If you have just welcomed a cat and you have observed that it rejects you or if, on the contrary, you have been living harmoniously with your furry for a long time but it has distanced itself from you and no longer loves you as before, it is You may feel confused and without much hope that your feline can take affection for you. This is not surprising, since when we welcome a new member into our family, we want to be able to show our affection through pampering and games and it can be counterproductive for our cat to distance himself from us.
For this reason, if you think that your cat doesn't love you and you want to know why and how to solve it, you're in the right place, since in this article on our site we can help you solve this situation.
My cat doesn't want to be with me
Cats are extremely social and affectionate animals, contrary to what many people may believe. Now, are not always as receptive to our cuddles and words of affection. Each of us has our own quirks and needs, but we all need our space from time to time, and this fact is no different in cats. For this reason, if your cat sometimes rejects you, moving away from you when you sit next to him, jumping out of your arms when you pick him up, and even going so far as to scratch or bite you when you pet him, don't take it personally. Surely, through body language, the feline has asked you to leave him alone, since at that moment he prefers to be alone and later it is he who comes to you to ask for cuddles or to play with him.
However, the situation is usually slightly different if you have noticed that your cat doesn't love you as much as before And if you enjoyed a good relationship with your feline and has suddenly started to ignore you, and even reject you, you should try to find out what has happened that justifies this abrupt change.
Why doesn't my cat love me?
If you think that your cat really doesn't love you or has stopped loving you as before, it may be due to one of the following reasons. Next, we explain how to know if your cat does not love you by finding the cause that may be causing this rejection:
You are excessively affectionate
Sometimes, felines tend to avoid us because our displays of affection are excessive. It is not strange, since sometimes it is difficult to avoid the impulse of wanting to caress our furry one! Even so, we must always respect the limits that he sets so as not to overwhelm him, on the contrary, he could begin to distrust us, get angry and hurt us.
Also, we must understand that there are contexts in which we cannot disturb you. For example, would you like someone to wake you up without warning while you sleep peacefully? It probably wouldn't do you any good, and neither would your cat.
You have had a negative experience
Sometimes our feline might reject us because he has associated a negative experience with us If we have punished our cat, which we should never do because he does not understand and, therefore, we only manage to intimidate him for no reason, and as a result of this we have noticed a change in his character, it is possible that this is the reason for his rejection. Or, for example, if we have inadvertently hurt him by holding him, caressing him…, he could also associate this negative fact with our presence. For all these reasons, the cat has associated the pain with which we have related to it.
You still have to meet
If you have recently welcomed your cat into your family, it is natural that he is still not completely confident with you. Many cats need some time to adjust to their new home and its members and, for this reason, until they learn that they are not in a hostile place, they they will show insecurity with their environment and with the contact with others. Each individual is unique and, therefore, some individuals are more shy than others.
Besides, many times we do not fully know the past of the animal we have adopted, we may not know if it has suffered negative experiences such as mistreatment and that, due to this, it may have developed a more distrustful character.
You do not receive the necessary care
It could be that your cat is surly because his welfare is not fully covered. We understand that as guardians we must guarantee our animal food, safety and entertainment (social and environmental), so that it is comfortable. If, on the other hand, our animal does not get enough exercise as it is a floor cat and we never play with it, it could feel stressed and behave in a hostile way, for example.
A significant change has occurred in your environment
Cats have a need to keep their environment under control in order to feel protected. Because of this, they are very susceptible animals to changes. For this reason, if there has recently been a significant change in the home and the cat has not yet had enough time to adapt, or has not done so properly, it may result in a more temperamental or skittish character, sincefeels unsafe
It's not uncommon to hear people say "I'm pregnant and my cat has stopped loving me" or "my cat has been hiding since we welcomed another one into the house", for example. This happens, as we say, because the animal is stressed due to this change in its routine and needs to adapt to its new situation. Another situation in which it is totally normal to feel that the cat has stopped loving us is after a vacation period. "I went on vacation and my cat doesn't love me" is a completely normal situation and the reason is the same. The animal has experienced a very big change, the absence of its guide, and has been able to feel alone and even abandoned.
Not feeling well
In situations in which we observe a sudden change in the behavior of our animal, we must suspect that it may be due to the animal suffering some pain or clinical pathologyIn these cases, we should always take our pet to the vet.
What do I do if my cat doesn't like me?
If your cat avoids being with you or directly rejects you, it is important that you try to understand why. As we have mentioned before, there are various causes for this to happen. Therefore, we show what to do if your cat does not want you in each situation:
Give it time
If your feline has recently arrived at the home, Give it time to become familiar with the environment and the other members of home. It is necessary that you do not force him to live situations that could be threatening, since he still does not trust you and it could become a negative experience, becoming counterproductive with his relationship with you. We also recommend the use of a pheromone diffuser during this period, which will help your cat to feel more comfortable facilitating the adaptation process. For more information about the process of adapting your cat to the home, we recommend you read: "Tips for the first days of a cat at home".
Relate to him in a positive way
Now, if you and your cat have been living together for a long time, but he has never shown special interest in relating to you or has lost confidence in you as a result of a bad experience, you should learn to relate to him in a pleasant way and avoiding excesses, such as caressing him when he doesn't want to or wanting to play with him all the time.
You should then pay attention to how your cat feels before interacting with him, try to understand him and, furthermore, prevent all the Sometimes it's just you who starts the interaction. That is, pay attention to the moments in which your cat approaches you (for example, if he lies down on your side) and try to pet him at these moments if he is receptive or give him a gift so that he learns that you are someone interesting. Little by little, you will see how he will feel more comfortable with you and he will accept you better. If you want to know more about how to improve your relationship with your furry friend, we invite you to read 5 tips to gain a cat's trust.
Respect his personality
A very common mistake is to believe that the cat does not like his guardians because he is not as affectionate as other cats with his humans. Therefore, we must understand that, just like us, each cat has its own characteristics and personality. Therefore, your cat does not have to be as affectionate or playful as the others. So just because your cat isn't affectionate with you doesn't have to mean he doesn't love you, because he probably loves you the way he does.
Discover the 5 personalities of cats according to Lauren Finka.
Enriches your environment and guarantees your well-being
If you believe that your animal's behavior is due to not having its well-being covered, you must locate the source and remedy it. He might be frustrated by a lack of entertainment in his day-to-day life and therefore you will have to ensure environmental enrichment and spend more time playing with him. Or you could also feel insecure due to a significant change in your routine or at home, which will require respecting the animal's adaptation time, without ever forcing it. In these cases, you can also try to help him by using a pheromone diffuser.
In both cases, you may notice other symptoms of stress in your cat that may confirm that your cat's well-being is failing somewhere. However, if you do not see an improvement or if you observe other serious symptoms, such as the cat stops eating, you should take the animal to the vet to rule out any clinical pathology that may have altered its behavior.
