Understanding cats Lesson 23 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 20 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: the lesson at school .
0 Cats talk with their ears, tail, eyes and voice: a tail held straight up with a little hook at the tip is a friendly hello. 1 A frightened cat puffs its tail up like a bottle brush and arches its back to look bigger; an annoyed cat flicks or thumps its tail and turns its ears back or flat. 2 Slow blinks mean a cat feels safe with you, while wide, round pupils in good light can mean it is scared or excited. 4 Let a cat come to you, stroke it gently on its cheeks, chin and the base of its ears, and stop as soon as its tail starts to twitch, its skin ripples or its ears turn back. 5 For example, a cat that rolls onto its back is showing it trusts you, but rubbing its belly often ends in a scratch, because most cats protect their tummy. 6 A boy in New York grabbed a cat and held it tight while it struggled; it scratched his face deeply, and the scratch got infected. 7 A girl in Glasgow ignored her cat's flicking tail and flattened ears and kept rubbing its tummy; it bit her hand, and her hand swelled up and she needed antibiotics. 8 A tail held straight up is a cat's friendly greeting. 9 A puffed-up tail and an arched back mean a cat is frightened. 10 A tail that flicks, swishes or thumps usually means the cat is annoyed. 11 Ears turned back or flattened mean a cat is scared or angry. 12 A slow blink is a sign that a cat trusts you. 13 Cats usually purr when content, but they can also purr when hurt or stressed. 14 Most cats like to be stroked on the cheeks, under the chin and at the base of the ears. 15 Many cats do not like their belly touched, even when they lie on their back. 16 A hiss is a cat's warning to stay away. 17 Stop stroking a cat when its tail twitches, its skin ripples or its ears turn back. 18 Cat scratches and bites can get infected, so they should be washed with soap and water. 19 Cat bites often get infected because their teeth are thin and go deep. 20 A cat scratch or bite that becomes red, hot or swollen should be checked by a doctor. ← previous Meeting a dog safelynext → Bees, wasps and stings↑ back to Everyday This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/23-understanding-cats/