What Do Cats Think When You Kiss Them?

Your darling toddler just did one of those things that make you thank the universe for giving you a baby.

Naturally, you’ll pull the little bugger close to you and give them a big kiss to show your affection and appreciation.

 Humans are all about kisses, hugs, hand-holding, and giving gifts to show affection.

Now, cats are not exactly wired like us. If you’ve owned a few kitties before, you can attest to this.

They show affection in different ways with kissing being at the bottom of the list.

 For some cats, kissing is completely inexistent in their books.

 So, just what do you think your sweet cat thinks when you lean over and kiss them?

Cat-Human Bond

Before we talk about what kisses mean to cats, let’s try and answer the question of whether cats understand affection in the first place.

Unlike dogs, felines are thought of as independent, aloof, and snobbish.

 Sometimes getting them to accept your show of love isn’t well reciprocated.

Do they even know what affection is or do they hang around you to get food and shelter?

Well, according to this study in Current Biology, cats form strong attachments with their human parents.
The bond is compared to that between dogs or babies and their caregivers.

The study incorporated 70 kittens and 38 adult cats plus their owners.

 The cats were randomly placed in rooms together with its owners for 2 minutes.

Each owner was then asked to leave the room for two minutes and come back for a further 2 minutes.

Each cat’s attachment style was assessed when the owner was present in the room.

64% of the cats exhibited secure attachments which included greeting their owners and being relaxed when they were present.

This study goes to show that cats view their human counterparts as more than a plate of food.

Do Kisses Mean Anything In The Cat World?

When you kiss your lovable ball of fur, you get all sorts of reactions.

When you glance at what people say on social platforms like Quora, it is clear that different pets react differently to kisses.

The first category is cats that don’t mind when they are kissed by their owners. They may not be very enthusiastic about it but they don’t necessarily back away from it.

Then there are those that don’t care about it at all. These will bite, scratch or flatten their ears when you come near them to try and plant a kiss.

The third group is felines that actually seem to understand that kissing is a human’s way of showing them affection.

So, do kisses mean anything to your cat? Well, it really just depends on your kitty according to this article on cathealth.com.

The pet website insists that different cats view kissing differently. You just have to watch your cat and see how she reacts when you kiss her.

Treehugger has the same sentiments about the issue. Your cat can either be the kissing type or the non-kissing type.

Additionally, there are several factors that make a cat be one type or the other. For instance, cats that are socialized and kissed as kittens are bound to be more accepting of human kisses than those that haven’t had much exposure.

The best way is to give things a try and see what happens. You know that your kitty is into kissing if she generally accepts your advances.

However, if she lowers its ears, ducks away, or acts afraid and threatened, back off and try other forms of affection.

While you are at it, keep in mind that cats are very hard to predict. Their behaviors change from day to day.

The fact that your kitty refuses your kisses today doesn’t mean that she will not want them tomorrow. Try a few times before you throw in the towel.

Affection in the Cat World

Ever watched two felines play and bond with each other?

They show affection by rubbing against each other’s bodies, purring, and blinking at one another slowly.

Going by Psychology Today, kitties equally show affection to us by doing the same things.

Purring is especially common as we see it all the time from our lovable buds.

 They also love to groom their owners when they are comfortable around them. Think of when your kitties licked your face non-stop.

Slowly blinking may seem weird but cats are big on this as well. By blinking slowly but surely, your kitty is essentially telling you that they trust you completely.

When they blink at you, take it as kissing you and blink back slowly if you can.

Other ways include head bunting, cheek rubs, and showing you their bellies.

So, What Does Your Cat Think When You Kiss Them?

That hugely depends on the cat, especially their liking towards kissing.

If she’s the part of the majority of felines who loathe kissing, there’s no telling what goes through her mind when you are busy kissing her. We can try and make sense of it, though…

Cats, as we know are creatures of scent. They have some of the most efficient muzzles in the world.

With 45-200 million pheromones in their noses alone, they pick up scents pretty fast.

This is why they love sniffing your breath from time to time. The smell emanating from the mouth carries lots and lots of information for the pet.

Kissing brings your mouth close to your cat and may scare her or make her relaxed and comfortable.

Secondly, cats are very sensitive and don’t necessarily like their spaces invaded. When you kiss them, you may come too close for their liking.

No wonder they recoil and act like you are about to attack. It is just a way for them to defend themselves in case you are about to attack.

Last but not least, some cats really just think you love them to bits when you kiss them.

They can understand that when you kiss them, talk to them softly, and pick them up, you mean nothing but love.

Parting Thoughts

There it is – what cats think when you kiss them.

The general consensus is that kitties aren’t that crazy about kissing like we are.

Still, some tolerate it and others actually like it.

Watch your kitty closely and determine which side of the spectrum she belongs to.