Why Does My Cat Follow Me And Stare At Me? (Angry?)
If your cat is following you and just staring it can be unnerving. And, if this is happening you may be wondering why this may be happening…
Why does my cat follow me and stare at me?
If your cat is following and staring at you it typically means they are attempting to communicate something. For example, a long stare without blocking could be confused as aggression, but in a cat’s mind, it could mean it loves you.
So, now you know. But, why do they do this without blinking sometimes? Should you stare back? Does their body language mean much? Keep reading for these answers, and much more…
What does it mean if a cat makes eye contact with you?
A cat staring, up close.
When a cat makes direct eye contact with you they are using this in replacement of words. Meaning, this is a great way for them to communicate with you. In a cat’s world, they can use this to claim territory, show love to their owner, or tell a rival cat to back off.
The nuance is understanding which one it is. Because to the untrained eye (excuse the pun!) it can be hard to work out exactly what it is. But, keep reading for more advice on these subtle differences.
Why does my cat stare at me without blinking?
Your cat may stare at you without blinking to either show love or claim dominance. The worrying thing is they are very different emotions with potentially big consequences. In the cat world, they can sometimes stare down their rival cat to make them move from their territory.
If your cat is staring at you try not to stare back it this will only send an aggressive message back. And, if it is intending to show love it will usually follow up with a request for petting or being stroked. When this happens it’s obvious what the motive is.
Can cats recognize faces?
Cats can distinguish faces quite easily. But, their methods for this are different from us humans. Mainly because they use multiple scenes to make sure. Such as using their sense of smell and sound.
In your cat’s mind, without these other inputs, they can’t be sure. But when they get them they are certain you are their beloved owner. This is one of the reasons why some cats go nuts when you shower, they rely on your scent and dislike it being washed off.
Once your cat recognizes you, using all these scenes it will be obvious that do because of how they act around you when they confirm it.
Should you stare at a cat?
You should avoid staring at your cat directly. This is because it may send an incorrect message. When your cat sees this it can interpret it as a potential physical attack or declaration of war.
Instead of this, it’s best to either offer a nice slow, loving blink. But, even this is problematic. Why? Well, if your cat misses this blink, which can be fractions of a second, it could miss-read it as a direct stare-down.
So, it may be best to avoid looking at your cat directly altogether and looking at it indirectly. This can be done using your side-vision, commonly known as peripheral vision. If this is new to you, it is the same vision you use when you notice someone walking near you without looking directly at them, are you with me?
It is effective enough, because you have been using it for a while without knowing, and will reduce the chance of your cat getting concerned.
Why you should never look into a cat’s eyes?
You should never look into a cat’s eyes directly because it can be seen as a test of their dominance, and may be followed up with retaliation. Also, some say cat’s eyes are creepy because of the slits in the pupils. These are designed to soak up more light.
Regardless if you are creeped out by their look or not it is better not to look at them directly, as discussed earlier. Because this can avoid them getting defensive.
Does body language help you to understand a cat’s stare?
A sad-looking cat with green eyes.
Body language is vital to understanding a cat’s stare. For example, the image above would portray a scared or cat in need of a cuddle, right? But, why? Because of its body language. But, if it had its mouth open, teeth out, and crouching like it is going to pounce on you, then this will be a completely different situation.
So, this proves how important it is to look at the cat’s body language to get a feel for what they will do next. I get it, sometimes this is subjective and difficult to decode. So, with time and experience, you will learn more.
Understand that some of these messages are obvious. Like, if a cat comes at you snarling and staring, you know what is going to happen next, right?
3 Body language signs, when your cat is staring:
Earlier I talked about the importance of body language, remember? Well, in this section I will take that. a step further and provide a few examples…
01. Feeling happy
If your cat is feeling happy it may look at you without its mouth open, tail down, and giving you soppy-looking eyes. Trust me, you will know when you see it. This will be clear that it is feeling happy with you.
02. An upset cat
An upset cat may look very different from the above. For example, their tail may be more active. Its ears may be turned off to the side and it may seem a bit “twitchy” like it could pounce at a moment’s notice.
03. Scared cat
A scared cat is easier to decipher, in my opinion. They may be physically hiding in the first place, like behind a cupboard, etc. And, if you expose them they may be scrunched up with their tail tucked in. And they may just have one eye out to check on their predator, or whatever has scared them.
Can boredom cause a cat to stare at you?
Cats are more likely to act destructively when they are bored, rather than starting. Some say this is worse than giving you dirty looks (click here if your cat does this) because when this happens they can potentially damage your home.
Obviously, this can be more of a hassle than dealing with a hostile stare-down from your cat. What would you prefer, this or damaged furniture?
One of the symptoms of Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (FHS) is intense steering. This can be quite shocking because they could be staring at a random object for a long period or other symptoms include running after their own tail, or even aggressive self-grooming.
This FHS may sound new to you, but to make matters confusing it can be known as many other names such as rolling skin disease, to name one of them.
