Shutterstock / Elen Nika©Bella & Duke dispel the idea that cats prefer being on their own and share tips on how you can show them some love and make your cat happy.
Bella & Duke take a look at how you build your relationship with your cat. It doesn’t always seem like cats show affection as obviously as dogs, but they do in their own way. You just need to know how to look for it and to encourage it!
Leading pet food subscription Bella & Duke specialise in nutrition and wellness tailored for your pet. Bella & Duke’s Pet Behaviour Expert, Liz Lannie BSc (Hons), PGDip (CABC), RVN, Full member of INTODogs, shares her top tips to better understand your cat. Including how to build on your relationship.
5 top ways to make your cat happy
1. Body language
Body language is at the core of cat behaviour and often why they’re mislabelled as moody or grumpy. Cats have lots of subtle body language; the easiest for us to spot is their tail! If your cat approaches you, or another cat, with their tail pointing straight up towards to ceiling this is a friendly greeting; they are saying hi!
However, if their tail is held out and swishing from side to side be a little cautious, they are probably feeling a bit annoyed and may react negatively.
2.Take some time to train
It’s often thought that you can only train dogs but not cats. This is untrue and cats learn in their own way as they aren’t bred to work with humans. Consistently training your cat at the start of your relationship will form a deep-rooted connection. Try teaching your cat how to give you a high five. Be sure to reward with tasty treats when training.
3. Play games
Pic: Shutterstock
As well as training and understanding their body language, why not take some time out of your day to play different games with them. Feathers on a pole are perfect to give your cat the chance to chase and pounce, ping pong balls are an excellent way to keep your cat mobile and test their agility and you can even introduce healthy and nutritious treats such as Supreme Sprats as a tasty reward in a game of fetch.
4. Patience, patience, patience
The important thing to understand about strengthening your relationship with your cat is to build a solid foundation and work your way up from there. Play when you can, give space when necessary and most importantly have patience.
5. Signs your cat loves you
Now that you’ve followed the steps above, you understand your cat and how to build a strong relationship. It’s now time to maintain this and the best way to do that is by understanding how they show love. While cats are more subtle with their signs of affection, look out for: slow blinking, headbutting, showing you their belly, kneading and greeting you at the door are all ways they show they’re happy to see you.
The People’s Friend are a team of animal-lovers, so why not read these inspiring success stories from The Cats Protection?
Jacqueline Munro I am the Digital Content Editor at "The People's Friend", looking after our website, social media channels and podcast.
