What is a cat Loaf?

My passion for animals started at a very young age as I grow up on a farm with several horses, cows, cats, chickens, and dogs on our property. The cat loaf is a position where the cat’s legs and tail are tucked underneath its body, resembling a loaf of bread. Loafing usually indicates that the cat is feeling relaxed and comfortable.

What does a cat Loaf pose mean?

The cat loaf pose typically indicates relaxation. Quoted in Inverse, Mikel Delgado, a cat researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, explains that, tucked as they are, cat loaves are clearly not in a defensive position from which they could spring into an attack.

What does it mean if a cat is in a loaf position?

Cats are both hunters and prey, so being in the loaf position makes it easier for them to pounce quickly. This is the loaf sign you’d probably rather not hear. Although the loaf position is generally a sign your cat is comfortable, sometimes what looks like a loaf is really a cat trying to hide the fact that something is wrong.