Cats are among the most intelligent animals, they are able to feel a wide range of emotions. But can cats fall in love? In this article, I tell you everything you need to know about this.
I will also explain how to know if your cat likes you and how to strengthen the relationship you have with your cat.
Can Cats Fall in Love: What to Understand
Cats can experience many emotions that don’t stop at fear and envy, for example they pick up stress easily and you can see them being cheerful and teasing in their behavior.
They are thus able to feel many things, especially with other cats, jealousy is for example very common if you have several cats.
But love is a bit different from ours and they really don’t fall in love, the feelings they may have are strong but not exactly love.
Love according to cats
Cats are not in love as we understand it with our human schemas, cats cannot feel something more complex that far exceeds the intelligence of all animals.
Love is linked to a spiritual dimension and to a complementarity depending on many things that only humans can know.
But cats experience love in their own way, which is closer to affection and attachment. Some cats even let themselves die of grief when their master abandons them or dies.
So it’s more of a form of attachment than love as we understand it. It’s as if you were part of his tribe, he sees you as someone he can trust with whom he can share moments of affection and is aware that you want his good.
He can even have this behavior with totally different animals such as dogs or rabbits, provided that they have known them since childhood before the predation relationship between them sets in.
Some young cats even get attached to their toys sometimes.
How do I know if my cat loves me?
Cats are not like dogs, their love is not unconditional. But many cats love their master in their own way, that is, with the feline thought pattern. But sometimes some cats don’t show it with hugs or licks.
Cats can for example follow you, rub against you or bring prey as a gift. The prey, although often unwelcome, is a gift from him to thank you.
He may even decide to hunt prey for you, a rabbit will not necessarily interest him, because hunting it requires energy and he will not be able to eat everything, but it is a way for him to please you.
Often, cats purr at someone they love to show their affection for that person. I will come back later to the different ways to see if your cat likes you.
Differentiate between cat love and opportunism
Sometimes these notions are confused, because cats are opportunistic, they can, for example, rub up against you out of attachment but also to get something and leave as soon as they have it or they understand that they don’t. would get nothing.
So be sure to differentiate between real affection and affection that is faked to get something from you. Which is pretty simple because you know whether your cat expects something from you or not.
The « love » of the cat is always linked to its instinct
The instinct of the cat pushes him to get closer to a group to better survive in the wild, the love of the cat is the consequence when links are created. But this instinct will always be the cause of love.
If you no longer bring them anything, materially as well as emotionally, they will detach themselves because they will no longer see you as a person who can meet their needs.
How do cats express their attachment?
To find out if your cat has feelings for you, here is everything that shows it:
- He blinks slowly while staring at you: In this way, he shows you that he appreciates you and that he is happy with you, he really does it to make you understand it.
- He purrs: The cat can also purr to express his well-being with you, he often does this by looking at you and blinking his eyes, so that the message is as clear as possible.
- He sits on you: This is a sign that he gives you complete confidence and that he likes to share a moment of physical contact with you. He will even sometimes knead your belly with his paws without the claws to show you that he loves you.
- He shows you his belly: Riding his belly requires absolute confidence because in the wild, he potentially endangers his genitals. Never touch his stomach if you want him to continue loving you.
- He follows you: If your cat follows you without expecting anything from you, it’s because he wants to spend time with you and it’s also a sign of attachment. Younger cats are more likely to want your company.
- He licks you : Licking has many functions in the cat and the fact of doing it shows that he considers you a person very close to him and that you are a member of your family.
How do I make my cat attached (in love in its own way)?
To establish a bond with your cat, everything is decided in his early childhood, the earlier you establish bonds, the more these will be lasting, in adulthood, it will be harder for him to become attached to you because his brain will not absorb as much of what it experiences.
When he is very young, playing with him and reassuring him are the best ways to have a long and loving relationship with him.
Can cats fall in love? The final word
Cats can’t fall in love in the human sense, but they do feel affection and attachment, whether it’s other cats, other animals and of course humans.