Why does my cat head straight for visitors who don’t like cats?

My cat does not necessarily do this I have to say! Also, I am not sure that I particularly like the answer to this question but I will the provide standard answer which is considered to be the most likely. I am not sure that domestic cats very often head straight for strangers who don’t like cats. Do you find that that is the case? It is, perhaps, more likely that cats will hide from strangers and by that I mean all strangers until they are familiar with them. If the cat’s guardian/caretaker is immediately friendly with the stranger, their cat may well also become quickly friendly with that person.

Cat likes strangers

It is said, though, that cats tend to befriend people who can’t stand them. When a person has a group of friends visiting their home their cat will come into the room and walk past all the people who want to interact with her/him and rub against the one person who dislikes cats.

If that is the case – and as I’ve said, I’m not convinced that it is – this tendency to gravitate towards people who are nervous of cats is because that person is not looking the cat in the eye whereas people who want to engage with the cat are more likely to look the cat straight in the eye and smile which can be off-putting to a cat.

The person who dislikes cats, by looking away or by not trying to get the cat’s attention is displaying non-confrontational behaviour to the cat and so she may gravitate towards this person.

In conclusion, therefore, people who like cats but who are strangers to a particular cat may appear to be confrontational and off-putting to a cat because of their desire to interact with the cat, whereas the opposite is true of the person who is nervous of cats or who dislikes them.

Do you have an opinion on this? Also, do you have experience of this?

2 thoughts on “Why does my cat head straight for visitors who don’t like cats?”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. I think that most domesticated cats are loving and trusting if that’s the company they’ve kept. These cats want to engage people who appear disinterested. But, cats also have a keen sense for humans who may dislike them.

    I think that cats can be “tricked” by people who hate them if those persons pretend to befriend them. I think that a lot of abusers take that advantage.

    Reply
    • Good point. Abusers can trick cats into trusting them. Cats can’t tell or don’t have the ability to read humans, perhaps.

      Reply

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