Cat Behavior Mystery: Does Your Cat Really Bond With You?

Most of us cat owners have these two burning question in the back of our minds, that we can't seem to easily resolve:

1. Question one, are cats really capable of bonding with us humans?

2. Question two, what can we do, as desperate cat lovers, to encourage our cats to actually bond with us?

So in this article, let's have a detailed look at what could be possible answers to these two deep-rooted questions that have been bugging cat lovers, and others alike, for decades!

As an extra bonus, you'll also gain some rare hints into how to better connect with your cat on a day to day basis.

Before we get into any techniques, we really need to examine the very nature of a cat's essence, their souls if you will, to give us some clues to answer these questions on cat psychology and their relationship to us humans.

When you have an animal that's been with humans for over 5000 years, there must be something profound that the humans, as well as the cats, are getting out of this relationship. Something that's keeping them together for so long, and no doubt for eons to come!

Imagine, in say the year 3000, we may have technology to travel through space in luxurious aircraft, and of course, one of the first things that people will want to bring with them is their favorite book, favorite music, and... their cat!

But why is this so? There must be a level of bonding between cats and humans that is beyond that of many other animals, that make us feel so attached to them, want to share our life experiences with them... because our feelings tell us that these feelings goes both ways.

But is this really the case? Do cats use us for food and warmth mainly? Or is there a level of feeling behind the cat behavior that's on a higher level than that, and resembles the feelings that we have for them?

These are valid questions. Let's first have a look at our human emotional responses to our cats.

When humans first met cats, it was presumed to be at a camp fire. This is not proven, though it is a strong possibility.

Why a camp fire?

Well cats love warmth and probably couldn't resist sitting around a man-made camp fire. So they sat, appreciating the warmth, and also may have found they don't have to hunt for. And then the humans were attracted to their cuteness. More likely, it was their kittens that may have clinched this bond. As when interacted, they would have shown cute playfulness, and when nursed, would snuggle up.

Now the question is whether a cat can have snuggling up and playfulness without the emotions of tenderness and enjoyment?

We'll come back to this in a moment. Let's take one more example from history.

It was documented 5000 years ago that cats were domesticated into both Egyptian culture as well as Indian culture at roughly the same time. In fact, for period of over 2000 years in Egypt, there was such respect and admiration for the cat, that the penalty for anyone killing a cat, was death.

During this period, a Roman soldier accidentally killed a cat and was nearly lynched by a crowd who witnessed this event. This became a political conflict, and is thought to be one of the events that led to the war between Egypt and Rome!

So, the humble cat has caused all this! An animal causing people to be irrational over them.

But, does the cat reciprocate our feelings? One example that could help us with this question is from Jeffrey Masson, who wrote The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats. Among his many examples of bonding is where he discovers that his cats will put up with getting soaked, just to be with him:

"Like most cats, mine do not like rain. Yet when Leila, Ilan, Manu and I walk up the hill in the evening in the rain, such is the cats' devotion that they come with us... it is beyond question that the cats are doing something because they want to... Moreover, since they walk in the rain only when we are there, never alone, the love of our companionship must be a strong component of their pleasure..."

It gets even better. The strength of our bond actually increases depending on the extent that our cat's range of behavior and emotional responses matches our emotional needs. Some people who really love attention from their cat, and want the full gamut of personality, do find heaven, and so does the cat, when they have for example, a Siamese cat that is able to show a strong desire to lie on their laps for comfort every night, run around like crazy when they play with, and is also slightly neurotic and anxious when there is too much happening...

So there's some food for thought for you.

You've now got some deep insight into how cats really feel about us, and how cats may indeed have deeper feelings about us that are closer to our own feelings about them than we previously realised.

Watch out for part two of this article, which will be coming soon. In that part, you'll learn specific ways to capture your cat's attention and affection.

However, for right now, be aware of your emotions when you're about to talk or even look at your cat. If you want to tell him something like "There you are, I'm glad to see you!", do so with your feeling, and it will come out in your voice, body language and tons of other clues that we're not even aware of. Your cat is sensing your thoughts and feelings very acutely.

This is exactly where bonding starts...

And the beauty of it is, that once the bonding starts, you can't stop it…it just keeps getting better.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start bonding!