There could be several reasons why your cat might hate your girlfriend. Cats live by their own rules, and it is difficult to understand the science behind them rejecting anyone. Yes, your feline pal disapproving of your lovemate can be very demoralizing, but you need to maintain a good environment in your home. To help you out in the endeavor, we have compiled a list of 9 ways to make your cat get along with your girlfriend. Let us dig into the answer.
How to Make Your Cat Get Along With Your Girlfriend?
Bringing home a date just for your cat to reject could be heartbreaking. Leaving your girlfriend just because your cat does not like her would be a shame. But hey, you don’t have to leave your dream girl just because your cat doesn’t like her. Here is how you can make sure that your cat falls in love with your cat.
1. ‘Scentize’ Your Cat Before Your Girlfriend Shows Up
Familiarize your cat with the scent of your girlfriend before you introduce both of them physically. Get a piece of your girlfriend’s clothing and let your cat smell it. You can rub it on cat toys, food bowls, etc. This way, when your girlfriend walks in through the door, she won’t be completely unfamiliar with your cat—she will already know her smell.
Moreover, your cat might also leave some of her scents in the cloth, which could be a bonus if your girlfriend wears them at the time of introduction. Or what you can do is rub some of your cat’s stuff onto your girlfriend’s clothing. Your girlfriend emanating your cat’s smell will make the former look less foreign or a threat to the latter.
2. Do Not Let Your Girlfriend Make Direct Eye Contact
Cats think of direct eye contact as a threatening move – they, themselves, do not look other cats in the eyes unless there is a serious standoff. If cats are looked directly into the eyes, they may, thus, feel intimidated and fearful. Resultantly, besides fracturing the nascent relationship between your girlfriend and your cat, she might even become hyper and aggressive.
Therefore, even though your girlfriend might be lured to look at your kitty due to the latter’s charming beauty, she must avoid making direct eye contact.
3. Do Not Look at Her Either!
If your kitty looks at your girlfriend and then averts her gaze for no understandable reason, your girlfriend needs to do the same.
When your girlfriend looks at your kitty, as soon as she looks back, your girlfriend should start looking somewhere else. Doing so will make your kitty feel comfortable and relaxed since she knows that the new person is not trying to invade her space in any way: unlike lots of people, your girlfriend should not be in a hurry to settle matters with your kitty and pet her – let it be in a natural way.
Sounds ironic, but it seems to work. Just completely ignore the cat, do what you are doing and let the cat come to you. Research done on more than 50 Swiss homes shows that cats are more likely to approach a person focusing on something else.
4. Let the Cat Be in Charge
Your girlfriend needs to be ready to spend her time with your cat whenever her majesty chooses it to be. But the key rule here is that the cat must take the initiative.
A 1991 study shows that the interactions between a cat and a person last longer and are happier if they are started by the former. So, the more time your partner and your kitty spend together, the more both of them build a close relationship.
5. Slow Your Girlfriend’s Eye Blinking Rate
Have you ever witnessed a cat blinking very slowly at you? Well, scientists believe that it is the way cats express their love for someone.
How about returning such blinks? Ask your girlfriend to slowly close her eye on your cat whenever she gets a chance (obviously, keeping direct eye contact at the minimum). As it is a form of positive emotions for our feline pals, there would be a high probability of your kitty approaching your ‘unfamiliar’ girlfriend in no time.
6. Ensure Your Cat’s Personal Space
Cats tend to respect the person who respects their personal space. On the other hand, people who do not respect a cat’s personal space make her more aggressive. Your girlfriend, therefore, needs to respect the cat’s personal space and should not jump to pet the cat or touch any of her toys.
7. Start With Petting Only in Certain Areas
Science and studies tell us that cats love to be petted on their forehead and cheeks. A 2002 study shows that cats react positively when petted in those areas; conversely, when petted near the tail, they tend to show aggression.
Based on that, your girlfriend needs to be super-cautious when fondling her new friend. When the ice in their relationship is thawed much, and your kitty allows her to pet, she should only focus on the forehead and cheeks area first.
8. Treats Work Wonders
Like positive reinforcements in training, use your cat’s favorite treats to lure the kitty to come near your girlfriend. Once done, let your girlfriend pet her and offer the kitty a treat. Your cat will eventually associate petting with treats.
But this trick might not work if your kitty is obese – a study from Cornel University shows that when 58 overweight cats were placed on strict dieting, about 70 percent showed more affectionate and loving.
You must also make sure that your cat is not overfed using this trick. It will keep her overall well-being intact.
9. Take it Easy
Your girlfriend must not get frustrated if she fails to attract your cat – it takes time. She must talk to her very softly and lovingly. Yelling does not help; it will only make things worse.
Being hard on kitties, either physically or verbally, can frighten them a lot, harming their relationship with their human beings. On the other hand, cats are more likely to stick around people who tend to talk politely.
How to Gauge Your Success?
Well, your cat is never saying those three magical words. If she said in the cat language (meow meow), you wouldn’t understand. So, to know if your kitty pal has finally started liking your lovemate, look for her body language. If she shows the following signs, congratulations, your girlfriend’s hard work is paying off.
- Kneading (pushing paws)
- Greeting at the door
- Showing the belly
- Meowing
- Purring
- Tail puffed up
Final Words: How to Make Your Cat Get Along With Your Girlfriend?
You can make sure that your cat accepts your girlfriend by keeping the introduction smooth and well-planned. Ensuring they never step off on the wrong foot and your cat neither makes direct eye contact with the kitty nor invades her personal space. Your best bet is to be patient and let the kitty come to your girlfriend first. And when she does, you should pet her on the forehead and cheeks and offer her tasty treats.
Do you have a dog and face the same issue? Learn how to make your dog get along with your girlfriend.
