Which of your cats quirks is your favorite?

You know those days when your cats seem intent on making trouble, but as soon as you’re ready to say "no!" or shoo them away from the destructive target of their choice, they do something ridiculously cute that makes you forget to do anything other than say "awwwww" or run for your camera to capture the moment? I’ve lived with cats all my life, and I’ve seen hundreds of these adorable antics. Here are some of my favorites, in words and photos.

1. Sneak attack from a box

Siouxsie is hiding. Nobody can see her. She’s ready to ambush! Um ÔǪ yeah.

2. The leg drape

Angie Bailey recently discussed the irresistible allure of the feline leg dangle, and like her, I melt every time I see it. Thomas is my resident leg-drape expert.

3. The upside-down head thing

My beautiful Sin├®ad was the resident upside-down head-thing expert. Every time she did a half-asleep stretch and looked at me with that cute little face, I turned into a pile of kitty-loving mush. Unfortunately, this is the best upside-down head-thing photo I ever got.

4. Shoulder rides

Siouxsie loves to climb onto my shoulders and allow me to walk around the house so she can survey her domain from atop her own personal beast of burden. Sometimes the shoulder ride evolves into "purry hugs," in which she wraps her paws around my neck and starts rubbing her cheeks against my face with enough force to knock my glasses off my head.

5. "Kitten interruptus"

Many years ago, my mother fostered a pregnant cat and her litter until the kittens were old enough to be adopted. At that time I had an office in a room at her place, and that room also happened to be the kitten nursery. How was I supposed to work under these conditions?

6. Head bonks

Kissy loved being held in my arms. She’d purr like crazy, make biscuits, and give me head bonk after head bonk.

7. Mutual grooming

Thomas and Dahlia loved to groom one another. This happened at least once a week. I even made a video of one of their grooming episodes because it was so cute.

8. Deniable snuggling

You know how it goes: One cat curls up for a nap and then, once that cat is asleep, one of kitty’s housemates just happens to find themselves in the same sleeping spot and just happens to curl up next to that cat so they just happen to be touching. Of course, nobody intended this, and if one cat wakes up, you can bet that cat will quickly exit the scene. Here, Thomas and Kissy are caught in an act of deniable snuggling.

9. Undeniable snuggling

Mutual kitty hugging is the best, and Thomas and Dahlia were the grand champions of the art.

10. When all else fails, act goofy

As you can see here, Bella is never short of silly poses and cute stretches, sometimes alternating with furious toe and tail grooming.

What are your favorite adorable kitty antics? Please share them (oh, with pictures too, if possible!) in the comments.

About JaneA Kelley: Punk-rock cat mom, science nerd, animal shelter volunteer, and all-around geek with a passion for bad puns, intelligent conversation, and role-play adventure games. She gratefully and gracefully accepts her status as chief cat slave for her family of feline bloggers, who have been writing their cat advice column, Paws and Effect, since 2003. JaneA dreams of making a great living out of her love for cats.