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Writer's pictureNatalie Ahlgren

How Cats Show Love

Can cats feel love? A common misconception is to believe that domestic cats are wild and thus do not need humans to survive. Or at least they can not feel emotions in the same way that dogs show they feel. But cats have neither the fur nor the physical condition to survive in the wild themselves. During the 5000 years that domestic cats have lived with humans, they have developed communication methods to live in harmony with us. We who live with cats interpret cats' language and see when something is not right. They speak to us with different voices and show with their body language in different ways that they are hungry, want to cuddle or are in a playful mood. But do cats really feel love for us? Yes, we have been able to state that they do this by measuring the dopamine levels in cats that spend time with their humans. We can see how they feel when they see us and when they are close to us. Their dopamine levels are raised in the same way as in us humans


One way that cats show their owners love is to meet up at the front door and stroke the legs of us with a raised tail. This is something most people recognize. Another way is to lie on your back and show your stomach. However, one should be careful not to think that the cat wants to be patted on the stomach. Not everyone wants it and can nibble on it if you try to do it. Just to show that you cross the line in this cat-human relationship. To be pushed with the head, to "boinka" is a common greeting phrase among cats. This is what they do when they visit their flock members and this is what they like to do when they visit us. It is a clear way in which the cat shows its human love. But one way that not everyone knows and which is a little more subtle, is that the cat flashes slowly over and over again. You can answer this by slowly blinking back in the same way to greet the cat or to calm it down. This is how the cat mother does to calm her mischievous kittens and if you get winks from your cat, you can feel selected. It is the highest sign that you are the cat's number one and that you are much loved.




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