Why Do Cats Go to People Who Don’t Like Cats?

Cats can be mysterious creatures and many of their habits can be puzzling. This particular situation is very common; a room full of new people and the resident cat will ignore all those cat lovers desperately trying to get their attention and approach the one cat-hater in the room. 

Source : Giphy 

Why is this? Is your cat trying to convert this confirmed dog lover over to the opposition?

Well, the truth is certainly interesting. Cats like any species use body language to communicate. In the cat world, to stare is to incite confrontation. Whenever cats meet each other in territorial disputes, the first tactic used to scare the other cat off is a staring contest. Staring is considered threatening. Whoever blinks and loses eye contact first loses the dispute. If you’re a human newcomer staring at a cat because you find them adorable, he or she may find you quite threatening! 

Cat whisperers know the secret. If you want to send the signal that you mean no harm, blink slowly at the cat then look away. This is taken to mean that you don’t want confrontation and is called ‘cat kisses’.

So the reason why the one person in the room who doesn’t like cats is approached first, is that this individual doesn’t appear as threatening!  Your cat finds all the cat lovers very unsettling because they are staring.

So, the next time you are trying to win the affection of a cat, try completely ignoring them. If they seem relatively relaxed, you can also try the slow-blink technique to see if you can get them to engage.