It is often misunderstood that cats are not very affectionate, mainly because felines are very subtle and do not have a loud and boisterous way of showing love. Whereas dogs are known to be more affectionate as they are more explicit in their ways of expressing themselves, such as big slobbery licks, wagging their tail, or jumping up on the person. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are more loving than their fellow felines. Cats may not be very expressive, but they have and show just as much love to their owner through their body language.
How Do Cats Show Affection?
Ever wonder do cats have feelings? Pet parents want nothing more than their pets to love them and their house. People might think that telling if your cat loves you or not is impossible, or they accept the fate that it doesn’t, but that is not true. If you love and treat your cat right, it indeed loves you, and there are plenty of ways to tell the same. You have to observe their body language and actions. Here is the sings that shows how to tell if your cat loves you.
Purring
The most common way for a cat to show its happiness or love is purring. You can feel that rumble or vibration when you pet them. There can also be chirrs, chirps, meows, and trills that show their affection for you. These sounds can either be soft or loud, but they show how happy your cat is, especially when the cat kisses accompany.
Cat Kisses
Do cats like kisses? If your cat looks at you with half-closed eyes and blinks very slowly, then it means that it is comfortable with you and likes your company, these are called cat kisses. You can reciprocate these by repeating their action of blinking slowly.
Through their Tail
Cats often show their emotions through the position and puffing of their tail. These cat emotions vary from fear and danger to love and comfort. Cats often wrap their tail around the one they think of as a friend, or they sit next to the recipient of their affection and rest the tail on them. They also express warmth by fluffing out the base of their tail while holding it upright.
Cheek Rubs
What does it mean when a cat rubs against you? A cat often shows its trust in a person by rubbing its cheek on them. Their scent glands, which produce pheromones, are on their cheeks, so by rubbing it on a person, they show their love and mark their ownership by mixing their scents.
Head Butting
why do cats rub their face on you? (head butting), It is an action very similar to cheek rubbing. When a cat butts its head with you, it not only shows its invitation to socialize but also marks its ownership on you by leaving its scent on you.
Grooming
Grooming is a sign of affection that is not limited from one cat to another. It could also be to other animals or even humans. Many cats lick their humans in an attempt to groom them with comfortable cat combs to show their love and trust in them and mingle their scents.
Physical Contact
Cats are known to be aloof animals, so the mere fact that your cat likes hanging around you is evidence of its love for you. They may sit in your lap or sit in a position where they physically touch you to be close to you and show that they trust you.
Gifts
Cats may be tiny animals, but they still have a hunting instinct, and they tend to bring their kill to their owner as a present. It can vary from their favourite toy to a rat they killed. Presenting it to you is a sign of affection and respect.
How to Make a Cat More Affectionate?
Showing love and affection mostly comes down to the cat’s personality, and some are naturally less affectionate. Are you looking for how to show affection to your cat? There are a few ways by which you can increase your chances of being loved by your feline friend
Make sure you handle and pet them a lot as a kitten
This will let them grow into social and affectionate cats. Many cats do not show much warmth because they are not as used to it due to the lack of socializing at the kitten stage. Petting your kitten and encouraging others around you to do the same gives them the proper socializing time that they need.
Approach a new cat very carefully
You should put your hand at the level of their nose, if they want to be friends, then they will approach you and touch your hand with their nose, and once they start to trust you, they will turn their head till your head is touching their cheek, which is a significant way of showing love for them.
Give your cat enough space
If you see that your cat is getting upset by showing signs such as hissing, flattening its ears, biting, or running away, then back off. Many people tend to keep trying, and getting into their personal space makes them more upset.
Play with them
Cats need just as much release of energy as dogs, not being able to let that energy out makes them irritable. You cannot take them out on walks or to a park as you would with a dog so playing with them is a good idea. It not only helps them release the pent-up energy but also gives you the time to bond.
Observe Them
Cats are animals that express through subtle body language such as little eye blinks of affection or flattening their ears in fear. It is important to observe these signs cats love you and act around them accordingly. Cats get stressed out very quickly, so acting according to their mood is very important in getting them to like you.
Conclusion
Now you have a idea about how to know if your cat loves you. Cats are just as loving and affectionate as any other animal you can think of. They are just a little subtle in their way of showing it. It is a myth that having a cat is like having a one-sided relationship, but if you observe correctly, you will see that your cat loves you just as much. Pets have a lot of unconditional love to give. You just need to see, as each animal has its way of showing it and follow these simple tips to how to make a cat like you while petting.