Contentment

Romeo made me get all misty-eyed today.  I crouched down to pet him, and he made a mrrring noise in welcome and walked over to me, to twine around my ankles.  He's never done that before!  I was just considering this morning that he has obviously become much happier with us this past month.  And it shows.  His demeanor is much better; he's more inclined to purr when we pet him than to bite us, he's getting some exercise, and his litter box habits are starting to improve.  We still have a lot of "misses" with the litter box,  but I've seen a strong improvement.  The other night, he was scratching at the floor as if he was going to do his thing there.  All I had to do was quietly say his name in a chiding tone, and it was like he shrugged, then went to go IN THE BOX.  And as long as the box is completely clean, I think we have a near 80% "hit" rate.  If he or God forbid one of the other cats has soiled it already, our chances go down by over half.  But for the first time in awhile, I feel like I'm not completely failing the guy.

Romeo's increasing happiness made me start to think.  How do animals let you know that they are happy? All of mine do, but in different ways.

Argos dances for joy when he first sees one of us,  wagging his tail like a crazy man, but how I know when he's really content?  When he sacks out, usually on my lap, but possibly in his crate at night, he will stretch out and groan, really loudly.  It always makes us laugh, but I have never heard such an eloquent expression of contentment.

Annie will jump up to announce herself, and purr, non-stop, while we are paying attention to her.  She also covers my hands with little kisses and licks.

Bit trills.  She pounces.  She shakes her tail as if she is a rattle-snake.  When you reach over to pet her, she promptly falls over onto her side.  I haven't quite figured that one out yet, but it's very clear to me that she's happy.  Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and she'll be curled into a tight little ball against my chest, and will be quietly purring herself to sleep.  Can anyone say awww?

Romeo makes a mrrring sound, and will start rubbing his face on everything around him.  His eyes roll back in his head in near-ecstasy if you take the time to scritch the areas right above his eyes.

Charlotte purrs when petted, but how I know she's really happy is when she follows me around the house, making bossy little noises at me.  If Charlotte is "directing" me, it's her way of showing that she's happy, and happy with me, her minion.

How do your animals express their happiness/contentment?