Do Cats Like Other Cats? Do Cats Form Genuine Connections?

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

Do cats feel love for other cats?  Are cats capable of love at all?

You might wonder these things if your cats are fighting all the time or if your kitty doesn’t seem to like you very much.

Fortunately, we’re here to answer all your questions about cats and their ability to love, so keep reading!

Do Cats Like Other Cats?

Ask cat owners, and most will tell you that cats are capable of love and have a close bond with other felines.

But many non-cat owners think that cats are incapable of complex emotions because our kitties seem cold and reserved.

Who’s right, and who’s wrong? When it comes to communication, cats rely on body language to convey what they think

That’s why it’s so hard to say what a cat feels towards other animals or people. But we’ll do our best to satisfy your curiosity.

Do Cats Have Emotional Attachment?

In the past, people believed that animals didn’t have a soul and weren’t capable of emotions.

Thanks to scientific advancement, we know that animals aren’t insensitive, but they don’t have the same range of feelings as humans.

The question is what emotions cats have and if they are capable of emotional attachment to people or other animals.

What Emotions Do Cats Have?

If only we could ask our cats how they feel and what they want, life would have been so much easier.

Unfortunately, cats remain a mystery and don’t seem inclined to share their species secrets. So, let’s see what science has to say.

A study in the Netherlands and Belgium asked owners to name the most common emotions they think their pets exhibit.

All cat owners reported:

• surprise
• anger
• fear
• joy
• sadness
• disgust.

Owners also identified mainly one complex emotion: jealousy, while shame, compassion, and disappointment were rarely mentioned.

Interestingly, dog owners reported happiness more often, while cat owners reported anger.

A study in Japan also confirmed that cats exhibit all primary emotions but concluded that cat owners considered their pets less emotional and more distant than dogs.

These studies show that cats have emotions, but they aren’t as good at expressing them as dogs.

Are Cats Capable Of Love?

While we often ascribe human feelings to our pets, cats aren’t people. You can’t expect them to act, think, or feel as a person would.

They’re cats and live in the present without worrying about the future or regretting their past.

I’m not saying that cats are cold-hearted and unable to love other cats or people.

They attach emotionally to other cats or people, but it’s unlikely that cats understand love as we do or fall in love.

A study tested emotional attachment in cats with a simple exercise. The owners spent two minutes with their kittens before they left the room.

When the people returned, they had another two-minute session with their cats.

The results of this simple experiment showed that the majority of the kittens (64%) felt less stressed during the reunion session than when alone and showed signs of secure attachment.

While these cats missed their owner, they knew that he or she would be back.

As such, scientists conclude that cats can form an emotional attachment, just like children and dogs. But it’s not the equivalent of human love.

Do Cats Feel Love For Other Cats?

Most cats don’t mind being the single pet or having all your attention and devotion to themselves.

There’s a good explanation for why cats don’t welcome other cats with open paws when you bring a new cat home.

In the wild, cats rarely mingle with other cats unless they are reproducing or defending territory.

They don’t hunt in packs, don’t stick together for protection, and don’t form social structures with a strict hierarchy.

Still, some cats grow fond of each other to the point that they grieve when they lose a cat friend or become separated.

And others seem to hate their cat companions with a passion. As such, I would say that cats do have feelings for other cats.

Why Do Cats Love Or Hate Each Other?

You’ve probably seen cats that co-exist peacefully and others that can’t stand another pet’s smell.

So why do some cats love each other so much and others don’t?

When cats are forced to live together, it’s complicated because they have to share territory, food resources, and your attention.

Some cats are simply too territorial or possessive to allow it, and they can’t tolerate another feline.

On the other hand, cats have strong bonds with family members or pets they’ve known since kittenhood.

Such attachments allow them to live together peacefully, for the most part. Gender also matters. Male cats can be quite aggressive when intact, even when related.

They’re likely to fight over territory and for the attention of the ladies. However, females can also be vicious and highly protective of their territory, especially if they have kittens.

After all, there could be only one queen in a household. Besides these factors, temperament and socialization also play a significant role in how well cats accept new additions to the household.

The more friendly the cat, the more likely they’re to bond with other cats and become best friends.

But you have to introduce them properly and make sure that neither cat feels neglected or ignored.

Do My Cats Love Each Other?

If you have multiple cats, you know how much they enjoy chasing each other around the house.

These games can be quite mean at times, making it hard to determine your cats’ feelings for one another.

So, how can you tell if your cats love each other? You look for body clues, such as:

• Mutual grooming
• Face and body rubbing
• Sleeping together
• Playing and chasing

On the other hand, pulled back ears, raised hackles, angry meowing, growing, and clawing are signs that something is wrong between your cats, and you should intervene.

Even if your cats like each other, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be tension over food, toys, sleeping places, or your attention.

To avoid fights between cats that love each other:

• Make sure that all cats have separate bowls, litter boxes, and suitable beds.
• Don’t neglect your cat’s physical and emotional needs.
• Spend enough quality time with all your pets, or your cats can become jealous of each other. 

Can Cats Have Crushes On Other Cats?

If cats have feelings for other cats, can our kitties have crushes?

It might seem likely if your cat spends a lot of time with your neighbor’s cat. Well, cats don’t have “crushes,” at least not in the way humans do.

However, when your cat’s sexual hormones start raging, they might begin to follow other cats around.

Male cats are especially prone to stalking females, even when the female is spayed. 

Some cats might also appear to have a crush on other cats because they’re curious.

Your cat might be trying to judge if the other cat is a danger to their territory or is intrigued by the other cat’s behavior.

Do Cats Have Feelings For Their Owners?

Do cats love their owners or have feelings for them?

When your cat hates it when you hold them or doesn’t keep you company, you might doubt your feline feelings for you.

Since cats have an emotional attachment, they can bond with the person who takes care of them.

They just don’t show it as openly as dogs.

Bringing you dead gifts, walking between your legs, sleeping on your bed, or grooming your hair are some of the most common ways cats express affection. 

Some cats also bite and scratch to mark you as their possession and warn other pets to stay away.

So, we can say that cats can be a bit possessive when it comes to their humans.

Do Cats Know We Love Them?

You love your cat, but does your cat know you love them? Do cats feel love when you kiss them? These are interesting questions.

We can’t be sure what goes through a cat’s head, but I’m sure that cats know how much we love them.

After all, we feed them, spoil them, and care for them. Cats have to appreciate that, even if they don’t show it much.

As for kisses and hugs, felines don’t always regard them as signs of love. For some cats, you kissing them is a form of grooming, and they accept it as an affectionate gesture.

But other cats might hate it because you’re forcing your attention on them. If you want to show your cat you love them, slowly blink at them. That’s the equivalent of a feline kiss.

There’s much we don’t know about cats and their ability to love other cats or humans.

It’s evident that mother cats love their offspring, but they still drive the kittens away when they’re old enough to be independent.

As such, I would say that cats have feelings for other cats and people, but it’s a different kind of love than the one we’re used to. It’s not less significant; it’s just different.

What do you think about this topic? Do cats feel love for other cats or their owners? Tell us your opinion in the comment section.