How does your cat love you? Can you read the signs he uses to express his love? A cat shows more subtle signs of love than a dog, and yet he demonstrates his feelings in his own way.
This post includes a partial list of common ways a cat has of showing love. You may notice other such indications. If you know your cat well, you can find the distinct, individual ways he adds to this love list. Though not a complete list, it demonstrates many of the most usual ways your kitty says “I love you.”
1) That Lovely Purr
One of the most obvious ways the cat shows you love can be heard. When your cat is happy and content, he purrs. Of course, the purr can also indicate several other things, but you can recognize a love purr fairly well, especially if the cat rubs against you while singing his throaty song.
2) Kitty Gives You Slow Blinks
Closing their eyes in your presence indicates that your cat trusts you, and definitely
shows love. In fact, a slow blink from your kitty is the equivalent of a kitty kiss.
Try slow blinking at your cat — often he will return that “kiss.” If your cat returns the blink, feel flattered, as he wants you to know he cares about you.
3) You Receive Head Bumps And Cheek Rubs
Because scent is so important to a cat, the action of head bumping or cheek rubs passes his scent off onto you, marking you as “his.”
These head bumps and rubs mean the cat communicates with pheromones from scent glands on their head, and are called “bunting.” He indicates by these actions that he feels you are safe for him to hang out with.
4) Sharing Time With You
The cat shows love and affection simply by being a good companion. Sometimes kitty will follow you from room to room, giving you the message that he wants to stay near you.
He might sleep on your lap or on your bed. He stays close by whenever he can. I had to put a chair next to my computer for Pogo, or he might camp out on the keyboard. Since the chair furnishes a spot where he can be next to me, he spends a lot of time helping me with computer chores — and he doesn’t even get a paycheck.
5) Cat-Talk
How much does your cat talk? Some cats are quieter than others, but many cats vocalize a great deal. Such sounds as chirps, purrs, meows, and trills often become the equivalent of terms of endearment.
Adult cats don’t meow to each other, but only to us. They must believe we will understand those meows better, since we talk all the time.
6) Kneading
Experts believe that this practice happens because adult cats associate it with comfort. After all, when they fed as kittens, they kneaded their mother to stimulate the flow of milk.
When a cat kneads you, it is because he feels a connection with you. This practice displays his trust and his comfort with you, and you can consider it an obvious sign of love.
7) Bringing You Presents
Sharing a “catch” from hunting deserves to be considered a sign of love. Cats like
to give you a gift now and then because they care about you.
After all, it could be considered returning a favor, as you feed them every day. The cat wants you to know he wishes to bring you something that is important to him, caught using his skills as a hunter.
After all, giving should travel both ways, and he wants to show his love in such a way.
8) Grooming From A Cat
When your cat loves and cares for you, he may groom your face, eyebrows, or hair. They say that grooming stands out as the clearest sign of trust or friendship your feline can give you.
In Kodiak, Uptight Cat had a beard fetish. A tall friend, David, lived with us, and his curly beard attracted the cat a great deal. We had a short refrigerator. The cat sat on top of it and David would stand in front of him. Uptight Cat tried his best to straighten out that curly beard, but the job never ended. The cat stayed there and washed that beard as long as David would tolerate it.
When I moved to Spruce Island, another friend, Bruce, stayed with me for the first few months, just to help me get the homestead up and running.
Bruce would lie down on the upstairs balcony, and Uptight Cat would sit on his chest and give his beard a grooming. That beard never straightened out either, but the cat seemed to enjoy working on the project.
I think Uptight must have had a mission to try to straighten out as many beards as possible.
9) Giving You Love Bites
When your cat feels comfortable with you and gets in a playful mood, he may give you love bites. These nibbles definitely show a sign of affection. The cat does not give
them out of meanness, but as another way to show he cares.
Cats give each other love bites, though their fur may protect them from feeling it as strongly as we hairless ones do. However, feel privileged, as these bites represent feelings of love and trust.
10) Becoming Your Shadow
Does your cat follow you everywhere, including your trips to the bathroom? This behavior shows that the cat wants to be with you, wherever you are.
Perhaps if you are working, she finds a place close to you to nap. If you move to
another room, the cat follows. She just likes your company. This wish for constant companionship represents yet another way that the cat tells you she loves you.
When I brought Pogo home from the shelter, he showed his gratitude by following me everywhere. If I moved, he would move. When I’d stop, he’d sit beside me and purr.
We had been friends for a long time, Pogo and I, so it also showed he cared about me. His relief at being out of the shelter made him grateful and very willing to let me know he cared.
Now that you know what to look for, can you think of other signs your cat gives that shows he cares? The cat may be a bit more subtle than dogs when it comes to showing love and affection, but if you know how to interpret his actions, you find that he has multiple ways of expressing his love.
My references for this post:
My Truffie likes to ‘hold hands’ with Hubby and me. She lays her paw over our hand and leaves it there. If I grip her paw, she allows me to hold her hand. She also is a love-biter, sometimes more than I like but usually that’s in a play-time manner. She wants to sit on my shoulder when I fold clothes and loves to ride when I walk. She likes me to dance while she balances on my shoulder. Such a funny girl.
Cats have such unique little habits that endear them to us. My Maxine used to do that when we went to sleep…she’d cuddle next to me in bed, and put her little paw in my hand. So sweet! With Pogo, when we nap I often hold his back feet, as they get quite cold on the bare floor. He seems to like it.