Why cats bother people who hate cats

Maybe we have a friend or family member who doesn't like cats. They are always saying cats come around and bother them on purpose.

Is this true? Do cats know when someone doesn't like them, and they like to tease that person?

It can look that way. But cats aren't doing this on purpose. What we have here is people saying the wrong thing. They are trying to tell the cat to go away. But instead, they are saying, Come here, I want to be your friend, in cat language.

Cat-phobic people keep track of the cat from the corner of their eye.

They don't want to draw the cat’s attention, but they also don't want to lose track of where the cat is. But acting this way signals interest, to the cat.

They become very still and blink a lot as the cat gets closer.

Blinking and being quiet is how we signal the cat that we want to be friends.

They hold out their hand without moving it.

The cat-phobic person is trying to keep the cat away. But one of the most powerful things we can do to signal cat friendship is hold out our fist, for the cat to pet themselves on. This is very polite to the cat. This is what they think the "scaredy cat" is saying to them!

What can cat-phobic people do to make the cat go away? They can stare directly at the cat, say "I'm going to give you a big hug!" and wave their hands around like a little kid. Cats don't like that. They will go somewhere else.

Now we know how to make friends with a cat. And, how not to.

Find out more Myths About Cats in my posts marked "mythbusting."