Cats are known for their independence and ability to get on with life mainly on their terms.
Unlike children, cats can be left in the home when you go out even at a very young age but, do they miss us when we are gone?
Well, according to a 2015 study conducted by the University of Lincoln, cats don’t miss their owners!
They say that cats don’t attach themselves to us in the same way that dogs do.
They also say that there are very few signs that suggest a cat has missed their owner after a lengthy vacation or a long day at work.
I must say I’m not convinced…
Digging a little deeper, opinions appear to be divided on the subject.
Some believe that cats can suffer from what is known as separation anxiety.
Are there signs that your cat has missed you while you’ve been gone?
According to rover.com, extra purring on your return is a sign as well as excess stretching.
You may notice that your cat is agitated, destructive, and even physically sick.
This behavior is in stark contrast to the 2015 study mentioned above.
I’ve had a lot of experience with either myself or my wife returning home to our cat.
I’m British but I now live in the Canary Islands.
I’ve made many trips back to England leaving my wife and Coco on the island.
Whenever I return, I notice that Coco is different with me, it’s like he doesn’t know what to do initially.
After a short while, I pick him up and he always purrs very loudly and deeply.
One time, I FaceTimed my wife from England, and during the call, I decided to do my catcall to Coco to see if he’d come to the phone.
To my amazement, he sprinted into my office and went to my desk to look for me. He thought I was home!
On another occasion, he heard my voice and began sniffing my wife’s phone.
Whenever my wife is out of the house, Coco always meows because he wants to go into the garage.
I open the garage door for him and he always has a puzzled look about him when he realizes that her car isn’t there.
Whenever she returns, he meows his head off, before she’s even driven into the garage! He knows that she’s outside coming in.
He greets her at the door as she walks in and he brushes himself against her legs.
My Final Thoughts
I’m no expert but I think it’s very hard to establish if a cat misses its owner.
I think that it’s hard because I don’t think we can place cats in the same range of human emotions.
There are those that believe that cats have emotional intelligence and I’d have to agree but I think is pretty impossible to give a definitive answer.
I do notice changes in Coco’s behavior when we return home so for simplicity’s sake, I’ll say that I do think he misses us.
Maybe it’s a lot easier to see things this way…
What do you think?
How well do you know your cat? Want to do a quick quiz about cats? Click here…
Lee Harris
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