Does My Cat Like Me?

Dogs are so easy to read; their enthusiasm for everyone and everything is interpreted as love.  But what about cats?  Their reputation for being aloof, solitary creatures makes it hard to believe that they could love anyone.

But cats show that they like us in different ways.

1. Trust.  A cat's belly is their most vulnerable body part.  If a cat rolls over and exposes their belly to you, it means they trust you.  Trust equals love in the cat kingdom.  It doesn't mean that they actually want you to rub their belly, unlike a dog.  Two of my cats love to be held on their back; they love me very much.


2. They have the capability to hurt us, yet don't.  If you ignored my advice and went for a cat's belly, you may have experienced the "love bite".  Biting their human doesn't equal love; not biting hard enough to pierce your skin does.  Biting always means, "I've had enough; don't do that anymore".


3. Presents.  If your cat brings you dead things, they want to feed you.  Food equals love.  If they bring you live things, they are concerned about your welfare.  It's obvious you don't know how to hunt, so they'll start with the basics.  Here's a live mouse.  I'll drop it in front of you so that you can kill it yourself.


4. Using the litter box in the room closest to you.  Okay, so I'm not so sure about this one.  In the human world, going to the bathroom with the door open while talking to your partner signifies that you're very relaxed with each other.  In the cat world, I think they just want to smell their poop.


5. Smell.  If a cat loves you, they love how you smell.  The longer you've gone without showering the better.  And if you go running on a hot day, your shoes are like catnip.  My cat Maggie loves to stick her nose in my ear and lick it.  And my other cats are fascinated with my reading glasses, probably because they smell like me.


6. Marking you as their own.  Rubbing against your legs, rubbing their cheeks on you, head butting; these are all ways of transmitting a cats scent onto you.  It's like hanging a sign that says "My Human - Keep Out".

So how does your cat tell you that they love you?