# Why does my cat love ME so much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098 "2012-03-08T02:13:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/1 "2012-03-08T02:13:30Z")
My cat really loves me. He greets me at the door, purrs whenever I’m near, and sits on me whenever my lap is available. If my lap is not available, he’ll sit nearby and stare at my lap. When I’m not in the room he makes a yowling sound that sounds bizarrely like “where are you?” For him, time is divided into “on Sam,” “will be on Sam soon” and “there is no Sam! Why have you forsaken me?” Other people can hold him without scratching or trouble, but he still twists around looking for me. My daughter’s quite upset that Perry seems to hate her - but he doesn’t hate her: he simply does not acknowledge her existence. If I’m in the room, then any amount of cat treats and toys will not dissuade him from staring at me, waiting to pounce and purr. This has got worse over time. I am the one that feeds him, but I’ve heard that this is not the main factor with cats. It doesn’t sound it’d be why he only likes me. Please don’t respond with “your cats own you, they are the secret overlords!” or whatever. He’s my pet. I’m going to have his balls cut off soon - this is not what happens if you’re the secret owner of someone. I’m just curious about why he loves me SO much and everyone else so little. I mean, he’s clearly not averse to cuddles. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/2 "2012-03-08T02:20:27Z")
My cat Serafina worships me and only me. She is terrified of all strangers and will flee immediately. She merely tolerates my husband - not running away but avoiding him. If we’re sitting on the couch together and Serafina is on the other side of him, she’ll jump on the floor, walk a few steps on the ground, then jump back on the couch in my lap (rather than walking across my husband). She follows me around like a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/3 "2012-03-08T02:42:19Z")
It is, of course, impossible to offer any meaningful insights or answers to your query unless you provide PICTURES! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/4 "2012-03-08T02:46:45Z")
Cats is weird. My cat adores me; my husband’s cat adores him. My cat tolerates him and his cat likes me okay, but they LOVE their respective humans. I don’t know why they are this way. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/5 "2012-03-08T02:48:22Z")
It is just part of some cats’ makeup to attach to one person. We have two cats- one likes both me and my son equally, the other very much prefers me. She follows me from room to room, and she will follow me around outside, meowing quite forlornly if we get separated. She tolerates my son, barely. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/6 "2012-03-08T02:50:25Z")
Because you’re his mummy! I’ve read (too lazy to dig it up) that due to their environment pet cats are preserved in a permanently infantile state. When they’re kittens they constantly want to be near their mother, and because pets never turn into the slightly disturbing creatures that wild and feral cats actually are, they retain that mommy-love throughout their lives. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/7 "2012-03-08T02:57:30Z")
Rule number one for posting threads about your pets is PICTURES. Jeez Sam, it’s not like you’re new here… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/8 "2012-03-08T03:06:05Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Because you’re his mummy! > > I’ve read (too lazy to dig it up) that due to their environment pet cats are preserved in a permanently infantile state. When they’re kittens they constantly want to be near their mother, and because pets never turn into the slightly disturbing creatures that wild and feral cats actually are, they retain that mommy-love throughout their lives. [To make that idea a little more disturbing, here’s a Dr. Who clip!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38DgjKQhhys&feature=related) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/9 "2012-03-08T03:16:26Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Because you’re his mummy! > > I’ve read (too lazy to dig it up) that due to their environment pet cats are preserved in a permanently infantile state. When they’re kittens they constantly want to be near their mother, and because pets never turn into the slightly disturbing creatures that wild and feral cats actually are, they retain that mommy-love throughout their lives. What I find surprising is his exclusive attachment to me. I can understand him loving me - or someone - a lot more than others - but eschewing every other human is weird. He does still play with the dog. Here’s a terribly unflattering image of me lying back and shooting downwards while he cuddles me: [Perry.](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Fc1QBqTZI6o/T1gjCD6czjI/AAAAAAAABAc/SW7n-MEBNNw/s512/SC20111022-225208.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/10 "2012-03-08T03:20:37Z")
I \<3 Perry ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/11 "2012-03-08T03:21:23Z")
if he were a toddler, he would be described as insecure instead of loving. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/12 "2012-03-08T03:29:22Z")
I have 4 cats in my house, 2 are mine. It wasn’t like I had the two and then the other two moved in later, the entry order is all mixed up. But for whatever reason, one of my is obsessed with me, while the other is generally standoffish but much more affectionate with me. The other tow are more even. The thing is I didn’t do anything that I know of to encourage different behavior. It is possibly that I unconsciously treated my two differently, but it wasn’t intentional and I’m not aware I did so. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/13 "2012-03-08T03:52:27Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > if he were a toddler, he would be described as insecure instead of loving. He would! Whenever I get home he shoulders his way past the dog to cuddle me, and this is an excitable JRT, so that’s a lot to get past. And this got worse after we went on holiday last year. But he still had food and shelter (our house) and was about eight months old - and when we got back he was totally fixated on ME. [Perry](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jEmaQwHQ7YM/T1gnU6NiPyI/AAAAAAAABAs/bWj8ZeJWW-0/s640/perry2.jpg), while trying to get to me. [Perry](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ilnndsIvPR0/T1gndXfPMMI/AAAAAAAABA0/v6qnn6BNGJY/s512/perrybox.jpg), in repose for a change. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/14 "2012-03-08T04:07:00Z")
You probably pet good. ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/15 "2012-03-08T04:07:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > [To make that idea a little more disturbing, here’s a Dr. Who clip!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38DgjKQhhys&feature=related) 😃 Now that was disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/16 "2012-03-08T04:48:51Z")
Every cat I’ve known has liked one person in the family more than others. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/17 "2012-03-08T04:59:44Z")
I have never had a cat but I had a housemate with a cat for a while. At first it was terrified of me and then one day it decided out of the blue that it loved me more than anyone else ever. I never fed it but I would give it the occasional treat but everyone else in the house did too. I never even paid it much attention because I am a dog person and have always been neutral about cats. It didn’t make a damn bit of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/18 "2012-03-08T07:12:25Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Cats is weird. My cat adores me; my husband’s cat adores him. My cat tolerates him and his cat likes me okay, but they LOVE their respective humans. I don’t know why they are this way. Basically, “cats is weird” is gonna be the answer to any question that starts off “Why do cats” or “Why does my cat”. There are four cats in the Bodoni household, and two are definitely mine, and two are definitely my husband’s. My cats love him, but prefer me. And his think that I’m great, but they are Daddy’s kitties. And we’ve had other cats, and every single cat has been attached to one human more than the other humans in the family. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/19 "2012-03-08T15:45:14Z")
One of our cats likes me, but \*luuurrves \*my husband. And she’s the one I found outside at 3ish weeks old and raised and bottle-fed and everything! The other one loves everyone; she’s an equal opportunity cuddler. She usually sits in my lap, but I think she’d sit in anyone’s, really. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098/20 "2012-03-08T15:57:25Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > He would! Whenever I get home he shoulders his way past the dog to cuddle me, and this is an excitable JRT, so that’s a lot to get past. And this got worse after we went on holiday last year. But he still had food and shelter (our house) and was about eight months old - and when we got back he was totally fixated on ME. > > [Perry](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jEmaQwHQ7YM/T1gnU6NiPyI/AAAAAAAABAs/bWj8ZeJWW-0/s640/perry2.jpg), while trying to get to me. > [Perry](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ilnndsIvPR0/T1gndXfPMMI/AAAAAAAABA0/v6qnn6BNGJY/s512/perrybox.jpg), in repose for a change. That expression he has in the first pic makes me call him a smuglet – from smug and snuggle of course. One of my cats is only interested in attention from me. He can be quite adorable but I have to watch him as he’s prone to imperiously demanding my attention in rather unacceptable ways like climbing up my back to pull my hair. I showed him I wasn’t at all impressed by this so he’s modified it to standing up on his hind legs and patting my head, which is rather sweet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-cat-love-me-so-much/615098.md?page=2)