Cat Makes Ridiculous Faces When Having Her Back Scratched

Those of us who own at least one cat will agree that those are some weird animals. Like, what are cats really? They rarely utter a sound, can lick their own behinds from every which way and if you hit that sweet spot on their back, they make these insane meowing-purring-growling sounds, making you go “do you like this or not?”.

It just so happens that this is not a unique behavior for your cat, or even for Mr. Smokey here. He likes his back scratch so much that he twists his body like a belly dancer. What about that thing with his tongue? Probably he wants to be in sync with the speed of the scratching. What a funny cat. Not only that, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this loony, vocal thing they do.

Vets and animal behaviorists assume that this air-licking and vocalizing when you scratch your cat's sweet spot is a form of “mutual grooming”. Our pet cats have been with us since they were tiny kittens and even though cats are not the “family group” type of animal, all they really know is being part of this family.

In a non-verbal animal kingdom, like that of cats, mutual grooming is a sign of affection and bonding for both participants. Social grooming produces a hormone called oxytocin, which has been associated with bonding and emotional attachment.

So there you have it, all your cat is trying to say is “I love you, now scratch me some more a bit further down...”