Cats have a mixed reputation for being affectionate or not. Most people believe that cats never get attached to their owners just because they don’t care what’s going on around them. They wake up, eat, wander, and go to sleep again.
However, cats are not as heartless as people might think of them. All animals have feelings, just like humans, and just because a dog is more loyal and affectionate, does not mean that cats don’t deserve love or they can never be faithful.
If you have a cat, you must know how loving and affectionate they are. Cats care for their owners and can recognize them, either by their voice or smell.
If you have bought a new cat at your house, you must be curious to know if your cat feels the same love for you as you do for her. If that’s the case, you have come to the right place.
Let’s look at the signs that might help to know if your cat loves you or not.
How do cats show affection?
Cats have many ways of showing affection to their owners. They cannot talk and share their feelings, but they do show some gestures that can help you understand if your cat loves you.
Purring is the most common way of a cat showing affection to their owners. Cats mostly maintain contact with other cats and with their owners by purring.
Cats seem to have a particular motor inside them that activates when petting them. You can often hear a vibrating and rumbling noise, which is called purring. It means that your cat loves you and enjoys your company.
Kneading behavior starts when the cat is a kitten. It kneads against the mother’s breast to drink milk. However, if your cat is kneading you, it doesn’t mean it wants milk. It is just a sign of affection that your cat thinks of you as its mentor and feels just as comfortable as it would feel around its mother.
Bunting is the behavior when the cat rubs its head against their owner or any other object. It may be in the form of head-butts or your cat rubbing its cheeks against yours. Bunting is a form of showing love. However, some owners might relate it to the cat being angry.
Usually, cats leave their scent on their favorite things by rubbing their heads on the object or their favorite human. They have an excellent sense of smell, and bunting is a way of marking their territory. Thus, if your cat rubs its head against yours, it is leaving its scent and showing love.
Curving up the tail:
Cats usually show love and affection by wagging or curving their tails. Thus, the tail posture plays a significant role when the cat is feeling comfortable with you.
Sometimes, your cat may position the tail upright to gain your attention. So, if your cat approaches you with its tail in the upright position and slightly curved from the top, it means that it loves you.
Cats are hygienic and clean pets. So, they like the grooming sessions like combing and even brushing their teeth. Cats can recognize their owners and have a very keen sense of remembering the person who brushes their teeth or gives them food.
Grooming sessions are a unique way of making a good bond with your cat. So, your cat will get used to eating food with you or getting itself combed. If your cat feels comfortable and stays calm, it is a secret signal that it feels safe with you, just like its mother.
According to research, cats sleep for 16 hours a day. So, cats usually seek for a comfortable place to sleep where they feel secure. There’s no other way of showing love than choosing your lap as its favorite spot to sleep.
While a long and unblinking stare might be a sign of aggression, if your cat makes an eye-contact with you by repeatedly blinking its eyes, it is a sign of showing love. Cats only make eye-contacts with the people and animals they like, referred to as ‘eye kisses’. So, if your cat is showing you such friendly gestures, why not give it one in return?
Just like dogs and other animals, cats usually show love by licking their favorite people and things. Often. They keep licking themselves. However, the cats often lick your clothes, to leave a scent, and thus mark their territory. So, if your cat licks you or your clothes, you are an important person to it.
Showing its belly:
Cats don’t show their belly to anyone. The belly is the most vulnerable part of the cat, so it will only show it to the one it trusts. So, if your cat rolls on the floor showing its belly to you, it is a subtle sign of trust and affection.
As cats cannot talk, meowing is a way of communicating. However, cats don’t meow to everyone. Also, kittens only meow to their mothers to show love. Adult cats don’t talk much to other cats as well. So, if your cat is continuously meowing when it is with you, it is an interaction of love.
If your cat loves you, it will miss you when you are not around. So, you will see your cat joyfully coming to you whenever you arrive back home. Also, as a hunting carnivore, it may hunt on toys in the house. To celebrate this hunt, it will share the toys with you.
So, if your cat brings toys and other things in the house to you, it is clearly a sign that you are unique to it and it values you a lot.
As weird and offensive it may seem, cats usually scratch their owners as a gesture of love. If you are a cat owner, your cat must have scratched you several times while playing with you.
Scratching often means that the cat is marking its territory. So, if your cat scratches its favorite place in the house or scratches you, it is a sign that it values you and cares for you.
Following you around:
Cats usually follow their owners wherever they go when they are fond of them. You will notice that your cat follows you when outside, and also stay around you in the house. So, if your cat trips over your feet while walking, know that it is doing out of love and wants to stay close to you.
While cats showing affection can sometimes be confused with aggression, you should always know that your little feline partner will always find its own ways of showing love. It might bring presents to you, follow you around, knead your legs, sleep on your lap, lick you, or even scratch you. As cats cannot talk to us, these small gestures often mean that your cat values your presence and loves you.