Purrfect Companions — Tameable Cats

A saddled cat no longer plays its sitting or sleeping pose. Those poses tilt the body back sixteen degrees and drop it — the sleeping one flattens the cat completely — while the rider stays on a fixed seat point. The cat sank away, the head swung up, and you ended up perched on it.

It only happened sometimes because the cat had to be nearly stationary and still carrying its sitting flag from before it was saddled. Mount a cat that has been walking around and you would never see it.