RESERVED for Alice L.
$230.00
- Updated:
How Cats Choose Their Favorite Person
Cats Don't Form Attachments Randomly
If you’ve ever wondered how cats choose their favorite people or why they seem attracted to some people and not others, the answer lies in consistent behavior and steady emotional tone. Basically, it is who is the most reliable at providing the comfort cats need and who demonstrates a consistently comforting behavior that elicits complete trust.
Cats' Environment and Us
Cats are more confident and tend to bond more closely in environments that are calm and predictable. This is where they can be their most relaxed and at ease. When their daily experiences, like eating and drinking are free from stress and distractions and the other beings in their environment aren’t throwing surprises in the way, trust is a natural outcome and closeness builds more easily.
The person who feeds them often will often rank highly – but it isn’t just about food. If someone gives the cat food now and again or at random times, they will matter to the cat but such behavior doesn’t build trust. It’s very much about reliability. When an animal lacking the ability to hunt for her own food never knows when her next meal will arrive, stress is the by product and stress does not facilitate closeness.
Cats are very much aware of patterns and rely on predictable behavior to regulate their own behavior. They are drawn to people who feel steady, reliable and easy to read.
Energy and respect factor into this too. Cats are more readily attracted to and inclined to bond with someone who moves calmly, speaks at a moderate volume, and doesn’t force interaction or impose his emotional wants on them. In many households the ‘chosen’ person is the one who tries the least. A person who doesn’t insist, but allows the cat to initiate interaction becomes easier to trust overe time. This is especially true if the person’s behavior is consistent over time.
It is easy for us to underestimate how important it is for a cat to be able to read their environment without having to constantly monitor it for random changes. The most random changes a cat can encounter tend to come from our behavior. When we are consistent, not pushy; there but not insistent and are reliable in our actions and interactions, a cat can relax and will want to bond with us.
