by Michael
In these forums, we discuss, quite a lot, the emotions of cats. We are never completely sure how cats feel. I’d like your thoughts on something that became apparent to me recently regarding what appears to be a cat’s feelings.
About 4 months ago I locked out a stray cat, Timmy, who we had been feeding for some time and caring for too (vet’s visits). He had been pestering my old lady cat and I had had enough of that. I only locked him out (locked the cat flap) for one day but he never came back. I missed him. Did he get a message that I hadn’t intended to send? Did he decide that he wasn’t wanted and went elsewhere? Or, coincidentally, did he suffer an accident and was fatally injured? He traveled across London’s roads to get here so there is a good chance he was hit.
Very recently I decided to close my bedroom door at night. I won’t go into the reasons but it was not in any way connected to Charlie my three legged cat.
Until then he would regularly sleep on the bed and/or come in, in the morning for a wash and a comb.
The door was closed at night for a short period, say about 5 days. But Charlie didn’t come in again.
In fact when I brought him in and put him on the bed, he promptly jumped off and left the room to sleep in what seems to be an alternative but uncomfortable area in human terms.
As I type this, I now have him on the bed having brought him back in again and given him a ton of tender loving care.
Perhaps he will now come in of his own accord? Is there something going on in the minds of domestic cats that we are not sensitive to?
Do cats feel rejected if we shut them out? Or am I anthropomorphizing Charlie? I’d welcome your input.
Michael
For the record she made me feel so bad for yelling at her to get off the table that I had to buy her a present.
My Russian Blue cat seems emotionally vulnerable. Once or twice we have yelled at her for trying to run into the garage, or standing on the kitchen table. She shouldn’t do either but I swear that cat was about to cry. Also, she smiles when you pet her. You have to look from the side to see it but she has expressions. She’s the most emotional and expressive cat I’ve ever seen.