If you’ve ever had that eerie sensation of being watched, an instinctive feeling that alerts you to someone’s gaze fixed upon you, you’re not alone. This feeling becomes all too familiar when you share your home with a cat.
Cats, the undisputed champions of the staring contest, have a knack for elevating this game to new heights. They master the art of observing silently, turning their unwavering gaze into an almost tangible presence in the room. So, if you’ve ever felt the piercing stare of your feline friend, rest assured, you’re experiencing one of the many quirks of living with the world’s most proficient watchers.
And if you’ve ever wondered why your cat is obsessed with your every move, two veterinarians have revealed the reasons behind the cat stare.
No Need for Concern
The first thing to know about your cat’s creeper tendencies: they’re completely normal.
As a veterinarian at Fuzzy Pet Health, Dr. Jessica Herman, DVM, sees a lot of cats and she has great information offer when it comes to feline behavior. When it comes to staring, she explains, “Our furry friends are nonverbal communicators.”
Which means our kitties ‘talk’ in other ways and as they aren’t fluent in human speak, they learn all about us by watching how we behave. They see our moods written allover us from the way we sit to the way we speak.
“Paying attention to their body language, daily habits, and behavior is very important in our communication with our pets, and cat staring is typically harmless and not worrisome.”
But the stare can mean many things and by observing other cues, we can figure what cats are trying to say by pinning us under their gaze.
Reasons Behind the Stare
Dr. Liz Bales, VMD, offers the most adorable reason behind the cat stare, reporting, “If your cat has relaxed loose muscles, a loose tail, and is staring at you [while] blinking slowly, they are just connecting with you and showing you affection.”
The best way to respond? “You can slow blink back to return the love.”
But sometimes the stare isn’t about love. If a staring cat is showing signs of anger or fear, like flattened ears or a lashing tail, then beware. Dr. Bales recommends, “The best thing to do is slowly look away and distract your kitty by throwing something in the other direction.”
After such an interaction, “It’s best to give them time to decompress and leave them alone if you can.”
Sometimes a kitty stares because she’s hungry or perhaps he’s telling you its time to play, but the main reason behind the staring remains the famous cat curiosity. Dr. Herman shares, “They are curious creatures and are constantly interpreting the world around them and wondering what you might do next.”
Sounds a lot like our main reason for staring at them! After all, is there anything better than watching your kitty just be themselves?
H/T: www.popsugar.com
Feature Image: @morristheredcat/Instagram & @daily_banse/Instagram
