Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
OK, this is probably a stupid question, but what does it mean when a cat winks? I read somewhere that it means something.
~Barb
Siouxsie: Let us start by assuring you that there’s no such thing as a stupid question, Barb.
Thomas: In fact, we think it’s highly commendable that you want to learn more about the subtle language of cats.
Dahlia: We cats do a lot of talking with our eyes. When we confront another cat, we do so with our eyes wide open and our pupils narrow — engaging in a stare-down, if you will. When we want some petting, we’ll sit on the floor and look up at you with big eyes and somewhat dilated pupils to show love and adoration (and a desire for your attention).
Siouxsie: When we stare with narrowed eyes, that’s an expression of haughty disgust. And when we’re upset at humans, we stare with open eyes and our top eyelids almost flat and pointed down toward our nose.
Thomas: The expressions we use to express our love — to another cat or to a human — are the slow blink and the wink.
Dahlia: The wink signifies “I like you, you’re kind of fun” or “Thanks for the treat/snack/toy/etc.”
Siouxsie: But the ultimate expression of love is the slow blink. Some people call the slow blink a “cat kiss.”
Thomas: The slow blink is a gesture in which we gradually close both eyes, keep the eyes closed for a second, and then slowly reopen the eyes.
Dahlia: You can try giving your cat a kiss with your eyes and see how she responds. Usually if you give an eye-kiss and your cat is paying attention, she’ll give you one in return. I love it when Mama gives me eye-kisses. And lip-kisses. And petties in all the right places! And verbal acknowledgment of my beauty, grace, elegance, intelligence, lovely tail, perfectly maintained fur …
Siouxsie: All right, all right. That’s enough! We all appreciate it when Mama tells us she knows how wonderful we are, but it’s in really poor taste to brag about it.
Thomas: When you visit a home with a cat, you can try giving the resident cat an eye-kiss. You’ll probably see that the cat will be encouraged by your polite approach to making friends with him, and he may even condescend to sit on your lap and allow you to pet him.
Dahlia: We do recommend that you practice the eye-kiss in a relaxed environment. Most cats won’t respond to eye-kisses if there’s a lot of noise and chaos around them.
Siouxsie: When there’s a lot of activity, we cats have to be on guard to make sure we’re safe and we know everything that’s going on in our environment. Cat kisses require focused attention and, because we have to close our eyes to give kisses, we can’t be as aware of possible danger.
Thomas: So, Barb, you’re right. A cat’s wink does mean something. It means she likes you.
Dahlia: But sometimes, as Mama says, a cigar is just a cigar. We cats do wink or blink when we get something in our eye, too. But those winks and blinks are typically fast, and the cat that blinks because he’s got something in his eye generally isn’t looking at a person or another cat.
Siouxsie: We hope we’ve helped you to understand some of the subtleties of cat language, Barb.
Thomas: If you’re interested in learning more about other cat body language, we’ve got columns in our archives dealing with aggressive and defensive body language, as well as the language of ears, tails and whiskers.
Dahlia: Thank you for your question, Barb, and thank you for wanting to learn more about what your cat friends are saying to you.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Hello,
i have had my cat for a while now, 4 years i think!, and i have resently bought a kitten, i was hoping that they would get along.
However my eldest cat isnt as friendly anymore and he seems not to want anything to do with my kitten
any advice please?
~ LotsOfLove Dalia xx
Cats can get territorial when a new member of their own species is introduced. To them it can feel as if this new cat may be thought as a better cat and as their replacement.
if you are affectionate with your household cat friends and want them to be comfortable with each other, there are a few things you can try that may help.
one is to provide several cat perches (with scratching posts) in the room where you hang out most, ideally around eye level with you when you’re relaxing seated. ideally have one for every household cat, and each perch in the sun at the same time. this allows the cats to have their own space with less competition.
then get two similar stick toys with the string or snake at the end. or if your older cat likes certain types of toys, get a couple of those. (just be aware cats should not play with string unattended as swallowing it can injure them.)
at the same time every day, not too long after a meal, play with the little one for a moment to encourage him to come near the older one but not too near. then pet the older cat and talk to him, then play a bit with the older one with the other toy. then if no one is doing anything undesirable like hissing or attacking each other, give the older one a treat…then give both the older one and the young one a treat at the same time.
then play with both at the same time or alternating back and forth for a few minutes.
if at any time the older one reacts playfully or positively to the young one, give him a treat and then give both a treat. even if your older cat does not seem to want to play, he will appreciate the attention of you moving a toy around for him, talking to him, petting him, and giving him a treat.
cats are creatures of habit and make strong positive associations with playing (hunting), and your personal attention and food (security.) feeding and playing with them at the same time every day makes them more secure, as cats are strongly programmed to expect yesterday’s events to happen exactly that time today. this probably has to do with the fact that rodents tend to have regular daily routines!
cats can also do math and know when someone else is getting more of your attention than they are. kittens do benefit from extra attention; try to give it to them quietly when the older cat is in another room….and when the older cat is around, always pet him, feed him, and talk to him both first and last. and if the kitten sits on or next to you, pat your other side and look at the older cat to invite him to join you both before and after giving attention to the kitten. he may not come but will remember that you wanted to give him attention. especially at first, this reinforces that you have not forgotten him.
another thing you can do is distract the kitten if he is doing something the older cat doesn’t like. for example, if the kitten is attacking the older cat and the older cat looks annoyed, get a toy and play with the kitten. stop periodically to pet the older cat and finish by blinking at the older cat before you walk away. this models positive behavior toward the kitten, shows your older cat you are thinking about him, and protects your older cat from annoying kitten stuff that he’s not used to.
it also helps to have more than one litter box and to clean all boxes twice a day.
anything that associates fun with hanging out together or reduces a feeling of competition for space or needs can be helpful! ;)
All of this info was really helpful. Thanks : )
I tried to slow blink to my cat to express my love for her but she just looks away! I hope this isn’t a bad sign :[
When a cat looms away even when u slow blink it’s a good sign. If a cat doesn’t trust you they will stare u down. So if they look away then they don’t feel threatened to have to stare you out the slow blink will come took me kitten about a week to do it back. Get on there level and keep trying it will happen don’t worry
yes look away is polite it means i am not a threat to you, while a slow blink means i am safe with you. cats naturally stare when they are hunting, fighting, or want something like food (i.e. hunting.) with cats many gestures relate naturally to hunting or fighting because although they are social animals and have feelings for their friends and family, they hunt alone and are carnivores so the hunting instincts must be strong for survival of the species:)
da buen resultado parpadie lentamente y me guiño el ojo
:3 muy buena la columna
¡Muchas gracias!
My cat winks at me ALL the time! But, I didn’t know what it meant. Now I do! So, if you cat winks at you, wink back! But, if he/she doesn’t wink, wink at them first. Who knows? Maybe then they’ll start winking to you!?
slow blink means i am safe with you…blink and look down to one side can mean sadness or a kind of sympathy…winks are something else entirely:)
SORRY I meant So, if YOUR cat winks at you, wink back!! Sorryzzzzzzzzzzz!
You know you can edit your comment.
Expelliarmus!
O did it my cat winked back sat on my lap strait a way and rubbed his head against me hand he is now very nice
In my limited human experience–and maybe the kitty quorum can confirm this–cats also wink the left or right eye for very specific reasons. I forget now which is which, being a little bit dyslexic. But in my experience it’s consistently one eye if they have an itch or a discomfort, say a bumped head; and the other eye if they are embarrassed or confused, either for themselves or for a goofy human. (And if you wink at them they may give you a look, like “Hmm, trying to CAT again?”) Observe and you may be a bit shocked like I was to suddenly realize that all of this has been going on all along with each and every “housecat.” Right, Guys? :-)
I got used to my cat winking her left eye if im holding her or teasing her and shes not bothered to carry on and wants to be left alone ?
Slow blink is love with a slight, front tilt of the chin
Shes excited and wants to play if she blinks both quickly while starring at me and immediately runs around the house
Each cat has a different personality so u need to get used to your cat
wink and blink are two different things, and there are different kinds of each as well. eyes mean a lot to cats, similar to our gestures but not exactly the same :-)
Ps winking back with the correct eye at the correct time can be a sympathetic gesture…as in, that loud noise hurt my ears, too…or you can’t be as clumsy as I am I’m such a goof. For reals, don’t take my word for it, observe your feline companion and see for yourself!
I noticed my little girl has been blinking. I volunteer at an all feline shelter. I never thought to ask. But now I know, and it’s what I figured : love, admiration, they like their human. Thanks!
i just blinked slowly with both eyes, (thank you for the info)
My cat, Cinderheart almost always winks at me when she’s in a good mood.
might be teasing you ;-)
blinking and winking are two very different things in cats
I noticed my kitten / cat winks at me almost every day and she hardily ever growls or hiss or bit or scratch.
left eye or right eye? Left eye might be a really loud noise, toothache, or ear mites…right eye might be asking why you are doing something that is weird or undesirable to cats but enjoyable to us, like music or lotion or lemon juice!
In Thomas’ third to last answer, did you mean “consent” rather than “condescend”?
Cat body language!
Here’s the deal. Cat gestures and use of those gestures can be pretty subtle and easy to miss, and often resemble ours which can be a little different.
In addition, most house cats live their lives mostly communicating with humans. As a result they give up on gestures that we don’t respond to, and try to get our attention by acting more like us; for example, meowing more than they naturally would. And feral cats just avoid humans, staring or ignoring them.
Some gestures are more obvious. Many cat people are well aware that their “tame” cats will give a slow blink to show contentment and trust, wrap themselves around human ankles at mealtimes, or turn their back and assume sphinx position in a huff. And most of us are familiar with certain things cats consistently say with their tails. But there are many other gestures natural to “domestic” cats.
Winks!
These are big. And typically mean physical discomfort or puzzlement. Cats usually favor one side or the other for specific meanings. These gestures are built in, the way we understand a smile, a sneer, or a raised eyebrow.
In my experience, left eye wink usually means itch or ouch, while right eye wink means “huh?”
Your cat will wink back at you, especially with the left eye. But please keep in mind that a left eye wink may cause your cat to worry about you. There are many polite responses to a left eye wink, indicating “yes, that smell/sound/etc bothers me too” or just sympathy.
And the right eye wink can be sarcastic, as in, “lol seriously? wtf are you doing…” (Sarcasm is a standard part of most cats’ vocabulary. It is typically not overemphasized or overused, almost always implied, and cats are keenly aware when they are using it.)
The right eye wink can also be a little critical, as in “yo, why are you hurting my ears with loud noises, touching me with lemon juice or gross lotion on your hands, etc.” The origin of this gesture seems to be, again, “*huh?* isn’t it obvious this is undesirable?”
Left eye wink “huh?” can also express embarrassment, as in “wtf was I doing when I fell off the table” Again, sarcasm is a standard part of most cats’ vocabulary.
Left ear back is similar to left eye wink.
These are programmed responses in domestic cats. They are built in. People think this is crazy because we have our own meanings for these gestures, though there are many correlations in micro-expressions. What’s your natural reaction to a human being smiling or raising an eyebrow?
Left eye wink, right eye wink, meaning. How about left pawed felines?