Cats are commonly very affectionate and loving animals. But they do not establish their love that easily except their owners. They would love to show themselves caring and show it. For instance, they get on the laps, rub their tail on the face, and get the warmth by sleeping near and so on. But some cats do not wish physical attention. They want to stay near the masters; however, not show that physically. Instead, you can see them turning aggressive when the pet owners are with other pets or did not pay attention to them.
Apart from all these signs, if you are a feline owner, you must have noticed that they are following you. Everywhere! Not just the first-time pet owners, but even the experienced owners have this action highly questionable. “Why does my cat follow me?” The answers can be varied. There is no single reason to predict why the cats follow you. Depending on the situation, this will keep changing, and you need to have the capacity to translate.
One thing you must understand is that cats follow you only because you are their trusted partner. You are their “best friend type,” and that’s the root cause. What exactly happens when you are with your best friend at school, college, and even in the office? Don’t you hang out together? Well! It is more or less the same. The principal behavior of following you is because they enjoy your company. Adding more to it, this article will help you find various other valid answers for your question of why your cats follow you everywhere.
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Following for Safety
Have you seen that the kittens follow their mothers? That’s where everything starts. From their younger age, they learn everything, and it becomes a habit later. It may feel much weirder for you. But definitely, it is just a habit from their childhood. For them, following their mother feels like they are in the right and safer place. Hence, they develop their maternal-child instincts with their owners to feel safer. You may feel awkward at times, but to the cats, they embrace the bond and relationship.
On the other hand, the owners contribute by feeding the cats, cleaning their boxes, protect them, teaching them, and so on. You show them affection in abundance, which makes them feel closer to you. Therefore, you don’t have to be curious about the fact that they are following. Even if you don’t consider yourself a mother to them, think if you were their elder sibling. By playing with them and setting them a secured base, you pass on those instinctive thoughts in them.
Cat behavior specialists see this action differently. The cats that were separated from their mothers at a very younger age become over-dependent. When younger ones are away from the natural weaning process, where the motherhood gradually reduces as they grow up, they look up to their owners for protection. The kittens consider humans to be the substitute, but they eventually become vulnerable. Therefore, the following is just one such action to show that they are secure near you.
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Following to mark its territory.
Even though cats are domesticated, they are natural predators. By their roots and origin, one of their day to day activities is to mark territories. You can see them that they pace around an area and clearly find their place for themselves. However, it is not the only reason for this type of action; they also feel very attached to the place; hence they do not usually allow anyone to intrude easily.
For instance, you can see that the cats are rubbing one specific furniture at home. It means they are marking territory, and when someone uses the chair except their owners or family, they behave strangely. You may not understand this deeply, but they do not like someone using it. What’s surprising is it is not only the place or object that they feel like a territory but even people.
By making you a territory, they are ensuring that you are being guarded. Mainly when the cats have grown in an enclosed area or an apartment, they consider humans to be the territory. They are not sure how to align their instincts when there are not enough places. Hence, they distract it from their owners to ensure it’s their safe place. By following you everywhere, they are becoming protective of you and offering their company room to room.
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Following you during playtime
Cats spend most of the time dozing off. But when they have their own playtime, they utilize it very well. Cats spend all their energy playing for a longer time. Importantly, when they have the partners to play, they become highly excited just because they love running and chasing games. Their partners can be fellow cats or any other friendly pets for that matter. They always look for partners who are as intuitive as they play some hunter games.
When cats do not have any partners or if going out and playing is rare with them, then they turn towards their owners. They become inevitably instinctive, and they cannot end it right away. Hence for their stimulation to continue, they look up for their owners to play with them. It is when they start to follow you often. The cat behavior analysts say that humans become stimuli for them to release their hunting energy. This type of distraction is common in them. For example, the cats tend to hunt for birds, or some even hide themselves to attack you or pound on you. These actions may not fulfill them, but they consider having the right fun.
You can try playing with them for a while as a routine or provide them playtime in the backyard if you have one. Now the smartest way to get rid of them following you for playing is by buying them dedicated toys. For instance, you can take a look at Motorized Wand cat toy, which will be interactive and automotive. They can spend even the whole day playing with them and release their hunting energies quickly.
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Following because cats feel bored
Most people have seen their cats being lazy. But suddenly, on some days, they become pro-active. In a sense, their energy is too high, and they start playing around, pushing things and trying you to make you chase them. These are very common with indoor cats. Only they go inside the empty carton boxes and try to jump out of there. All this may annoy you a bit, but primarily, they are doing all this because they are bored.
The cats were naturally brought up in an enriched environment, where there is more to explore. Remember, in the wild. They feel like everything belongs to them. But in homes, it’s not the case. The places and objects are the same; hence they feel bored quickly. During this time, they start interacting with their owners to beat the boredom. That’s when they try to follow you everywhere.
The vets always suggest the owners practice some routines every day from the kitten. For example, cat owners can teach them ways to distract the mind when they feel bored. The scratching pads are one of the excellent examples when they want to indulge in some activities. Check Amazon Basic Scratching Post and Hammock – one of the best ways to keep the cats engaged. In this way, they will not disturb you, and it will be the first thing they will look up when they are bored.
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Following for a help
Since cats follow for numerous reasons, many owners do not pay attention when they need them. Later the owners tend to regret often. Especially when something is bothering them, they start to seek your care by following you. When they have pain or injured themselves or feel intimidated, they may not be able to hide it from you for a long time. They are highly discomforted and wanted to inform you badly.
When they follow you usually, then you need to look at what they need immediately. Some cats follow you around by meowing a lot than usual. It is more likely that they are in pain or need something. If you can find the reason, then it is good, but if you can’t, then take them to the vets and specialists to understand the problems.
Sometimes, they might be scared of a stranger or some other pets of the neighborhood. It’s only because they get intimidated. But there are other changes when the cats follow you unusually because they wanted to hide something. For example, when they hunt rats and leave them in the garden. Many owners may have encountered this. Also, during these times of crisis, it is recommended that you take action immediately. If you don’t warn them or being strict about bringing hunted rats’ home, then it will become a habit for them quickly.
The reasons mentioned above are some of the occasions or situations in which the cats follow you. There are some other ways in which they seek attention from you. It always differs from cat to cat. Here is the table for you to understand the attention-seeking behaviors.
Sings of Attention Seeking |
What they really want? |
| Insistent Meowing | When they are in constant pain
Seeing owner after a long time |
| Jumping or Pounding | When they are hungry
If they find owners playing with some other pets |
| Pawing | When the cats are not used to human interaction other than owners
When cats don’t want to be left alone |
| Walking between legs | While taken to a new or strange place that the cats are not used to
Mysteriously noisy place or dark area to walk |
| Stealing Objects | Seeking attention to play with them
Feeling bored |
We hope now it’s clear that the following should not be the only concern. Since the cat’s behavior changes from one cat to another, you may not be able to trace this out. Always the cats have been known as a selfish pet or they being aloof, but the truth is when they find the real humans who care for them, their interactions are different. Never compare cats with any other pets as its evident that their behavioral pattern is entirely different.
Why the stray cats follow you?
The fact that your pet cat following you has a wide range of reasons. But are you being followed by a stray or feral cat? Then here is the reason.
The cat’s specialists have a different theory. Sometimes you can see that even the stray or feral cats tend to follow you. Mostly it’s assumed that they are following for food or they are hungry. But often these street cats follow people who already have cats as their pets at home. Somehow, they can sense that you are an owner, and hence they follow you. It is one of the strangest behaviors of cats that are not yet cracked how. Maybe it’s the scent or even they have seen you with cats.
To understand why the street cats follow you, you should know the primary difference between the stray and feral cats. Therefore, you can understand the requirements easily.
Stray Cats |
Feral Cats |
| They are either lost the way to home or missed the owners during a crowd or incident. | It is an outdoor cat (Not a wild cat). From an early age, she has been on the street. |
| These cats are sociable, and for a period, they were dependent on humans only. | They are not prone to any human interaction. After a while even when they are taken home, they try to escape to reach the streets |
| Follow the cat owners to get attention and reach any home | Follow owners because they are hungry and like to get fed. |
It may be able to be proved right because the cat might have lost way home. They are highly intuitive; hence they start following the cat owners easily. Since they are socialized to humans already, it’s not going to harm you. Even your pet cat, when taken out, they will be easy to socialize with the fellow pet owners. Whether the theory is true or not, you can still approach the cat without any fear.
Check if the stray cats have some tags in the collar. If so, then you can easily identify or call the owner. But just in case if you can’t find anything, then you don’t have to be worried. All they need is little attention and help. You can even call for some NGOs or pet centers to take care of these cats. Numerous centers across the country are willing to offer help to the stray cats. Meanwhile, if you have time, you can introduce yourself to that cat and feed them something. Ensure that you wash and sanitize your hands properly.
How should you react when cats follow you?
Reacting to the cats when they follow is always up to the owners. There is no standard method on how you should be reciprocating. However, there is one thing for sure – never ignore them. Always acknowledge when they follow you. Ensure that the cats appreciate and understand it.
As you know, cats are routine animals. When you practice them for something, they are not going to change it unless you want them to. Hence, if you don’t want to be followed, then practice them by distracting using objects or playful games. But even the experts say that there is no harm that you allow them to be part of your daily activities. Give them some time every day, and you can gradually reduce the frequency or the desperation of them to follow. It is a smart choice to experiment but always give a try.
Eventually, you should know that cats love you.
Saying all that mentioned above may seem like the reasons for the cats to follow you on different occasions. But there is one thing that remains unchanged in any of the situations – they follow you because they love you.
You see, cats generally tend to have family time. They may feel shy or reluctant and not much social than any other pets. But once they consider you as their family, they do not want to move away from you. When you bring them home as kittens, they gradually get the warmth, comfort, and trust from the family in which they are being adopted. You may want to consider them as only pets, but to them, it’s more than that.
The cats have seen how the parents play with their kids, how couples cuddle, how the siblings fight. They learn a lot from humans, including this companionship. They observe every detail while they are trying to become part of it already. Hence, they consider their owners as mothers, siblings, friends, and companions. Just like how you are offering shelter, food, and love, and thus even they wanted to reciprocate the same to the owners. The cats wanted to establish that they love you, and following is one of their found ways to do it.
