The photos below pretty much sum up the scene on Tuesday morning as Kali and Kinikini continued working out the details of their relationship.
It sent me off to query Google about cats’ rolling behavior. The “social roll,” as one article described it. Another article in The Guardian newspaper summed the rolling behavior as a “phenomenon of passive submission.”
Although not exactly on point, Wikipedia’s discussion of cat communication is an interesting read.
“Passive submission” does seem to appropriately describe what Kali and Kini are signaling to each other, I suppose.
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Does it seem like Kini is doing more of the “passivity” than Kali or is it pretty much mutual? Does any one seem more the “boss” cat?
Kinikini is the lead roller, perhaps to reassure her that he isn’t interested in being aggressive? Or because he is younger, and so status-wise it is the junior cat that shows submissiveness. But, whatever, he starts it, and then she tends to respond in kind.