Lilo Likes to be Squished

Have you ever tried to pick up a cat in your arms and squeeze it real tight?

If so, do you have the scars to prove it?

Most cats in my experience don't really liked to be picked up at all. When I was little our all-white kitty did not like to be picked up - he'd dig in with those back claws and push off whatever body part he could.

Lilo looking to get down.

I had a Siamese when I was older, and she only liked to be picked up when she was in the mood. She did not wear any kind of sign when she was in this mood, so it was really a crapshoot on whether I'd get purring or need to go get the Neosporin. My sister's cat, a black and white, usually didn't care.

Now, our Bengals, they are a whole different story.

Sera would prefer if you never take the initiative to pick her up. She will sit on your lap when it suits her, not on your whim. If you choose to go against this, you will bleed. I have the scars to prove it. I'd also like to say I've learned, but apparently I believe at some point she will mellow out and start acting like your normal, run-of-the-mill alley cat, and let me carry her as I wish. By definition this is insanity, expecting a different result than every time previous, but there it is.

Moochie is a mixed bag. Half of the time you will pick him up and he will push his way out of your arms and right back to the floor. Generally he is good about using muscle to do this rather than claws, but he has his moments. If he is willing to be held, there must be motion involved. If you stand in one place he will get down. If you carry him around the room in circles he's cool with that. Occasionally you may even get a light, ragged purr, but he's not one for big purrs in general.

Lilo is a completely different story. Then again, she's a little odd sometimes anyway.

Just chillin'.

Since she has no claws Lilo has learned she pretty much just has to roll with the punches. If her brother or sister or mom or dad want to pick her up or move her, she knows that's pretty much what's going to happen. I can pick her up just about anytime and she'll lay casually in my arms. I can even flip her over on her back, all four legs up in the air, and she'll lay there and let you rub on - even blow on - her belly.

The real crazy part is what happens when you squeeze her.

Unlike roughly every other feline on the planet, Lilo LIKES to be squished in your arms. She purrs purrs purrs like a crazy kitty. And the harder you squeeze, the louder she purrs.

Tighter!

At first I thought maybe she didn't like it, and that's why she was purring. I remember reading - I wrote a thesis about human-cat communication in high school - that cats don't only purr when they are happy, but they purr during other instances of extreme emotion, such as fear or anger. The purring in those instances is in an effort to calm themselves down, to comfort themselves, in order to allow them to react to the situation calmly.

We are just about positive that's not the case with Lilo. If you stop squeezing her, she'll open her eyes and look at you, wondering why you stopped. Then you squeeze her again, she smiles, and purrs begin anew.

Lilo curling the paws.

One of her favorite things is to be in the middle of a hug. One of us will pick her up and then the other will give a huge with Lilo cuddled up in the middle, and she purrs loud enough to be heard across the room.

This isn't normal, right? I mean, who heard of a cat that likes the stuffing squeezed out of her?