Do you often find your cat staring at you? Find out what it means when your cat stares at you.
Cats are naturally attuned to non-verbal communication and use a variety of signals to convey their message about they are feeling, and to avoid unwelcome confrontations; these include body postures, vocalisations, and facial expressions. While cats’ eyes are mesmerising, they can also offer all kinds of clues about how they’re feeling about the world around them. For example, if a cat has dilated pupils, this can indicate that he is stimulated, surprised, or aroused. Conversely, constricted pupils might suggest that your cat is tense or feeling aggressive.
So, what does it mean when your cat stares at you? Our cats are often innately interested in our activities, especially if the activities could result in something that benefits them, such as food! Regularly, close to mealtimes, our cats impatiently watch our every move, especially if we walk towards the kitchen. The trip to the kitchen may or may not benefit kitty, but he is not intent on taking his eyes off you, just in case.
Take heart, though — however much a cat considers you a practical source of food, he is probably staring at you because you are at the centre of his world, and he wants to know what you’re up to.
The next time your cat stares at you, welcome his gaze with a slow (‘I love you’) blink. If he reciprocates with a slow blink back at you, then this is the equivalent of a kitty kiss.