Charlie was fab
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Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
I could very occasionally get away with sticking my face in Charlie's belly. You had to choose your timing just right though.
Same here with Vince. When he's in the mood it's wonderful
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
Belly fur is the best fur.
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
bimble
floofy
Please can other people tell me that their cats also do the thing of suddenly for no apparent reason running around like mad really really fast jumping on the furniture and just generally going mental, as if something really exciting was happening, and then just stop and lie down wanting a belly rub again? That's normal right?
CRI
Registered Chooser
Absolutely! With Breeze, it tends to be about 3 am, up and down the hallway, loudly.Please can other people tell me that their cats also do the thing of suddenly for no apparent reason running around like mad really really fast jumping on the furniture and just generally going mental, as if something really exciting was happening, and then just stop and lie down wanting a belly rub again? That's normal right?
Yeah, it's to be expected with cats - furry nutters!
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
Rollo, see above, is always in the mood for a belly rub. Its kind of odd really, never met a cat who liked it so much. I do wonder if its because he grew up with dogs. He also played fetch when we first got him. Seriously, would bring the toy back and drop it at your feet. Stopped after a couple of years. Peculiar cat
Schmetterling
I saw something nasty in the woodshed!
Please can other people tell me that their cats also do the thing of suddenly for no apparent reason running around like mad really really fast jumping on the furniture and just generally going mental, as if something really exciting was happening, and then just stop and lie down wanting a belly rub again? That's normal right?
Weeeell, it is just before Christmas and I do that, never mind the cats!
haushoch
Well-Known Member
Thank you all for your kind words, it means a lot. Molly is a much happier cat again now. She was rather confused at first and kept looking for him, and was on guard, because she expected him to appear from somewhere, then she worked out that he definitely wasn't in the house anymore, but was thinking that he must therefore be in the garden, so she sat on her garden lookout post for a day. But I think now she knows that it is her house again. So she's finally relaxed again and has gone back to her little routines. And so to join in, here's a belly rub photo of Molly. Look at that fluffy tummy!
Molly is a much happier cat again now. She was rather confused at first and kept looking for him, and was on guard, because she expected him to appear from somewhere, then she worked out that he definitely wasn't in the house anymore, but was thinking that he must therefore be in the garden, so she sat on her garden lookout post for a day. But I think now she knows that it is her house again. So she's finally relaxed again and has gone back to her little routines. And so to join in, here's a belly rub photo of Molly. Look at that fluffy tummy! 
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
Peg has almost exactly identical patterning except hers is white and ginger
The bits either side of her nose are a little fainter, but she has the white patch on her forehead exactly the same - I've seen a few like that, it's fascinating that it's a 'thing'. The leg markings look the same too, and she has that rounded bit on her thigh. Cats are ace.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Peg has almost exactly identical patterning except hers is white and ginger
I can sort of explain why it's a 'thing', at the risk of being a bit boring or coming across like a knowitall
(cat genetics is like my version of train spotting), but I guess anyone who finds it tedious can just skip this post!So here goes (anyone skip this bit if not interested, I don't mind!):
The white spotting gene in cats delays production of cells during embryonic growth that contain the genetic instruction to start to produce pigment (doesn't matter whether that pigment is affected by other genes to be black, brown, red, or dilute, smoke, silver, tabby, solid, tortie, etc).
Cells in the early embryo are produced and travel outwards from the neural tube, so skin cells that are produced early on in the kitten embryo that has the white spotting gene will lack the instruction to start to produce eumelanin (brown/black) or phaeomelanin (red), and because they are produced early on, they typically end up at the furthest extremities of the body as it develops. Then the gene for producing cells that can produce pigment switches on later in development, and pigment producing cells will tend to end up clustered towards the top of the back, rear legs, the top of the head/ears, and in some cases the muzzle.
The white spotting gene is dominant but there is a variation in appearance between cats with 1 copy of the gene or 2 - a cat with 1 copy will tend towards only white paws up to tuxedo markings, whereas a cat with 2 copies will have a greater percentage of unpigmented skin, up to completely white. Cats with 2 copies are far more likely to have irregular markings and a pigmented muzzle.
One reason that some white cats with blue eyes are deaf is that melanin is used in embryonic development to make the tiny bones in the ear and the white spotting gene, if it covers the area of the ears (which can result in a totally white cat), can result in both the blue eyes and the deafness as those bones may not be fully formed. Cats that are white and blue eyed for different genetic reasons (including breeds like Turkish Angora and Foreign White) are not as at much risk of deafness - especially not with DNA testing available these days to determine what genes cause the lack of pigmentation.
Interesting thing - because the genes only determine at which point in development pigment producing cells start to occur, NOT where they end up in the body (other than a tendency for the furthest points from the spine to be white), if I were to somehow get Radar cloned, his clone would not share the same markings, only the approximate percentage of white fur - because the distribution of pigmented and non-pigmented cells happens at an early stage in utero so there is a random element and may even be affected by his position in the womb. Same goes for torties (although the mechanism by which some cells end up producing eumelanin and others don't is different, the distribution of those cells is somewhat random in-utero).
OK, I am done, my apologies
EDIT: For some reason I typed melatonin instead of melanin at one point in this post, completely different things and just a case of me auto-typing similar-sounding words, I have now corrected it.
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purenarcotic
Conveniently Pocket Sized
The recent posts have made me feel very grateful for our Jangles. She is soft as shite, you can stick your face anywhere you want and she doesn't mind, loves a good belly rub and a cuddle.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Aye my Jakey is like that, he often rolls over on his back when he wants attention and doesn't mind if I stick my face on his belly and blow raspberries, he's a soft bugger
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
I can sort of explain why it's a 'thing', at the risk of being a bit boring or coming across like a knowitall
So here goes (anyone skip this bit if not interested, I don't mind!):
The white spotting gene in cats delays production of cells during embryonic growth that contain the genetic instruction to start to produce pigment (doesn't matter whether that pigment is affected by other genes to be black, brown, red, or dilute, smoke, silver, tabby, solid, tortie, etc).
Cells in the early embryo are produced and travel outwards from the neural tube, so skin cells that are produced early on in the kitten embryo that has the white spotting gene will lack the instruction to produce eumelanin (brown/black) or phaeomelanin (red), and because they are produced early on, they typically end up at the furthest extremities of the body as it develops. Then the gene for producing cells that can produce pigment switches on later in development, and pigment producing cells will tend to end up clustered towards the back, rear legs, the top of the head/ears, and in some cases the muzzle.
The white spotting gene is dominant but there is a variation in appearance between cats with 1 copy of the gene or 2 - a cat with 1 copy will tend towards only white paws up to tuxedo markings, whereas a cat with 2 copies will have a greater percentage of unpigmented skin, up to completely white. Cats with 2 copies are far more likely to have irregular markings and a pigmented muzzle.
One reason that some white cats with blue eyes are deaf is that melatonin is used in embryonic development to make the tiny bones in the ear and the white spotting gene, if it covers the area of the ears (which can result in a totally white cat), can result in both the blue eyes and the deafness as those bones may not be fully formed. Cats that are white and blue eyed for different genetic reasons (including breeds like Turkish Angora and Foreign White) are not as at much risk of deafness - especially not with DNA testing available these days to determine what genes cause the lack of pigmentation.
Interesting thing - because the genes only determine at which point in development pigment producing cells start to occur, NOT where they end up in the body (other than a tendency for the furthest points from the spine to be white), if I were to somehow get Radar cloned, his clone would not share the same markings, only the approximate percentage of white fur - because the distribution of pigmented and non-pigmented cells happens at an early stage in utero so there is a random element and may even be affected by his position in the womb. Same goes for torties (although the mechanism by which some cells end up producing eumelanin and others don't is different, the distribution of those cells is somewhat random in-utero).
OK, I am done, my apologies
Top post, nice one Epona, fascinating. I love how much you know about this.
Oh and Radar is adorable
Libertad
Sparking up a rollie in the Reichstag
Aye my Jakey is like that, he often rolls over on his back when he wants attention and doesn't mind if I stick my face on his belly and blow raspberries, he's a soft bugger
We give hot potatoes in their bellies in our house.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
We give hot potatoes in their bellies in our house.
What is a hot potato? Is it like giving a raspberry?
Libertad
Sparking up a rollie in the Reichstag
First procure your kitty, flatter your kitty into submission then approach the belly and breath warm breath into the bellyfur until said kitty's belly is warm and clammy. Repeat as necessary or until your advances are rebuffed.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
First procure your kitty, flatter your kitty into submission then approach the belly and breath warm breath into the bellyfur until said kitty's belly is warm and clammy. Repeat as necessary or until your advances are rebuffed.
Ah ok, one step back from giving a full on belly raspberry then
Probably less risk of finding fur in your mouth an hour later
If I tried sticking my face in my cat's belly, I'd probably look like a more bloody version of this:
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
interesting - the two mogs i used to live with were brothers from the same litter (so may or may not have had the same father) - while one was black & white, the other tabby & white, the pattern of their markings was very similar - tail, back and what looked like a badly fitting toupee was colour, the rest was white...
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Yep generally the pattern that the white spotting gene produces is similar, due to the general direction in which cells migrate from the neural tube during early embryonic stage - which is why some of us here have similar looking cats that are not related to one another - but not identical. And the difference between solid black and tabby is controlled by different genes (either both parents were tabby and carried the solid gene, or one parent was tabby and carried the solid gene and the other parent was solid).
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Questions that seem completely normal if you have cats:
"Why is there a small lump of something unidentifiable that may be shit or may be furball stuck solid to the top of my computer case?" (probably ought to be thankful that it isn't lurking in a shoe or something
)
"Why is there a small lump of something unidentifiable that may be shit or may be furball stuck solid to the top of my computer case?" (probably ought to be thankful that it isn't lurking in a shoe or something
)
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
My Radar actually did that to my dad once, with no approach to Radar's belly having been made, my dad was all "no no it's OK, I know he's a bit of a rascal, but I grew up with cats, I can take it" and started stroking Radar then it ended up more like this
with cries of "oh god he's biting my head, get him off, get him off" and I had to forcibly prise the wee shite off his head - me dad ended up with a lot of scratches in odd places on his scalp. Radar is an absolute horror tbf - I love him dearly but I had to wear sturdy boots with thick hiking socks and trousers for the first year we had him, because he would just wrap around my leg and cling on, biting. I used to say "thank fuck he ended up with us, because I don't think anyone else would put up with this sort of shit" (he was really a very difficult cat when younger, also a very rewarding one given time and patience and periods of not being able to sit down because he bit me in the buttock really hard a few times). Thankfully he has calmed down a lot over the last 10 years - at least around us, I still have to shut him in the bedroom when we have visitors, because I prefer my guests not to be savaged by a marginally insane cat. This is my DSH I am talking about btw, my Oris are great with guests, especially Jakey who likes to go purring about and sit on guests' laps and get attention.
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