There seems to be a lot of variety in the way cats administer headbutts to their humans.

Mehitabel and Lillybit use the headbutt almost exclusively as a way to get petted, by pushing their heads into my hands until I take the hint.

Archy only headbutts me when he's doing figure-8s around my ankles, usually right when I'm fixing his dinner. He's more likely to hang back and wait for petting than to ask for it by giving me a headbutt.

Tye, who was a genteel cat, adopted the subtle approach. His headbutt was actually more of an invitation for a kiss; he'd sit in front of me and lean his head toward me, purring away, inviting me to give him a smooch on the forehead.

Then there's Maddie, who is many things, but subtle isn't one of them. Like Tye, she likes to headbutt my face so she'll get a kiss, but Maddie administers headbutts by charging at me at top speed and bonking me on the mouth so hard with her head that I'm surprised I'm not walking around with a swollen lip half the time.

Copyright © Beth Harvey
July 19, 2002