Kissing is widely known in the human community as a means of affection and love, so when you try to kiss your cat, you naturally think that she will appreciate it. But when she pulls away from your affectionate kisses, it may seem like she's rejecting you. What do cats think when we kiss them, and why do they move away from the kiss?
It's still unclear what cats think when we kiss them, but it's clear that they express affection differently than humans. They may not understand what kissing means and may be confused by your actions. Because kissing imitates tilting the head back, cats sometimes lean toward them.
Your cat loves you and appreciates your attention, but if you're wondering why she doesn't like your kisses, read on. What you learn may surprise you, or it may not.
Cats Express Affection Differently Than People
In the human world, kissing is known to express affection and love. Moms and dads kiss their babies' heads, couples kiss each other, and pet parents kiss their cats and dogs out of love. But how do cats express their affection? Because they have scent glands on their faces and paws, they rub their heads against humans to mix their scents.
Other ways cats show affection are by grooming you, sitting on your lap, blinking slowly at you, and other ways. Cats have their own language, and when you understand it, you can respond in kind. But let's continue to learn more about your cat's love language.
Head bunting
If you've ever watched two cats living closely together, you may have noticed that they occasionally rub their heads against each other as a show of affection. This head rubbing shows affection thanks to the scent glands in their heads. Besides showing affection, this method mixes their scent with your scent when they do this to you.
Slow blink
When you look directly into your cat's eyes, you may notice that she reacts with widened eyes and fear. The reason the cat reacts this way is that in the wild, animals that look at other animals usually have predatory intentions. Looking into your eyes tells your cat that you have bad intentions and will keep an eye on you until the threat is gone.
On the other hand, when you blink slowly at a cat, it relaxes because it means you are not a threat. Blinking slowly is a sign of trust and love, and when your cat blinks slowly at you, she is telling you that you are trustworthy enough to close her eyes around you.
Looks after you
Mother cats care for their kittens out of love and care. Cat friends groom each other because they love each other and want to take care of each other. When your cat licks you, she is grooming you and sharing her love with you in a way she understands. Many cat parents can probably agree with this, and cats used to "groom" their fur.
Sit on your lap
Cats will not sit on the laps of those they don't trust or like. Therefore, when your cat sits on your lap, it shows great trust and love for you. It could also mean that your cat is cold and needs to warm up a little. However, some cats refuse to sit on someone's lap due to previous trauma. But that doesn't mean your cat doesn't love you. It just means she has some work to do.
Cat tongue
Among other acts that cats do as a sign of love, they also show their affection using their tongue. Chirps, meows and purrs mean that your cat loves you and is telling you this the only way she knows how - vocally. Try imitating her tongue to show your cat love.
Releases claws
We are talking about when a cat gently releases its claws and kneads its owner with its paws, as if giving a massage. This is another sign of cat love.
There is no need to doubt your pet's feelings. Cats only pretend to be willful and independent animals. In fact, they are just as attached to their owner as dogs. They just don’t like to show their emotions once again or do it much more restrained.
In our love for pets, we often cross the boundaries of what is permitted. What can come of this? Find out the story of one cat who will have to lose half his body weight.
Photo: pixabay
Some cats are prone to kissing, while others avoid them.
When you kiss your cat, does she try to avoid your kisses or cling to them? Not all cats like to be kissed, and they will tell you this by moving their head or pressing their ears. If they feel threatened by your kisses, they may even hit you and run away.
However, some cats appreciate kisses and will lean towards you to receive them. But they only do this if they've been kissed before and they know you're not threatening them.
What should you do if your cat moves her head to the side or hisses at you when you try to kiss her? The simple answer is don't kiss the cat. Since this is a boundary your cat is setting, you need to respect it and back off.
Common diseases
Here are some of the most common diseases that can pass from cats to humans. Agree, this is a pretty good reason why you shouldn’t kiss cats.
- Toxoplasmosis. This disease affects the liver, spleen, eyes, nervous system, heart and other organs. It is especially dangerous for girls “in an interesting position.” Toxoplasmosis can cause irreversible intrauterine damage to the fetus and affect its development.
- "Scratchies." This disease is quite common, although it is not very common to talk about it. The scratched areas can become very inflamed. A rash may appear, an allergic reaction, intoxication, and inflammation of the lymph nodes may occur.
- Worms. The disease is caused by parasites that live in the bodies of cats and humans. It's very easy to get infected. Don’t think that if your pet doesn’t go outside, then it’s “clean.” If a cat eats raw meat or fish, then it definitely has worms.
- Rabies. A fairly well-known disease that can be fatal. It is transmitted by bites along with the saliva of a sick animal. Of course, domestic pussies rarely go wild, but it still happens.
- Plague. This is a very dangerous disease. It is generally accepted that it is carried by rats, but cats can also be sources of infection. In humans, the plague causes severe fever, sepsis and attacks the lungs.
- Felinosis. It manifests itself in humans in the form of a rash, pustular inflammation, fever and other unpleasant symptoms. It is transmitted mainly from cats through mucous membranes and saliva.
- Lichen. A very unpleasant and common disease. Fungal infection causes hair loss, severe itching, sores and redness. It takes quite a long time to heal.
This is not a complete list of what your furry pet can “reward” you with.
Kisses imitate the flight of the head
Cats who enjoy kisses may view them as a type of head pat. As mentioned above, this is one of the ways cats show their affection. Because they rub their cheeks against each other to show affection and impart their scents on each other, kissing may be perceived by your cat as you doing the same thing as them.
If you rub your cheek against your cat's cheek and then kiss her on the head, she will likely respond favorably because the cat perceives this as "butting."
Of course, not all head bunting (or head butting) is gentle. Some types of head butting are aggressive and can hurt you or knock points off your face. If your cat is aggressive towards you, she will smell her scent on you to warn other cats to back off.
The reasons are mystical
It is believed that cats are guides to the other world. The Egyptians believed that the animal could ward off evil spirits, and they worshiped cats as a deity. In Europe, for a long time, cats were considered assistants to witches, so they were often burned at the stake along with their mistresses.
One of the reasons why you shouldn't kiss cats on the face is the danger of becoming its slave. It is believed that the owner who kissed the cat will serve her until death. He will fulfill all her whims and stop noticing other household members.
According to another belief, a person who kisses a cat gives her all his vitality. The more often kisses fall on the pussy, the weaker and more painful its owner becomes.
Another superstition is that cats allegedly lose their sense of smell when kissed. This is another argument why cats should not be kissed. In practice, this situation has never been confirmed by any veterinarian. Most often, the pussy loses its sense of smell due to a common runny nose (this also happens in cats). Another reason may be the age of the animal.
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But you need to pay close attention to your cat's body language to determine how she feels about your affectionate gestures. The following should tell you that your cat is not happy with what you are doing:
- Ears flattened or laid back
- The tail is down and wagging
- Hisses at you
- They hit you with or without claws
- Your cat moves its head to avoid the kiss.
Cats are fickle creatures, and if they don't like your kisses, it doesn't mean they reject you. It just means that they are setting boundaries that you should not cross.
05.05.2019
“Do you know what is the most wonderful thing about our animals? This is their ability to put up with our most strange and unacceptable behavior among their relatives. Animals watch their owners and gradually learn to understand their actions. For the sake of your own peace of mind and for the sake of showing affection to a person you trust.” (Wilma Tigelaar, veterinarian and animal psychologist)
We live in a stressful world, filled with daily bad news on TV, problems in the family and hassle at work, and the ill will of others. We are increasingly withdrawn into ourselves and are ready to fight back at any moment.
Hidden threat
Even if the animal does not leave the apartment, undergoes routine deworming, is vaccinated and eats heat-treated food, the owner should think about the hygiene of cat caresses:
- Deceptive clean . At first glance, cats seem to be perhaps the cleanest animals on the planet, having inherited the instinct of wild ancestors, hunting from ambush and licking themselves to hide their scent. Murki spend more than half of their waking hours washing themselves, leisurely licking and sorting the fur with their teeth, cleaning their claws and paw pads. A rough tongue, like a brush, absorbs dead hair, skin particles, dirt and skin secretions. Cats are especially meticulous in washing their faces and intimate areas, thus collecting all bodily fluids, as well as external and internal parasites, with their tongue. The owner involuntarily tastes all this, accepting the tenderness of the furry pet.
- The mouth of a predator . Kissing cats is also not acceptable because the animal’s oral cavity is a container for millions of bacteria. Cats do not brush their teeth, so leftover food rots, causing rapid growth of microflora on the mucous membranes of the gums, cheeks and tongue. As a result, animals may experience tartar deposits, caries, stomatitis and gingivitis. Together with saliva, bacteria can migrate to a person if the owner allows the cat to lick his face, and especially his lips.
- Possibility of allergic manifestations. A pathological reaction of the immune system of some people, known as “cat allergy,” develops upon contact with a specific protein compound contained in skin secretions, dead epidermal cells, natural waste, and especially the saliva of the animal. When licking the cat's fur, saliva spreads throughout the cat's body, getting on the owner's skin not only when kissing the face, but also when stroking and grooming the pet.
You can suspect an allergy to cats if the owner is diagnosed with:
- sneezing and clear nasal discharge without an increase in general body temperature (allergic rhinitis);
- persistent dry cough (allergic bronchitis);
- swelling and redness of the mucous membrane of the eyes, watery eyes and itching (allergic conjunctivitis);
- rash on the face and body (allergic dermatitis);
- severe inflammation and itching at the site of a skin scratch or cat bite.
Contact with cat allergen is especially dangerous for people suffering from bronchial asthma.
Also watch the video of what happens if you kiss cats:
