eash, "I read somewhere that when cats show their bellies it is a sign of trust." Now that is totally convincing. I wish you remembered where you read it. They have not been so well protected from nature red in tooth and claw for all that long, and do not lightly expose their soft underbelly.
It took our latest till she turned 1yr to trust us this much. We got her from a rescue centre at 5mths, and I am afraid it was obvious she had had good reason to distrust trust in that time. Now that she shows she does trust us we pretend to think she wants a tummy tickle and she pretends to like it, for as long as she can put up with it!
Max, I agree about the looking intently. What about quizzically? Or adoringly? We once had a changeling that was more like a dog, licks and all, but this one doesnt do anything as lovely as the face-touching in bed, tyvm. She has only just started to master claw retraction! She pokes and prods every time you start to nod off, to say "You're not getting away with that! I'm still studying you through my quizzing glass."
But talkative she's not, though we know more than the lot of you about talkative. The strong silent type (called Nonki, 'nonchalant, laid back' in Japanese), but scrupulously polite in her minimalist way: "I'm back!" "May I come in?" "What if I eat a prawn or two for you?" "No?" "I could make do with any delicious titbits if it please your Honour... I just popped in on my way to an appointment, to check you were all right, but must rush, so if I could have it NOW..."
And max, I share your conviction that cat toys will be the only thing to survive a world cataclysm, but they are not lost! Any more than a dog loses a bone. Do any? It is just a ploy to get more. I have even seen them check their hiding places. Hoarders dont flog things, jenna.