Why Does My Cat Stare at Me?

You may expect to see your cat staring at a stranger, but it’s more of a surprise when you find yourself at the other side of their stare. There are a few reasons why your cat might be staring at you. It doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten who you are or have no social graces, so there’s usually quite a simple reason behind it. 

They may want something; they might be trying to communicate with you, or they might even just enjoy trying to figure out what you’re doing. We’ve laid all the reasons to exactly why your feline might be staring at you.

If your moggy isn’t breaking eye contact with you, they could be very aware of the time that’s approaching and know something good is coming their way. Cats are intelligent animals, while they can’t exactly look at the clock on the wall and understand that 5 o’clock means it’s dinner time, they somehow always know exactly when it’s time to be fed.

If they’re watching you with an unblinking stare, they could very well be waiting for their food. It makes it even more of an obvious request when they choose to sit near their bowl and stare at you. If they’re in a different room, hearing small movements might trigger them into understanding their feeding time its near.

Outside of mealtimes, they might even plant themselves in front of where their treats are kept in a silent demand for extra food. Whilst it’s easy to give in, it’s best to stick to their scheduled meal and treat times to reduce any weight related health issues.

Cats aren’t like people, they’re not exactly socialised or taught that it’s rude to stare, in fact, it’s a useful way of taking in information. If you’re doing something around the house, it’s not uncommon for them to outright stare at you out of curiosity.

For most of the things we do, our cats won’t likely understand why or what we’re doing. They learn by watching like they watch their mother hunt when they’re young. It’s only natural that they stare at things when they’re trying to understand them. To us, we might be doing a mundane task like loading the laundry in the washing machine, but your feline companion won’t understand the process and will just stare on in wonder.

Our beloved pets will often make intense eye contact with us when they are comfortable with us. Cats are smart creatures and find different ways to communicate with their owners. Many of their behaviours have developed for the sake of interacting with us and one of these behaviours may be the stare and slow blink.

One study conducted research on why cats slowly blink and found their relaxed blinking is a way of showing positive emotion. Directed at people, it’s thought to be a calming signal of affection.

If you wanted to communicate with a cat, outright staring at them can be seen as threatening while a slow blink can encourage a positive response. During the study, people slowly blinked at a feline, and they would return the gesture. They were more likely to approach a person if they first slowly blinked at the cat, it helped to establish trust with a new person. These gestures are not just a great way for showing your beloved pet how you feel but understand how they feel about you.

If you’re caught in a staring match with your moggy, try slow blinking at them to see if they do it back.

If you’re being stared at and you have absolutely no idea why, body language can be a good indicator of why. Understanding your cat’s body language is a vital part of being the owner of a moggy. Most of the ways they communicate are not verbal, so you need to be aware of what they’re trying to tell you.

If they’re relaxed and lying down while staring at you, they’re not likely feeling anything negative and are just taking in what you’re doing. Whilst a cat who is stiff with their ears back while staring is by no means similar. This kind of body language indicates they are anxious about the situation they’re in and might find whoever they’re starting at or whatever you’re doing quite stressful. Taking in the whole picture instead of just focusing on the stare will help you work out why your cat is staring at you.

For everything you need to make sure your feline friend is most likely to stare at you out of affection, take a look at all of our cat essentials in-store and online.