If cats are often seen as mysterious, know that they know how to make a message across. And sometimes this message is not tender. The proof: a specific behavior would reveal that your cat does not carry you in his heart.
Cats do not feel hatred like humans, according to veterinarian Marc Smith, questioned by Newsweek. They are guided by simple emotions, linked to their survival. Fear, discomfort, anxiety or frustration can be confused with rejection, but they are mainly alert signals. Your cat doesn’t blame you because you forgot his birthday or changed kibbles. He avoids you because he feels bad.
This discomfort can come from you, from your behavior or simply your way of interacting with it. Unlike dogs looking to please, cats observe and judge. And when they decide, they don’t pretend. But then, how to decode the signals? A cat hidden as soon as you enter the room does not try to play hide and seek. It perceives you as a source of stress. He will choose a dark, warm and closed place to feel safe: a wardrobe, a cardboard, the back of a sofa. If this behavior becomes systematic, it is not a whim. It is a withdrawal on oneself.
Another sign not to take light: the whistle. Dilated pupils, body ready to flee or attack. It is a clear warning. According to Marc Smith, “These are signs of fear, and a way for your cat to warn you that you have to flee. Sometimes it can give you a paw or even try to bite you.” The message is simple: you have an angry, back down. It also happens that the cat chooses another way to express its discomfort: urinate on clothes, a bag or a bed. In this case, he seeks to place his smell on objects that carry yours. A defense mechanism to find some control. Finally, the ultimate sign which, according to the veterinarian, betrays a total rejection alone is the fact that he literally turns your back, repeatedly, voluntary and that he systematically moves when you approach it. Here he rejects you. This behavior is what some call “active ignorance”. It is not that he does not see you. Is that he refuses to see you.
In this case, no need to force. It is not with imposed hugs or treats that we repair a broken link. You have to resume zero. Observe. Respect its distances. Recreate a routine. Leave the initiative to the cat. The cat is a sensitive animal, which needs consistency. Fixed schedules, regular games, dosed attention: he likes when things are framed. In addition, it is a relationship that is built, sometimes very slowly. It is also based on respect, in other words if it does not want to be caressed, do not touch it. If he goes away, let him breathe.
