Does your cat sometimes stick their tongue out? This goofy little expression is normally seen mid-clean – when your cat is grooming itself, pauses, then closes their mouth a bit too quickly!

If it’s a more common occurrence you might want to get your cat’s jaw checked out, but it’s most likely just a case of your cat forgetting to put their tongue back properly!

Does your cat head-butt your ankles, hands or even head? It’s actually an act of endearment and has a name – it’s ‘bunting’.

Cats have scent glands at the bottom of their ears so by bunting you they are putting their scent on you and claiming you as a friend.

Does your cat sleep anywhere that isn’t the bed you’ve bought for them?

It’s all to do with scent. That lovely new bed smells sterile at best, or like a pet shop at worst. Try introducing a favourite towel or sheet into their new bed to make it smell safe.

It may seem like cats don’t respect personal space. Well, they don’t.

Getting up nice and close and having a sniff is how cats communicate so if your cat wants to give you a once over, take it as a compliment – they want to know what you’ve been up to.

Do your cats’ ears twitch like there’s something making a noise that we can’t hear?

Well, that’s probably what’s happening. Cats’ hearing is better than a dogs’ which means it’s way more tuned than ours. They are able to differentiate pitches and depths to identify what and where the sound is coming from, so give them a minute – and let them make sure there’s no imminent danger – before getting on with cuddles.

Do you ever get sandpaper kisses?

If a cat licks you it’s a sign of bonding and trust, but it also could be because you haven’t had a shower! For a cat, the electrolytes that we secrete, and the scent we have, can be very appealing – and some cats like the taste.

So you shouldn’t take it to heart if you don’t get the licks but someone else in your house does, because we all taste different.

Do your cats see lights-off as a cue to run about?

Dawn and dusk are hunting hours for big cats in the wild because it’s cooler, but there’s still enough light to see prey. And even though you provide food, low light can still trigger this behaviour in little cats.

If your cat is getting too much sleep during the day it can mean they have excess energy come the evening, which is used to bounce off the walls when you’re trying to sleep. So try playing with you cat just before bedtime to tire them out.

Does your little cat like to dip their paw in the water and lick it off? It might seem to be a laborious way of drinking, but there are a couple of simple reasons why they might prefer it.

Sometimes their whiskers can brush against the side of the bowl which can be uncomfortable for them. So try a wider bowl and make sure it’s as full with water as it can be.

Or, if you live in a multi-cat house, they might just prefer to keep their head up to make sure another cat doesn’t sneak up on them!

Do you have a heat-seeking cat that follows the sun around the house?

It may seem strange that on a hot summer day, even with a coat of fur, they still want to sit in the sun. They aren’t solar-powered but it is about saving energy.

Their body temperature sits a few degrees higher than ours, and in the winter need to rely on energy from the body to keep it up. So when summer comes around they don’t waste a drop of sun, and use it to keep them toasty, conserving energy for other things.

WHISKAS® CATSTACAM™ is our new campaign designed to help owners better understand their cats by giving a glimpse into their world. But we don’t just want to show you what cats get up to, we want to provide a deeper understanding of common cat behaviour.

That’s why we’ve got top behaviour expert Dr Jacqui Ley, a Registered Veterinarian Specialist in Behavioural Medicine, on board. So when you #AskWHISKASyou’ll be getting a specialist understanding of your cat’s behaviour.

If there’s anything your cat does that you don’t understand just #AskWHISKAS over the next couple of weeks on our Facebook Page and you’ll get a response within 24hrs. It’s the social way to help you better understand cats.