We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how everything from blinking to tossing out the contents of their litter box can reveal a lot about the mysterious inner lives of cats.
But there’s no denying it ― especially compared with dogs, who sometimes leap in excitement when their owners return, it can be pretty hard to tell if a cat missed you or not.
That might be because research suggests they don’t feel they need us as much as dogs do. “Adult cats are typically quite autonomous, even in their social relationships, and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of security and safety,” the 2015 paper reads.
On that basis, they say that the attachment between cat and owner is best measured with “alternative methods.”
Well, a 2017 study from the Public Library of Science (PLOS) may have answered that call. They found that certain behaviours may reveal your feline friend missed you when you were gone ― even if it’s not shown through leaping or wagging their tails.
What are the signs?
The study looked at 14 cats who were left alone by their owners for 30 minutes and for four hours.
Predictably, “There were no differences between treatments in the behaviour of the cat (or owner) before owner departure, nor during the first 5 min of separation.”
Even after they’d been left alone, cats tended to do fine, the study revealed. Aside from getting up a bit more after their owner left (which could be due to the fluster of their owner leaving), “no differences were observed in the cats’ behaviour, indicating that cats were unaffected by separation length.”
But when their owner got back, those cats which had been left alone for longer “purred more and stretched their body more.”
Their owners also talked to them more the longer they’d left them (cats love that, BTW). However, there was “no correlation” between the purring and stretching and the owner’s verbal affection; this suggested the activity was independent.
“It seemed cats coped well with being left alone, but they were affected by the time they were left alone since they expressed differences in behaviour when the owner returned home,” the paper reads.
“The increased level of social contact initiated by the cats after a longer duration of separation indicates a rebound of contact-seeking behaviour, implying that the owner is an important part of the cat’s social environment.”
Aww.
I know!
Other signs your cat loves you include slow-blinking, staying by your side, and even headbutting you (yep, THAT’s how they show love. Classic).
And according to animal welfare charity Blue Cross, hearing “trilling” (a “short peep-like sound”) means “you can be sure they [your cat/s] think of you fondly.”
I mean, they just wouldn’t be cats if they showed affection in a predictable way, would they?