Illustrations of body postures of cats. Notice that in the series from A0B0 to A3B0, the cat becomes more offensive, whereas the cat becomes more defensive in the series from A0B0 to A0B3. A3B3 represents a cat with defensive and offensive behaviors. A0B0 represents a calm cat. A3B0 represents the most aggressive cat in an offensive, assertive sense; this is a cat clients will want to watch in situations involving profound inter-cat aggression or unprovoked aggression against humans (from Overall63 [used with permission, adapted from Leyhausen P. Cat behavior: the predatory and social behavior of domestic and wild cats. Garland STPM Press: New York, 1979]).

Facial Expressions

Illustrations of facial expressions of cats. Notice that in the series from A0B0 to A2B0 the cat becomes more reactive, whereas fear and an increased unwillingness to interact is more pronounced in the series from A0B0 to A0B2. The diagonal from A0B0 to A2B2 represents a cat that is becoming more offensive and assertive. More offensive postures are characterized by postures above the diagonal, whereas more defensive behaviors are characterized by the postures below the diagonal. A0B0 represents a calm cat. (from Overall63 [used with permission, adapted from Leyhausen P. Cat behavior: the predatory and social behavior of domestic and wild cats. Garland STPM Press: New York, 1979]).