piloerection and the arched back occur due to a rush of adrenaline. This behavior is believed to be an involuntary response. She isn’t “trying” to make herself look larger. The arched back and the puffed-out fur work together to make a cat look larger and more threatening than she really is.Īctually, I said that wrong. Tail fur puffs out, too, bottle-brush style. Piloerection refers to a cat’s hair standing on end. The other part of this performance is called piloerection. It may be too late run away, and the only tool in the toolbox left is a warning that says, “look how ginormous and scary I am.” The warning, if not heeded, is usually followed by a defensive attack. It’s often a last-ditch attempt to defend themselves against a perceived danger. Many animal species try to make themselves appear larger when threatened. Your cat has an arched back because he is afraid While you work on your ability to speak cat, here are some things an arched back can mean: You also have to pay attention to your cat’s other body signals: what else is a cat doing when he’s arching his back: Is he hissing? Is he hopping? Is he flattening his ears?Īnswers to questions like these will help you interpret your cat’s arched back. Is your cat a kitten, and are her other litter members playfighting at the moment the arched back occurs? Are you petting your cat, and did you just touch a sensitive spot? What is going on in your cat’s world when he arched his back? Was there a clap of thunder at that moment? Did a feral cat just saunter past your cat’s favorite window? In order to understand why your cat is arching his back, you have to look at context. To better understand our cats, we have to become more attentive to all the other signals that our cats are giving us.
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