It’s easy to tell whether your dog loves you, and when he’s feeling affectionate, but what about cats? Do our cats love us? We’ve heard that cats aren’t capable of loving us, and that they may even hate us to some degree. How is that possible when they cuddle on us, and purr with us, and rub all over us? How do cats show love?
There are many ways cats show love
Care2.com has an article detailing ten ways that cats show love. They are:
- Head butting
- Cheek rubbing
- High tail with tip twitching
- Holding eye contact and blinking slowly
- Purring
- Cuddling, or sitting close to you
- Kneading on you
- Washing your hair or your ears
- Bringing gifts
- Trilling
Many of these are pretty self-explanatory. Washing your hair or your ears might seem a little odd, but this is actually your cat’s way of showing you that she trusts you and cares for you. Petfinder says that, between cats, grooming is a social activity that works to strengthen their bonds.
Perhaps cats show love in order to put us in our place
Of course, there’s always the possibility that cats show love to subtly let us know who’s boss. Think about it: When your cat trills at you, blinks at you, purrs at you, or does many of these other things, it can be very difficult to deny her what she wants later on. Vetstreet has a list of ways you know that your cat actually owns you:
- She eats what she wants to eat, and you have dozens of different foods to tempt her appetite;
- You don’t move her, ever;
- You just buy more toys when she seems bored with the ones she’s got;
- You have a cupboard or drawer full of nothing but cat stuff;
- Your phone is full of photos of your cat;
- You make sure your cat has multiple water sources.
Have you done these things in response to her affection, or perhaps as a result of her affection? Then yes, she owns you, but she loves you for letting her own you.
