I thought I was mortified when, in ignorance, I expressed the belief that Bugs’s little nipples were [ahem] pimples. Turns out, I didn’t know from mortified. Now I am mortified for sure.
Our dear fellow blogger LifeWith4Cats has just posted one of her typically awesome totally information-filled and adorable bulletins.
I have come to learn the true meaning of mortified.
In my defense, though, come on. Wouldn’t you agree that if you had a cat that nips at you, you’d feel pretty scared? If that cat looks at you like this?
Wouldn’t you kind of want to [ahem] nip that behavior in the bud? Before it escalates into total amputation of various extremities?
I would agree with that. Wouldn’t you?
It seems the right answer, as those of you who already know can see this coming, would be “no.” Come to find out that Bugs was expressing love? By nipping??
WHAT????
Talk about misunderstanding. I could smack myself upside the head.
Except that I’m so, so happy.
Look at this:
And this:
catself 
cool post.. 🙂
Thank you! So glad to meet you!
right back at ya!! 😀
Im so happy that you can have more joy today than you had yesterday. Joy is so important. 🙂 🙂
Thank you for the ping back also. Im so happy you are happy.
Bugs looks great, I think I can see the shadow of the screen in his fur. Is he getting darker as he ages?
I don’t think so, 4Cats. I think you’re seeing the screen-shadow, as you say. And probably the hi-contrast, in the bright sun, also conveys that impression. But now you’ve alerted me, I’ll pay closer attention. Joy? Unbelievably wonderful feeling. I have it thanks to you. All thanks to you, my dear, in the world. The universe.
My Tristan loves to lick lick, then NIP – sometimes hard – he must love me lots!! Bugs is a sweetie!
I bet he does love you lots, Anya. I know I do. And fellow readers here? you just SIMPLY MUST check out Anya’s blog. She is an artiste with the garden. And the photos. And the cats. Complete protein for the soul, my friends.
And yes. Bugs a sweetie? Who knew.
Some bites are love bites, and some are play bites some are warning bites and few are real bites. The last are the easiest to recognize because the teeth go down to the bone and you bleed a lot. So with Gus, for instance I’ve had about four real bites in 14 years, all durning abnormal behavior – panic attacks and the like. I get the warning snaps if I groom his knots or pet is back too much – I call them snapping turtle bites because he actually bites in front of my hand with an audible snap and butts the hand with the closed teeth — message recieved!
But the others can still hurt if he’s too rough and you can and should try to guide him to being more gentile with you and other people in play and in affection. Shape the result to both your liking rather than reject the offer.
Well — more complexity, I see. Gosh. Those Gus-bites — Bugs has never done anything like that. So sorry you had them! For the rest, I will take your advice to keep both our likings in mind. I feel much happier now I know that escalation isn’t the inevitable end, here — but I have noticed, still, some discomfort on my part with the emphasis he uses. So your pointing to play-bites being a factor, too, seems really apt in Bugs’s case. I also really hear the “don’t reject,” and I’m glad for that, because that is different from what I’ve done in the past. And the gentleness I really need. So — more back-to-the-drawing-board. This project really makes me happy, though. Unlike some others I could mention. The horked-up hairball this morning, for example. Neatly deposited in the heel-indentation part of my shower-sandal, so you can’t fault his aim. But I’m not mentioning anything about that.
I read an explanation for the cat and shoe fixaton a while back. From the cat’s view, the shoe is an object that smells like you but isn’t always attached to you. So when Bugs was feeling bad with the hairball being close to your shoe was a comfort. The mess remains the same even if the motivation is different.
My cat Rocky likes to lick my ankle after I get out from the shower, and I know that if I let him lick long enough there will be a nip. How funny that I wrote about nip today too — not your kind of nip…but catnip!! 🙂
Really funny coincidence! And I bet this lick-lick-lick-nip sequence might not be easy to categorize — maybe 0.50 way between “I love you” and “let’s play”? Some overlap? Betcha . . sure sounds familiar, though. You can just see these things coming sometimes.
Yay Bugs! Cats are such unique creatures, are they not?
Totally.
Wow, I learned something today! I had a black cat who was nothing more than a big pile of furry mush – he was the most loving boy, and he made non-cat lovers want a cat. He drooled like no one’s business. And, especially in his older years, he bit. Hard. Lick, lick, lick, chomp. At one point he had to have some teeth removed, so I was asking my vet if he was biting because his teeth hurt (sounds stupid now), and the vet said no, it’s behavioral. So I took that to mean he was Bad. I didn’t realize it was love! But yes, there are certainly different types of bites – love bites (well, 2 types of those, the little nips and the full force chomps), the play bites, and the serious bites (usually caused when you try to pick them up when they are terrified).
have I told you lately I love your blog? Seems I’m always learning something new. Oh, and I’m sorry for the comments on old posts – I just can’t seem to keep myself from leaving comments.
Oh listen, whatever you do don’t stop leaving comments. I absolutely love hearing from you, in addition to loving your site — I just don’t remember get there unless you do comment here. I do regret that disconnect. And I can’t imagine how to express to you my gratitude for putting me on to Jackson Galaxy. What a difference that’s made to our lives over here. A great day, when you left that comment.