Hi All,

Some of mine will do this and some of them won't.  I'm talking about
your cats' behavior when company comes.  Smokey is a big moosh for my
two friends from Florida (the ones who had been in the path of
Hurricane Ivan).  Sumo and Lady Jane will come for skritches, but
Roxy, Tasha, and Squidget don't play this game.  The three players
will do all the standard cute cat maneuvers including 'upside downy
head', falling over sideways, head butts, and the like.  Smokey will,
if  he likes you enough, sit on the back of your armchair or sofa and
paw your hair.

This results in the human behavior of me telling the cat, "No".  I
don't know about yours, but mine will then go into this act that says,
"I'm just a poor pussycat and nobody loves me.  They haven't shown me
any affection in a week and I'm starving for some.  Won't you take me
home with you and save me from a life of no snuggling?"

When we would visit Joe and Marianne, who used to live a mile from
here till they moved to the land of hurricanes, their cats were
indifferent, but the d*gs would really put on a show.  Eventually, DH
and I would have to tell the Golden Retriever and the Golden/Lab mix
that we had had enough of doggies and wanted to visit the people.  The
d*gs would then be told to, "Go lie down!"  You would think that their
little d*ggie hearts were breaking as they grudgingly complied.

It seems to me that the more 'people oriented' the pet, the more
likely they are to pull this routine.  It's not just my own cats and
the friends' dogs that I've seen do this.

Regards and Purrs,
O J