‘Is the heating going to be on?’ Belle asked me as we were on our way home yesterday evening.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I put it on earlier for the cats. In case they got cold.’
She looked at me.
‘The cats who spend the whole night outside and are covered in fur?’ she asked, eyebrows raised.
‘Yes,’ I said, feeling a bit silly, ‘I didn’t want them to be sad.’
AND THERE WE ARE.
Welcome to my new life, in which I spend an unreasonable amount of time every day worrying about whether or not my cats are happy. Because how exactly do you know if a cat is happy? What if they are bored? What if they get lonely and miss me but don’t know how to tell me? What if they wish I’d leave the radio on, or would like a different blanket?
Every time I leave the house I wonder if they’ll be sad, not knowing when I’m coming back, (I do tell them but I never see them write it down), or if when I DO come back they will have forgotten me. It can be hard with cats because they often don’t give a lot away. A dog will make it very clear how happy he is, but cats play it much cooler. Someone on Twitter said to me recently that cats can actually understand and speak English, they just CHOOSE not to. I feel like this could be true.
I know I’m doing all the basics – they’re microchipped, vaccinated, treated for fleas and worms regularly and have a balanced diet, (WHISKAS® ‘creamy soups’ are their favourites, and I find it adorable that they are called ‘creamy soups’), but how about their emotional wellbeing? Are my cats happy?
When you look at it rationally, they do seem pretty content.
They mainly lie around on top of me on the bed like this:
I love the way they all bundle together with their paws casually draped around each other. Camille, who is the tortoiseshell, is particularly fond of resting her head on Endeavour and sometimes when he is asleep I’ll watch her sidle up to him and just very gently put her head on his tummy, hoping that he won’t notice.
When I come home, they seem pleased to see me, and follow me around in a gang. If I go upstairs they will all run up after me, and when I go down again, there they are under my feet.
They gather themselves and stare at me:
They nudge my hands with their head and purr at me, and they have an uncanny knack of knowing just as I am waking up and jumping on the bed and into my face. If they come in through the cat flap and I am upstairs I will hear them call out, as if asking where I am.
‘I’m up here!’ I’ll call back, and they will run up to see me.
If they’re in the right mood, they will fling themselves over onto their backs as I pass, offering up their tummies.
Generally, as far as the ‘is my cat happy?’ question goes, the signs seem positive.
For extra reassurance I checked out WHISKAS® K.I.T, The Kat Institute of Technology. WHISKAS® K.I.T a brand new YouTube channel full of short, fun videos about different aspects of cat health and wellbeing. Want to know why your cat purrs? Interested in getting their meows translated? Unsure of what makes a healthy cat diet? WHISKAS® K.I.T has the answers.
Here’s the video I watched that asks ‘how do I know if my cat is happy?’
Watching the video did reassure me. My cats do all of the things that WHISKAS® says are signs of cat happiness, plus they’ve yet to leave me a note complaining when I forget to put the heating on.
(Because you just know they could if they wanted to.)
Do you worry about your pets being happy or am I just being a crazy cat lady?? Please leave a comment and reassure me!
This post is a collaboration with Whiskas, but all thoughts are my own. Check out their website and their KIT hub for more information on cat happiness and their Youtube video for fantastic KIT videos.
As a fellow Somerset crazy cat lady, I’m always wondering if my cats are happy. Considering I treat them as my children and give them everything they desire, I still had to watch the video you suggested. I can confirm that they are both happy
Author
What’s the matter with us?? I swear I worry more about the cats than my own children! I guess it’s because you just KNOW with kids – or they can tell you.
I would say that your cats are not only very, very happy but they are also very, very lucky.
I turn the heating on for my cats; I fall over litter trays and toys scattered around the house; I buy them gourmet food because that is what they like; I stay seated for at least half an hour if one of them sits on my lap and yes I do worry about them if they are even a tiny bit out of sorts.
Your post and pics are fab. Thank you..
Author
That is ME! I found myself the other day looking at those teeny tiny trays of deluxe foods that are about £10 each and thinking ‘hmmm’, I bet they’d like that :-)
My cats, 5 boys 3 girls are happy even though I could never let them go out all night. I get the outdoor boys in & settled down with a little light supper, always Whiskas, otherwise I would not be able to sleep.
Author
I know what you mean Jennifer. We kept ours indoors totally for the first couple of months until they had all had their operations, and then for a few months after that I couldn’t bring myself to let them out at night. They do go out now, but they never go far. Whenever I come home they always appear either just outside or just inside the front door :-)
I’ve a cat and a dog and worry if they’re both ok (and feel guilty if I don’t think they are! My cat is not well tonight, a bit stressed by a new crying baby in the house I think. Worried doesn’t even cover it. Time to splash cash and buy stuff to make him better!
I love cats, however, they sometimes seem to be better suited to take care of theselves. They come and go as they please, sometimes sneaking off on new years to take photos and give the impression they don’t need others. Do you have a dog? Dogs are sensitive, need lots of care too and get really worried when left behind. Dogs appear to be more loyal but maybe not as smart as cats? I’m not sure, only my opinion. What do you think?
I have 2 cats in my family, Tigger & Misty. They purr all the time, which I was told was a sign that they are happy little creatures!!! Both love cuddles and curling up on my knee, but Misty the female cat does everything on her terms, whereas Tigger who is a male is just so chilled out.
Oh my goodness they are adorable! I worry about my cats all the time. My parents think I am mad but who else is there to care about them? Cats rock!