Why do cats arch their back? The untold stories!
We all often come across the question, “are you a dog person or a cat person?” More often than never, the room is equilibrated in favor of each. While dogs are the most simplistic of all pets and are easy to understand, cats prefer to maintain the curiosity in a person’s mind through its royal attitude. There is a certain magnetic force of a cat’s nature that leaves most of us fascinated and the others repulsed. The 1974 Grammy-winning pop tune of Cat’s In The Cradle, chose the feline family member to be in its chorus throughout the song tagged along with other precious holdings like the silver spoon and the little boy. Amongst the peculiar features dramatized by the feline family, their body postures and physical demeanors often leave the owners and spectators flabbergasted with questions like ‘why do cats purr, why do cats arch their back, why don’t they listen when you want their attention’ etc, etc. Well, the majestic creature did hold royal positions in history with the Pharaohs and the Victorians that might account for their demand of royal treatment but to answer a few let’s take up why do cats arch their back as the question of the day.
A cat’s intelligence and its survival tactics are a matter of universal knowledge, most of which are still hard to confirm as the royal characters tend to use them as per their mood and situation. But it’s been confirmed to appreciable extents that certain body postures and acts of the feline character are in response to certain situations like that of grave danger to itself or it’s young ones and even to ascertain upcoming ominous events. Not touching the subject of a cat’s cosmic play predictions, we have enlisted some of the possible reasons of why do cats arch their back.
Just like us, humans, cats get their adrenaline pump supply in situations of fight-or-flight and always showcase this body rush through arched up backs and piloerection (standing up of body hair, or in this case, fur). This is in response to a number of situations, the first and foremost one being utterly spooked or frightened. Funny to know that, huh! Owing to the 60 flexible vertebras embedded in their body, cats try to display a sheer aggressive look when in danger and pretend to look bigger than their enemies, which is fairly demonstrated through the posters and dummy displays of arched up Halloween cats. Boy! The tactic surely does work on Homo sapiens, who only have 34 vertebras in their vertebral column.
Bending away from the defensive posture, there could be another possible reason to why do cats arch their back and if you are an opposable thumbs creature then it’s probably a mistake on your part. Cats often display their angst or disgust to a spectator by arching their backs up along with an erect tail and an unsettling display of those canine sets. Yes folks, cats have canine sets rather than misnomer feline teeth!
Adding to another abnormality, it has also been observed that the majestic creatures display their playful nature when they have their backs arched up. Yes, this may be the hardest of all to take in but it is illustrated that cats have a soft corner for a few people in their heart and when in a playful mood, the felines tend to prance around their favorite characters, tiptoeing with arched up back and the straight-up tail gliding from side to side feverously. This is also recorded as a condition of overstimulation, something one would rarely imagine that cats would experience. If this reason wasn’t strange enough then be prepared to read the next few lines which state that cats could even be in the chatty mood for a heart-to-heart talk with their favorite person and could display this desire with a mildly arched up back and an elegantly swinging tail to grab the attention.
And to sum up the major reasons for why do cats arch their back, we turn to the super flexible bodily postures of these creatures which can’t be attained even by the gold medalist Olympians. Next time, if you pass by a cat and watch it with an arched up back then it’s probably because of its ‘sleeping stretches’. Cats excel in flexing up their muscles after a royal nap or relaxation period with those mesmerizing arched up and flat-lined stretches to juggle up their body muscles and inspire the world with their quicker-than-a-lightning reflexes and the historical catwalk. So the next time you encounter a pretty little kitty with an arched up back then don’t be alarmed, as it is probably the stretching exercises for a maintaining a lean & bendy figure. Or maybe the first two reasons! Hard to tell with these creatures. All in all, humans have a lot to learn from this extremely cunning animal.
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