What Does My Cat Think About Me? - Explained

Have you ever wondered what your cat thinks about you? I am sure you have. I still wonder about whether my cats like me or not all the time, eventhough I know they do. It's just that cats aren't easy to read any some of us may misinterpret their behaviours and therefore think our cats don't like us. While this can certainly happen, most of the time cats love us just as much as we love them. In this blog post, I will talk exactly about the behaviours you have to look out for in order to know what your cat thinks about you. 

Cats indicate their love towards us with lots of behaviours. It's important to look out for those, as their occurence, intencity and frequency tells you what your kitty feels like when around you. I thought it's best to give you a quick list of the most common behaviours and what they mean:

1. Your cat is around you often: Although simple, this is one of the strongest indicators of love. If your cat is around you often, it feels comfortable in your presence, meaning it likes you. That doesn't mean it hops on your lap all the time, but rather spends its free time in the same room with you. You reading a boook on the couch while your cat chills at the other end of the room is a positive sign that you should be happy about.
   
2. Your cat licks you: The most common reason for a cat to lick you, is to show you its affection. Cats lick all beings they like and if you are one of them, it's a huge compliment. 
   
3. Your cat headbutts you: Although not wished for in human interactions, a kitty giving you a gentle bump with its head is a pleasant sign and should be appreciated by you. Felines use this kind of behaviour to give their counterparts a feeling of safety and friendship. It's like your cat is telling you: 'I do not expect any harm from you and I like you for that.'
   
4. Your cat eats in your presence: Your cat feasting away on its bowl while being near you is a huge sign of its positive feelings towards you. As your kitty is a descendant from predators of the past, it still shares the same instincts as its ancestors and is super alert of possible danger in its surroundings. If it does not see you as a potential danger, it trusts you, which is a clear sign of strong positive feelings regarding you.
   
5. Your cat cuddles with you:  Not this is probably the most obvious one, but I still wanted to mention it. The four previous points I mentioned are quite frankly strong indicators of positive feelings, however, when your cat cuddles up with you voluntarily, it leaves you in no doubts that your cat loves you. You don't just cuddle up with random people, do you? Well neither does your cat. 

I hope these major signs of a cat's affection give you a better impression on what your feline thinks of you. Be aware that these signs will not last forever and that you need to be very consistent with your action in order to receive them.

Therefore, it's best to not do something over-hasty and, for example, get a new cat over night. This is a great example for a decision that needs to be thought through very carefully. I have recently made a blog post all about that.

Now, I will continue with listing a few things cats do when they do not like a person. Afterwards, I will give you a short conclusion of things and some major takeaways.

Especially when a cat had a rough childhood and isn't used to human proximity, it can dislike you no matter what you do. Although there is a chance to change this with extensive training and exercises, there sometimes isn't really anything to be done. In this section, we are going to look at signs your cat doesn't appreciate you. If these occure regularly in your feline household and if they outweigh the positive signs, then you should consider seeking help from a cat behaviour specialist. Let's take a look:

1. Your cat hisses at you: Unless your cat has some serious health issues, a cat hiss directed at you always means it doesn't like you and what you are doing at that moment. Very often this happens when you are getting too close to a cat that doesn't want you near it. If you do not retreat and take a step back in that moment, you are definitely going to suffer an attack in the next few seconds. Cats do not attack friends, and although it's sad to hear, but you are not your cat's friend if your cat hisses at you regularly.
   
   
2. Your cat avoids you: As I said above, cats like to linger around people they like and feel safe with. If your cat avoids you at all cost, never comes to you and never is in the same room as you are, there is something wrong in your relationship with the cat. 
   
   
3. Your cat only comes to you for food: Especially in larger cities, cats can't hunt for food themselves and are therefore dependant on you to feed them. If your cat only pops up when it's hungry and then leaves afterwards, your cat clearly doesn't like to be around you. 
   
   
4. Your cat's tail is alert: Cats communicate a lot with their tail. If your cat doesn't walk around you with an upheld but rather a hanging tail, it means your cat is nervous and alert in your presence. This is one of the clearest indiciations that your cat does not trust, hence does not love you.
   
   
5. Your cat doesn't purr: Generally speaking, a cat purr is always a form of conveying enjoyment. If your cat never purrs when walking by you, getting touched by you or eating near you, it's a sign of it not enjoying the time with you. 

The above stated behaviours should give you a clear indication on whether or not your cat likes you and what it thinks off you. Keep in mind that a single hiss doesn't mean it hates you, maybe it's just moody or you overwhelmed your sweetheart a bit with your love. It's all about how often these things happen and how they balance in regards to other behaviours.

As pointed out in the beginning of the blog post, if you feel like your cat is primarily acting in a negative way towards you, you should do something about it. In addition to the certain cat specialists, there is awesome free material on the web that you can study from your home at zero costs.

I hope this article gave you a clear overview of the behaviour that indicates what a cat thinks about its human. As always, feel free to tell me your experiences in this regards - I would love to hear them!

Have a great day and talk to you soon,
Clara