Feline Communication 31
Distance decreasing
Rolling, while stretching and opening the claws (known as a ‘social roll’), may be used
as an invitation to play and can be directed towards other cats, people, or even other
animals that the cat has a friendly relationship with (Fig. 3.9). It has been described
by some authors (Feldman, 1994a) as a sign of passive submission. But as cats have
no need for deference signals and a social roll is more likely to occur when there is
no threat from the other individual, this hypothesis seems unlikely.
Even though the social roll can be regarded as a friendly signal and an indication
that a cat feels unthreatened, it should never be interpreted as a request by the cat to
have its ‘tummy rubbed’ as the cat is already likely to be in an aroused (playful) state
and doing so could result in being bitten and/or scratched. This could also be consid-
ered as a physical threat by the cat, provoking an aggressive defensive reaction.
Fig. 3.6. Piloerection and arching the
back makes the cat appear bigger than
it actually is, and can be a response to a
sudden severe threat such as a potential
predator.Fig. 3.7. A fearful cat may attempt to
make itself appear smaller by lowered
body posture with the head lower than the
body. If it has the opportunity it will also
attempt to hide.