Mary Allen
Such an intense look from cats can be pretty scary. Maybe that’s why you’ve asked yourself why your cat is staring at you. The reasons can be varied – your animal world gives an overview.
Cats have a reputation for being mysterious for a reason. After all, a lot of the behavior that is natural to cats is a bit strange from a human point of view. An example: staring.
Because while we humans have to blink again after a few seconds, cats sometimes seem to be able to keep eye contact uninterrupted. Sometimes it looks downright threatening. But in the vast majority of cases, your pussy’s staring is nothing to worry about.
You might even have trained her to do it yourself – without even realizing it. Cats are actually loners, which is why they rarely feel the urge to establish eye contact. However, cats can learn the behavior if they expect something from it. For example, food or attention, explains the British animal welfare organization “Cats Protection”.
For example, if you have fed or petted your cat in the past when she was looking for your gaze, she may now associate the staring with these positive experiences. Cats meow for the same reason.
Your Cat Stares at You Out of Affection
Intense eye contact is also a good sign of your relationship: Cats are less likely to exchange long glances with someone they don’t trust. Special honor: if your cat blinks slowly while doing this. Because that means something like “I love you” in cat language.
The behavior is usually not worrying. However, if your cat never actually stares and suddenly starts staring, you should talk to your veterinarian about it to rule out any health problems.
In addition to this positive state of mind, staring can also indicate other emotional states. Therefore, you should take into account the entire body language in your analysis. It can provide information about whether the cat is currently happy, angry, or scared, explains veterinarian Wailani Sung at “PetMD”.
Is your cat relaxed and blinking in between? Then she’s probably satisfied. It looks different when the body is tense, the pupils dilated and the ears leaning sideways. Then the stare can be seen as a warning: the cat is on the alert and wants to be left alone.
Recognize Fearful Stare
Does your cat duck and maybe even hide under the couch while staring at you? Then she seems to be afraid of something. This can be triggered, for example, by loud noises in or in front of the house. Then it can help to calm down yourself first to signal your cat that he is safe.
By the way: If your cat is staring at another kitty rather than you, it is typically to express its superiority. Just like staring at people, it can happen that your cat barely blinks.
There are very practical reasons for this: As predators, the kitties must of course be able to keep a close eye on their prey. Cats naturally want to keep a close eye on their environment – and you are a very important part of their environment, and by the way also a food supplier.