did you know that if you start ignoring your cat something really unexpected will happen if you've ever had a group of friends around to meet your cat or yourself visited the house of a friend with a cat then you've probably experienced this phenomenon the humans gather somebody spots the cat and the cat lovers in the group all start trying to attract their attention they offer pets make kissy noises and maybe even offer some food scraps as treats the cat however is not to be one over they act disinterested and if anybody gets too close they
hiss or run away instead the feline favorite At Any Human Social Gathering is always the person who least wants the cat to come near them the one person in the group who has allergies or a phobia of cats or some very expensive clothes in a color that contrasts terribly with cat hair that person is the one who gets swarmed by kitties while the cat lovers are St uck watching from afar so what's up with this do cats want us to dislike them is Tre mean to keep them Keen really the method we should be using
to try and get our kitties to love us maybe in this video we're going to be looking at what might happen if you had a go at ignoring your cat would it destroy your relationship forever or would it make them love you even more but before we dive in why not subscribe and join our feline loving community for more tips and tricks on how to care for your kitty the psychology of feline affection so why do cats like it so much when people play hard to get do they all secretly have horrible self-esteem issues unlikely
it's pretty clear that most cats know they're amazing or is it just another example of their perverse instinct to constantly do the opposite of whatever the nearest human wants them to do neither from the cat perspective in fact they're not the ones being weird to them we humans appear to be constantly either asking them to come closer or trying to get them to go away and then bafflingly responding with annoyance or disappointment when they try to do what we want the situation is just as frustrating from their perspective why do they think that the trick
is to think of things in terms of how cats communicate imagine two cats interacting with each other if one kitty wants the other to go away how will they try to communicate that first they might make eye contact cats often use direct unblinking eye contact as a way to intimidate people and other animals next they'll maybe start to move forward in an attempt to chase the other cat away maybe by this point they'll have started hissing or meowing in a threatening manner finally if all else fails they'll lash out with a paw see where we're
going with this now try imagining a human cat lover trying to interact with the cat how do we try and communicate our desire to get a kitty to come closer usually we start by making eye contact unlike cats humans associate direct eye contact with being open and honest about your intentions next we'll maybe start to move forward in an attempt to get closer finally we'll reach out an arm to try and get a stroke see the problem the the way that humans communicate I want to pet you is the same way that cats communicate go
away now what about people who don't like cats okay let's go back to our two hypothetical cats now we're going to imagine that one cat wants to communicate that they want to hang out with the other one of the major differences between humans and cats a difference that causes a lot of miscommunication between our two species is that humans evolved to be a social species from the beginning whereas cats started off solitary and only really started being more social with each other after they were domesticated as a result of how recently this transition happened and
cats still aren't anywhere near as social a species as humans are their communication still hasn't caught up as a social species humans who want to hang out with another human will usually use a lot of outward-facing body language trying to say I want to be friends with you cats on the other hand might be able to show open affection for humans or cats who they already have an established relationship with but will generally introduce themselves to a stranger by deliberately focusing their body language away from them at a first meeting the closest to cat can
come to saying I want to be friends is by saying I don't want to attack you our hypothetical friendly cat therefore is going to be trying to express this by doing the exact opposite of what they do if they wanted to be aggressive avoiding eye contact sitting at a distance being quiet at most they might shoot the occasional subtle glance towards the other cat checking to see their reaction before quickly glancing away this happens to be the exact same way that a human would react if they wanted to communicate to another person or a cat
that they weren't interested in interaction why do cats like some people more than others even among cat lovers some people seem to be more popular with our furry friends than others if you're the kind of feline afficionado who finds yourself stuck outside the group watching your luckier friends being lavished with affection it might leave you feeling discouraged why don't cats love you as much as you love them is there any way that you can make yourself more appealing yes although every cat is different they do have some likes and dislikes in common crucially the most
important trait in a potential new human friend from a cat's perspective is the ability to respect boundaries cats are naturally skittish creatures having evolved in a world where they were often targeted by Predators they don't react well to people coming at them quickly or trying to touch them when they don't want to be touched people who are popular with cats tend to come at them with slow deliberate movements often crouching on the ground so that they are closer to the Kitty's height they'll try to appear calm and they'll always ask permission before touching them how
do I ask permission from a cat don't worry it's easier than you think although your cat can't speak to you with words there are still ways to get their consent try moving your hands slowly towards their head and then stopping right before you touch them the cat will usually take the opportunity to sniff at your hand to decide if they like you if you pass this sniff test then the cat will raise their head as permission for you to keep on petting if you don't then they'll duck away and you'll have to try again next
time what might happen if I ignored my cat it depends what you mean by ignore if you stop giving your cat any attention whatsoever then it won't have a positive effect despite their reputation for aloofness our cats do love us and most kitties will feel rejected and hurt if they are suddenly brushed off completely they might even start acting out by tearing up the Furnishings or peeing in the house in an attempt to express their loneliness taking a few steps back however while still giving your kitty affection when they ask for it can be a
great way to improve your relationship with your cat and give them a boost to their confidence cats like to take the lead in their relationships with humans if you chase after them then they'll at best put up with it and at worst start running away and actively avoiding you giving them a little space however is likely to lead to them coming up to you of their own accord sitting nearer to you asking for pets and attention and possibly showing you more affection you shouldn't think of this as getting back at your cat for not being
affectionate or tricking them into loving you more this is about changing the way that you communicate with your cat remember that your kitty has almost certainly taken the time to figure out of the ways that you communicate learning how to respond to certain keywords or behaviors and maybe even putting their instincts aside to communicate in a way that you can more easily understand when you say Here Kitty and they come towards you then that's them respecting your method of communication when they sit by a door meowing to let you know that they want you to
let them out that is them choosing to communicate verbally because they know that this is easier for you to understand than body language although it might feel weird ignoring your cat to get their attention it's important to respect the way that your kitty naturally communicates after all they're a very special part of your life in fact unbeknownst to you your cat could even be a little Lifesaver check out this video to learn about how cats save the lives of their humans every day
