Can cats feel jealous?

Cats not only feel jealous; this behavior is often encouraged by a human who mistakes jealousy for love.

When our cat indicates they "want us all to themselves," by driving away others who show us affection, we often make the mistake of celebrating the dysfunction. We feel flattered that our cat loves us so much. We laugh. We indicate that this pleases us, and we "love" the cat back.

The problem is that this is not how love acts. This is an indicator of insecurity.

The problem of jealousy is that it is a symptom of scarcity. It acts from defensiveness. It says, there isn't enough love to go around.

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how love works. Love only lives where there is trust. Love grows when it is celebrated. Love increases when it is shared.

If we laugh and feel flattered when our cat clings to us, we are demonstrating our own insecurity. We don't want our cat to like other people. We want their love to be only for us. But this creates a trap where we cannot enjoy the cat when we are around other beings. We cannot get another cat. We cannot share our love; and so, we all have less.

If we act in ways that supports our cat and show them there is plenty of love; then there will be. For everyone.

Here's how to fix the jealous cat.