Cats are masters at staring. When a cat fixes its gaze on a human or a fellow cat, this is part of the cat’s body language.
Staring can have three different meanings. To interpret it correctly you need to look at the situation in which your cat is watching you so closely as well as interpret other signals from your cat.
- Your cat stares at you out of interest
- Expression of sympathy: When cats stare and blink
We humans perceive the staring of a cat as particularly intense. This is mainly due to the fact that cat eyes have a special feature: Their cornea does not need to be constantly moistened, as we humans do. As it is said, cats do not need to blink for a long time – you would lose any staring contest against your velvet paw!
But is it really true that you should not look cats directly in the eye, even when they are staring at you??
If a cat stares at a human, it can have 3 reasons:
- She shows interest
- It expresses sympathy
- It threatens and is aggressive
Your cat stares at you out of interest
You sit comfortably on the sofa. Suddenly you notice that your cat is sitting nearby and fixes you with its gaze. The most likely explanation for this: she is interested in you. After all, you are very important to your cat, you are the center of her life (along with the cat food of course…).
If your cat does not put on its ears in such a situation and seems otherwise relaxed, you can gladly return the stare. Surely your cat will be happy about your attention and a few strokes now too!
Often cats watch their humans very closely when the time for the next meal is approaching. She wants to attract your attention by staring at you. It could be well translated as "Hey you, I’m hungry! Open a can!".
If you return her gaze now, she will surely run to her bowl and give a mewl to emphasize her demand.
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Sympathy expression: When cats stare and blink
When your cat stares at you while winking, she literally adores you. The wink or blink is also known as the "cat’s smile" by behaviorists.
Your cat will love it when you blink back: return her gaze and blink emphatically slowly with both eyes.
You can also provoke your cat’s smile with your eyes by winking at it first!
Often followed by more expressions of love from your cat, she will be thrilled that you understand her body language. Then she rubs her head against you, nudges you and purrs. Oh, this is wonderful!
Staring as a sign of aggression of the cat
However, it can also have a completely opposite meaning when a cat stares. Mostly this is the case when cats stare at each other, or when the opposite is a dog.
Staring at each other is a kind of trial of strength: The opponents fix each other with a fixed gaze. In this way, you want to show your own strength and willingness to confront: "I am the boss here!". Either one of the cats averts its eyes and retreats, or a fight ensues.
When this happens, the staring is accompanied by other distinct threatening gestures. By the posture of the cat you can very well recognize its aggresive mood:
- Crouched posture, it makes itself small
- Alternatively, a cat can also make itself big and make a hump at the same time
- She tenses her back
- Ears are flattened – the auricles are pointing backwards
- The whiskers are directed forward
- The tail of the cat twitches back and forth nervously
- The hair on the tail is fluffed up
- She shows her teeth
What’s more, cats let out a low growl and hiss at their counterparts during an altercation.
It is very unlikely that your cat stares at you out of aggression. Finally, treat her well and she will see you as a friend, even part of her pack.
If a strange cat stares at you and shows the above-mentioned threatening gestures, you should not return its gaze under any circumstances. Pull back and act calm. Then she will understand that you are not a threat to her.
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