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Does My Cat Trust Me? These 5 Signs Prove It

Trusting cat sleeping on lap

© DebraAnderson / stock.adobe.com

If your cat sits or sleeps on your lap, this means it trusts you entirely.

Trust is needed for a harmonious relationship with your cat. But can you build your cat’s trust and how do felines show that they do trust you? Cats are considered independent and not very transparent, but these five signs of behaviour will prove to you whether and to what extent your cat trusts you.

Table of contents

  1. You are its safe haven
  2. It shows you its fluffy stomach
  3. Your cat shows you blind faith
  4. It claims ownership
  5. Your cat shows trust with massages
  6. How to gain a cat’s trust

Sign No. 1

You are its safe haven

When it comes to showing humans they trust them, cats are more introverted than other animals. Instead of wagging their tail like dogs and always seeking eye contact with their owner, cats express trust in a more subtle way – for instance, by involving you in their favourite activity. It’s therefore harder to establish whether cats trust you. 

Be it a young kitten or adult cat, they all love to sleep and instinctively look for a safe spot to do so. If your cat chooses your lap as this safe space, it trusts 100% that nothing bad can happen in your presence. Enjoy this demonstration of trust, even if your legs go to sleep as well as your cat! 

Sign No. 2

It shows you its fluffy stomach

Cat owners know how wonderfully warm and soft a cat’s stomach feels. Whenever you have the pleasure of being allowed to tickle your cat’s stomach, bear in mind that it is one of the most sensitive areas on the cat’s entire body. 

Your cat offering you its stomach isn’t just a great honour, but also proves that your cat places its trust in you. If your cat lolls on its back and stretches its fluffy stomach towards you, it is expressing sheer happiness.

In order not to squander your cat’s trust, always be cautious when stroking it, especially with its sensitive stomach. 

Sign No. 3

Your cat shows you blind faith

Cats observe their environment with great precision. Their eyes are still able to perceive dangers even in twilight. They only shut their eyes to sleep or when they feel very safe. So you can take a small but emphatic blink in your direction as a sign of trust and affection. 

Blinking is like a little kiss that you may return in the same way. This can also help you let unfamiliar cats know that you are a friend and don’t pose any danger. 

Cat slowly blinking © Tanya / stock.adobe.com
You can interpret your cat blinking slowly and lovingly as a feline kiss – which you can gladly return.

Sign No. 4

It claims ownership

Amongst us humans, a blow to the head is anything but conducive to a close bond, but your cat has a different view. If your cat lovingly prods your chin with its head or gleefully rubs its head against your leg, you can consider it happy. Your cat is putting its trust in you and has accepted you as its caregiver. 

Since you now enjoy your cat’s full trust, it will generously share its pheromones with you. Fortunately you won’t notice any of the scent marks and in return have the honour or being recognised as the official sponsor of food and stroking. 

Sign No. 5

Your cat shows trust with massages

Do you remember your childhood and how carefree and safe you felt? Cats too remember growing up feeling protected in the presence of their mother – especially when they feel completely secure. 

You can recognise your cat’s nostalgic moments in the way it kneads a cushion or perhaps even your stomach with its paws in your presence. Cats would do this to stimulate milk flow from their mother. By doing so with humans, adult cats are therefore showing them unlimited trust. 

How to gain a cat’s trust

As you can see, although purring cats know their own mind and are considered aloof, they can very happily develop trust of a human and show this in many ways. The five points mentioned are just some of the answers to the question of whether your cat trusts you. 

The following tips will help if you want to further strengthen your cat’s trust in you or make friends with a new cat living with you. 

How to develop a strong bond with your cat:

  • Introduce positive rituals. Cats are creatures of habit and happily accept cat treats as a reward. 
  • Always speak to your cat calmly and lovingly, avoiding loud speech and punishments. 
  • Keep your cat occupied by playing with it or help it with grooming – this strengthens the human-feline bond. 
  • Give your cat plenty of love and attention.
  • Give your cat its space and cosy places to retreat.
  • Stroke your cat when it wants to be stroked – not when it’s sleeping or appears anxious. 

It takes time for cats to form a trusting bond and to feel 100% secure with you. Hence, the most important tip is to give your cat time and to pay attention to its needs. 

Every cat has its own individual character and different needs. The more involved you are with your cat, the better you can respond to it. And the better you understand your cat, the easier it will be to gain its trust. 

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