Do the cat miss you?

Have you ever wondered what our cats do when we leave them home alone? The answer is simple, they are mostly asleep. For a cat locked in home alone, a human is the only source of changes in the environment, without us our cats quickly get bored with their play. However, when we come, they greet us with joy. Is it always like that?

Surely you’ve come back to your pet who doesn’t react to us at all and to the fact that we showed up. The first thing that comes to mind is the cat “offended” with longing, we were simply gone too long. We cannot, however, translate human characteristics into animals. The fact that the cat misses, seems obvious to some owners, because we miss our little ones! However, cats are individual creatures. As researchers from the University of Lincoln show, despite the fact that they are socialized and used to humans, they are very autonomous in the pan-cat relationship. It is a partnership relationship, seeing a cat happy to see us, we must remember that our return is attractive to him, after all, after so many hours something happens. When you go home and see an offended cat, remember that these are not signs of separation anxiety, but only (or even!) signs of frustration. Our cats don’t like the fact that we leave them.

To our displeasure, a trait that is characteristic of, for example, dogs. Seeing the same behavior in a cat, it seems obvious to say that cats also miss. However, as other examples of small kittens and their mothers show, cats quickly forget that they were related to each other. After taking their offspring from them, we have cats for a few days and look for them, usually it takes about five days and does not leave a negative mark on the cat’s psyche. Similarly, the separation from siblings is not traumatic for a cat, but it is worth mentioning here that cats from the same litter are more socialized with each other and rather less prone to fight with each other, so when choosing two cats, you should think about siblings.

So they miss you or not?

Quick answer: no. All behaviors that may indicate that cats miss us, that is the joy after our return or the cat’s “offense”, are the result of our pet’s sympathy for us. Although cats do not miss and do not get attached, they just like our company. They can associate us with giving food or having fun.

Which owner doesn’t like to personalize his cat? Despite the fact that the motivation of purring “longing” is different than in humans or dogs, seeing symptoms of joy or sadness in a cat, we can be sure that our cat likes us, and that’s a lot!