Welcome to the wonderful world of cats’ tummies, where we answer the all-important question ‘do cats like belly rubs’?
Many of us have seen a cat lie on his or her back
And expose their lovely soft belly to us.
What does this mean?
Should you reach in and rub your cat’s belly?
Or is there another reason why your cat is doing that?
Why do cats show their belly?
When a cat belly is exposed, it means that your cat feels safe and comfortable around you.
The belly is a vulnerable spot on your cats body so by exposing it to you, it means she trusts you.
When my kitty cat exposes her white belly by rolling around on her back, it makes me want to go in there and rub her belly like I would a dog’s.
But is that such a good idea? Let’s find out.
Do cats like belly rubs?
As adorable as it is for your cat to show its belly, it isn’t necessarily a sign for a cat tummy rub.
Most kitties do not enjoy having their bellies rubbed. Even though they are exposing their belly, it does not mean they are asking for a belly rub.
The Happy Cat Handbook - A unique guide to understanding and enjoying your cat!
It just means she feels safe enough to do that around you.
In all likelihood, you’re more likely to get bit or scratched if you try to rub a cat’s belly, even if the kitty is contentedly lying on its back.
When I try to reach in and rub my cat’s belly, she will often roll over to her side to prevent further rubbing and even bunny kick my hand out of her belly, which doesn’t feel very nice.
I take it as a sign that she does not like her belly being rubbed.
Kitten belly rubs
Kitten tummy rubs look very tempting. Kittens are so precious when they are small, and their cute little bellies looks so enticing.
But most kitties, like grown cats, do not enjoy a belly rub.
If your kitten lets you do a kitten tummy rub, how fun for you!
I would recommend doing it very gently since a kitten is more sensitive than a fully-grown cat.
Fluffy cat belly rub
That poof of fur on a fluffy cat’s belly is tempting, isn’t it? Don’t you just want to rub it back and forth like crazy? I certainly get that feeling when a fluffy cat exposes its belly to me.
And you may have heard that fluffy cats are more likely to enjoy a belly rub
There is no evidence that that is the case though. Willingness to allow a person’s hand into that gorgeous fluffy tum is not related to coat type. It depends on the individual cat.
My cat lets me rub his belly
If your cat lets you rub his belly, good for you! Count yourself as one of the lucky few.
Your cat must really trust you and feel comfortable enough to have his belly rubbed by you.
You don’t want to overstep your boundaries though. Make sure to keep an eye out for signs that your cat is tired of getting a belly rub.
If your cat starts flattening her ears or nibbles your hand, you might want to stop rubbing her belly.
Why does my cat like her belly rubbed?
If she wants you to rub her belly, your kitty is clearly showing lots of trust in you
It may feel good to your cat, especially if she has an itch that needs to be scratched.
As unpleasant as it may sound though, your cat wanting a tummy rub may be sign of skin irritation.
It may be bug bites, ringworm, or allergies that are making your cat want you to give it a cat tummy rub.
Look out for bites, an inflamed area, or balding patch. If you notice any one of these things, please take your kitty to the vet as soon as you can to get it checked out.
Summary – do cats like belly rubs?
Summary – do cats like belly rubs?Most cats prefer not to have their belly rubbed. Although a few cats do enjoy belly rubs, there is nothing wrong with your cat if she doesn’t want it.
Your cat may not like a belly rub because a cat’s belly is a sensitive and vulnerable part of its body.
That is where all of the vital organs are housed. So don’t be surprised if your cat does not feel comfortable getting a belly rub.
If your cat rolls on her back and shows you her tummy, this is a sign of great trust, but not necessarily an invitation to touch
What about you?
Does your cat like having his or her belly rubbed? Did you train your kitty to like it, or was it innate? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Your Amazing Cat!
We are so excited to share our new book with you!
If you have enjoyed your visit to The Happy Cat Site we think you'll love The Happy Cat Handbook.
Written by the founders of this website including the author of the hugely successful Happy Puppy Handbook, it's packed with cat care information and fascinating cat facts.
Grab your copy today!
I have six cats. Five show belly but don’t want to be touched. Kent, the oldest and largest, who is also as fierce as any guard dog, loves belly rubs. It’s kind of funny to see this big tough ginger cat on his back in pure joy getting belly rubs.
My nine month old kitten DEMANDS belly rubs, but only from me. She will bite if I don’t rub her belly when she rolls onto her back. Her sister will try to bite if you go anywhere near her belly.
It’s funny how different even sisters can be 🙂
I can get most, but not all cats to enjoy belly rubs just by deeply connecting with them.
I have had a lot of cats who barely likes it – mostly carefully and on the chin if at all. But my new kitten loves it! Really begging for it! Wonderful surprise to experience 🙂
My ginger cat loves having his belly rubbed by me. I don’t think he rolls over for one with anyone else though. It might be due to the cat growing up with my daughters dog, who always wanted tummy rubs. The two were constantly vying for attention from me.
Not only does my big ginger boy like belly rubs, he absolutely loves to have his belly brushed! when we pull out his wire brush he will run over and jump onto our laps and flop right over onto his back and make little swimming motions with his paws while we brush his belly. It cracks me up every time and we have had him for 3 years now. I don’t think it will ever get old
My beautiful fluffy white cat Maddie. Loves any attention. She’s very needy and loves a belly rub too
My cat loves tummy rubs, wakes me up in the middle of the night for them, rolls over and makes long arm reaches and happy paws and loud purring when I do it. There are times when either he has had enough or something is bothering him and he “bunny kicks” my hand away, but never any claws or bites, and a few hours later we will do the entire thing all over again. I have seen cats that roll upside-down when I pet them but if I slowly come closer to their tummy they bat me away or roll upright again so I don’t press the matter. One has to be careful, they are dangerous little characters and can only communicate with actions, not words.
I have the shyest scaredy cat in the world but she loves belly rubs from me (I’m the only one that she gets close to). She stretches all the way out on her back and wants me to stroke her for ages.
I have a 3 month old and he flops over on top of me so that i will pet his belly every morning. This morning I petted his belly as he purred for 35 minutes before I had to nudge him off and start my day. This makes me so happy to read that he trusts me so much!
My cat not only loves his belly rubbed and scratched, but he locks his arms around my hand and holds it there until he’s satisfied with his belly and chest being rubbed and scratched. He will hold my hand there sometimes for 5 to 7 minutes. He holds on so tightly I can lift him up off of the bed. He NEVEm uses his nails, even when playing. One other thing, he purrs all of the time. Finally, and oddly, all 3 dogs are afraid of him, and 2 of my dogs are JRTs!
My cat loves belly rubs. She wants them often.
This is the first time that I have indoor cats (I grew up on farm with mousers).When we got our kitties (regular short hair males) at age 8 weeks and 12 weeks, we would just hold them a lot with their bellies up, kind of like you would hold a human baby. Now, at ages 5 and 6 months, they still love that position; one even throws himself backwards in our arms. The other one sleeps on the carpet completely on his back and we can walk up to him and rub his fluffy belly. So, maybe we trained them to be that way or maybe we were just lucky.
My orange male kitty LOVES belly rubs. He even drools while I rub his belly. He adopted me 4 years ago. I don’t where from where he came but he appeared one day in my garden and refused to leave. I didn’t feed him for an entire month because I wanted him to go back home (if he was lost) but he never did. Finally, I fed him and we just fell in love with each other. I didn’t train him to like belly rubs. It just came with the package♥
Both of our cats love belly rubs. Our small one (1 year) on his own terms: Sometimes he lays on a chair rolling on his back when he sees you, looking you straight in the eye and waiving with his paw to pet him. Our old one (2 years) is the loveliest creature ever, you can do anything with him and he would never put his claws out on us (he does though on other cats but never has on any of our friends or friends kids). He sometimes demands to get touched on his chin and belly and makes cute sounds like you would imagine a tiny sheep or goat does when you stop for a second to tell you “hey, don’t stop!” 😀
Oh and they are both bengals with lots of energy but when we are home they are like little shadows following you through the house unless it is outside time
My rescue cat of about 2 yrs ‘chose me’ when i was looking for a cat at a rescue centre. she jumped on me when i had not given her any attention. Now she spends a lot of time following and licking me and sweet purr cuddles on the bed.
she got sick and a large lump apeared on her belly, as this was examined by the vet and myself she begain to enjoy the fuss.
The lump which was very large has now completely gone. I regularly hold her facing the mirror and rub to check all is well.
Now my Bella will allow me to hold her on her back like a baby and have a good tummy rub and a feel around…the more i do it the deeper she has tollerated.
So now its a fun thing to do and an exallent way to have a rummage and check all is well.