Why shouldn't we look into cats eyes?

by Tracy
(Hartford,CT)

Hi,


I just read something you wrote about not looking directly into a cats eyes. Could you tell me this is?


Thank you so much. I am trying to learn as much as I possibly can about cats seeing as I have 2 of my own and I feed the feral/stray outside cats on my street. I love all of them!


Tracy

Answer by kate

Hi
looking directly into the eyes of any animal is seen by them as a threat and aggressive behaviour from you. When cats fight this is what they do to each other. You will notice that when a cat is trying to avoid a fight with another cat they will drop there eyes and look away, this i to tell the other cat that they are not threatening them.

best wishes kate

Comments for Why shouldn't we look into cats eyes?

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Love
by: Anonymous

My cat and I always look at each other in the eye especially when I’m talking to her. I’ll do the squinty eye thing and she dies back. We just one another so much. She’ll come up and lick me purring. She was a Ferrell cat that I rescued. We just adore one another 💕
please read!
by: madie

when I stare at my cat she blinks then looks at something else I'm not sure what it means but I don't think it is a threat.
My Ebony
by: Anonymous

My cat is very domineering and 4 people live in my house one 60 year old is a little mental he stares at my cat i tell him not to but does it to irritate her. She then attacks. How can i stop my cat from doing this or the person to stop looking at her
My cat keeps looking at me in the eyes and I do the same what does it mean
by: Anonymous

Whenever I get mad at my cat me and him both look at each other in the eyes then after a while he looks away the I pet him then he looks at me then he just runs away from me what does this mean
Why?!
by: Anonymous

My cat will literally just sit at the top of the stairs and just look me straight in my eyes even when i look away she still looks at me i don’t get it
Alright
by: catlover

Okay you guys seem to be confused about the meaning of cat staring, its a delicate subject but it stems from a simple action, as someone else stated, looking your cat in the eyes is a challenge, not neccesarily an agressive move but its a test of dominance, if your cat looks away, that means they say "okay you are bigger and stronger than me" or "you're the boss", now how your cat reacts to this is very dependant on its personality, if its a scaredy cat it will either look away very quickly or meow or run away (attempt to distance itself form the threat), however, if your cat trusts you enough it will instead give you a very slow blik while looking straight at you, this is known as a cat kiss and basically it saying i am no threat.

If your cat attacks you it either has a very dominant personality or doesnt recognize you as "the boss" maybe you didnt raise it enough for you to consider it "its mom" like most cats do for the humans that raise them, it is theorized that cats never fully mature when raised by humans and see us as their parents forever
Confused
by: Anonymous

My friend has a cat at their house and everytime I see her I stare into her eyes and she meows and brushes against me.
my cat
by: Alex

If i stare at my cat in the eyes it's like he's suddenly seen prey, he waits a few seconds and he charges toward me but stops just before reaching me......
Nonsense!
by: Kaitie

When I am patting my cat he deliberately and purposefully turns his head around and looks into my eyes whilst he is purring. He doesn't seem to mind in the least. My previous cat did the same...
One is fake and one is real
by: Anoymous???

So there is a myth says "if you look at a cat in there eyes your soul Will go to a place and never return"
I belive This one "If you Stare at Them you Will Think your threating you"i Tried staring at Them and he came near and attacked Me.
My cat reacted weirdly
by: Anonymoose

When I looked at my cat in the eyes it meowed sadly and ran into the room that would mean its in trouble. Why?
I do
by: Anonymous

I stare into both of my cats eyes, they meow at me for attention or to let me know they are hungry. When we do eye contact, they understand, that their needs will be met.
Hi
by: Anonymous

Hi I stare at my cats eyes wide and his gets wide back staring into mine what does it mean?
Looking cats in the eyes
by: Anonymous

My cats look me in the eyes, but there is no aggression. It has taken a few years, but I think that it has come to a point that they trust me enough to do so
Direct eye contact
by: Sandra

I have been told that looking directly into a cats eyes it is a sign of trust. Confused.
hmmm
by: Anonymous

my two cats love to make eye contact. they will meow to get my attention but will not jump into my lap until i look at them straight on. it seems to ba a reasurrance thing to them. maybe it just depends on your cats' personality...?

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