Do you have that X factor that cats love? I know some of you. And I know that you have it. It is something inside us that cats sense and warm to. They move towards it and love it. Cats know that you respect them. It may take a little while for them to pick it up. But on the other hand they usually sense it almost immediately. I don’t think it matters how long it takes. It will be fairly fast because cats are very sensitive. To use a human term, they get the “vibes”.
So what is this X Factor? At heart it is an empathy for other animals. I am sure cats pick up on this. It is just an innate ability to distinguish between friend and foe. I am sure cats have developed the skill to tell the difference. They have to be able to do that as is part of the survival process.
Do your cats like the way you smell? Do they smell you and then rub their head against your hand, your clothes etc.? I wonder sometimes whether empathy can be smelled?
That sounds like a ridiculous thing to say. There is no scientific research on the connection between how we smell and our empathy with our cat. Yet cats are very sensitive to scent. They identify people through their scent. And I think the domestic cat has a preference for a certain kind of scent that is on our skin,
No one has written about that. But my experience informs me that it may be something that needs to be investigated. What I am saying is that cats not only identify people through the scent of people who they know who are kind to them but they can also identify a certain type of scent that is associated with an empathy towards them.
Although, this is on the edge of credibility, the scent we give off may be associated with our emotional state. If we are emotionally friendly towards our cat, he or she can assess this from a range of factors including the scent we give off.
In fact I have discovered that the often used phrase “the smell of fear” is real. What I mean is that we emit chemicals in our perspiration when we are frightened that other people can pick up.
Bearing in mind that cats have a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans, I wonder if people who are even slightly anxious around cats for whatever reason – and I include many cat owners – give off a scent which their cat picks up and interprets as hostile to varying degrees. By hostile I mean even the slightest bit unfriendly. After all, anxiety is a form of fear and fear is an expression of an emotional state due to the immediate environmental circumstances.
This is something that have never been mentioned before as far as I know. I sense that there is something in this suggestion because my experience with my cats indicate that they are very focused on my scent. They really like it.
Does your cat like your scent? But as mentioned above, I don’t think it is just about scent. The X-factor that cats love is many things bundled together which send a signal to our cat that we are friendly.
If we weren’t so arrogant we could learn from cats and other animals.
Your cats know what you smell like too and they love it 😉 They know you are with them and for them. You’re one of the X-factor types.
I love it when our boyz rub their heads on me, Walter often gives me a featherlight kiss on my cheek too and Jozef goes into ‘camel mode’ turning his bum to me, which is a great compliment from a cat. He also puts a thank you on my hand when I put his food down to him.
Some people think I’m a crazy cat lady as I know the names of all the neighbourhood cats and always speak to them, I’m sure cats know who are genuine cat lovers, they know who won’t hurt them and who might.
Agreed! Alot of small things most humans are not used to focusing on and an entire language or energy and movement we subconciously experience but don’t necessarily know how to use or channel. Cats know what I’m saying 🙂
I believe we are all mostly vibrational. Animals have the sixth sense and can read the vibrations, as can small children, until we teach them away from it. Call it X factor or whatever you want, they can see taste and touch what we are blind to, most of us. Humans can read facial expressions and body language without knowing exactly how. Animals read something else.
Quantum physics may seem new-agey for conversation on PoC but I think it explains the X factor in scientific terms.
Hi Michael,
Yes, the X Factor exists and I do have it. Animals – especially cats – can sense it in me immediately.
It’s also been my experience that a cat can sense when a person has a general dislike for cats or if that person is hostile or imbalanced in general. Cats will shy away and avoid this kind of person.
They are strongly tuned into the environment and are good at picking up vibes from people. They can pick up “intent” very quickly.
Marc is right – animals can sense fear too. Cats can sense if a person has cat etiquette – a general good attitude towards cats as well as how to respectfully approach them.
I know someone who is afraid of cats and when she goes into a cat household other than mine, she gets stalked by the cats and she feels like they want to attack her. She may be right. Her fear makes them uneasy.
They can smell the X Factor as well as feel it. It makes me wonder how psychic they are. Can they also see Astral bodies and interact with the Astral world? Or is it just physical instinct – a survival mechanism?
Good topic,
=^-^= Hairless Cat Girl =^-^=