Why Does My Cat Stare At Me?
So, you are sitting on the couch minding your own business and you feel like someone is watching you.
You look around and you see your cat giving you a stare.
Has this ever happened to you? I know it has happened to me. Actually…it’s happening as I type this.
Every wonder why your cats do this? Let’s learn!
Why Do Cats Stare?
Cats normally stare for one of two, maybe three, reasons.
First, cats will mirror their humans. Some sometimes they stare to see what you are doing.
If you are sleeping or crying they will react as they know how. (My cats lick my face when I cry and “revive” me when I am sleeping. By revive I do mean intentionally wake me up).
The second reason is the biggest. Cats will stare as a sign of affection towards their humans.
If you think of cats like children, it makes sense.
If you ever notice your child just staring at you like you are the coolest person in the world? Cats are doing the same thing.
The third reason is not really a reason. It was more of a joke reason that they are plotting to kill you or that you are dumb.
Sometimes I swear my cats stare at me like I am a moron…so this could be true a portion of the time.
The best way to determine which reason your cat stares is to watch how they react and get some context behind it. If you notice them staring every time they want food…chancing are they have “trained” you to tell you when they want food.
Why Does My Cat Stare At Me Without Blinking?
If your cat stares at your for a long period of time without blinking then they are basically showing their admiration of their favorite person!
This goes back mainly to the second reason I talked about earlier.
And cats actually don’t really need to blink as much as humans do. So if you cat them having a “staring” contest with you, its not that they are making themselves not blink…they are just choosing not to.
Now if your cat stares at you and slow blinks…slow blinks are another form of love. I call them the ‘I love you’ eyes.
The cats eyes really are a window into their souls…am I right?!
Should I Stare Back At My Cat?
If you have had dogs, then chances are you know that dogs can sometimes stare to show dominance.
I have heard that if you stare at a dog, it can be taken as a sign of aggression or asserting dominance.
Is the same true for cats?
In terms of your cat, it is not. Chances are you will both just be in a little bit of a staring contest until one gets bored.
My cat, Wobbles, will stare at my fiancé endlessly. And when he stares back…she really does not act any differently to how she would if he wasn’t staring at her.
So don’t feel like you HAVE to stare back at your cat. But you also don’t have to be afraid to have fun contests every once in a while.
Just watch how your cat reacts and see what is best! Every single one is unique in how they respond.
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Why Does My Cat Stare At Other Cats?
Remember how I just said that cats don’t normally stare at us for territorial reasons.
Just throw all of that out the window when it comes to cat on cat staring. Cats communicate to each other through body language, so they will stare as a way to show who is the boss.
Sometimes, a stare down can lead to fights so you want to keep an eyes on your cats if you catch them doing that.
This is most common when introducing a new cat into the group and if introduced properly, should not be a long term problem.
If you watch your cat’s body language when they are staring, you can tell if there is a dominance struggle, or more going on and from there decide if you need to separate the cats, or re-introduce them in a non-threatening way.
Conclusion: Why Cats Stare!
Alright, so let’s keep it SUPER real here.
While there has been research done as to why cats stare. And many cat parents to analyze their cats behavior and compare them to others… we cannot read their minds.
And we also cannot verbally communicate with them.
So while our interpretation of why cats stare that is agreed upon by researchers and cat parents alike is because they love us, we will truly never know the EXACT answer.
The best advice I can give to someone is to watch their cat and start to understand the context around when and why they stare.
From there, you can start to put together the pieces of your own puzzle and understand your cats communication cues even better!
Interesting