Is my cat jealous of my partner?
Are cats jealous? l Chen Yi Wen
Since your new boyfriend is at home … it seems that your cat is jealous. He pees out of his sandbox and does not behave like he usually does. Is it possible that a cat is jealous? Daniel Fillion, specialist in feline behavior for Educhateur, gives us the answer.
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"I have told you! My cat is jealous of my new boyfriend. I have many tests to prove it. " It is what my cousin continues to affirm even if I told her that it is not possible for a cat to be jealous.
"How is it possible? So, explain to me why do you pee in your sports bag and not in mine? Why has he started to pee on his side of the bed when he had never done it before? He does not like my boyfriend, I already told you. I'll have to choose between one of the two. "
What is jealousy for the cat?
We know that the cat has emotions, although science still has a long way to go is how to compare those emotions with ours. That's why sometimes we have doubts about our cat's feelings, even towards us. It is a subject to which we must remain prudent.
However, with rIn the case of jealousy, science is quite unanimous: it is very unlikely. Jealousy is defined by the desire to possess the loved one, and is based on the fear of losing it. But you should know that a cat can mate with several others. And a litter can have kittens of different parents. Also, once the mating is over, the cat goes away, does not take care of the little ones. There is not, then, that notion of wanting to own another in the world of cats.
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Jealousy or protection of your resources?
My cousin tells me then: "Is not it possible that my cat loves me for himself?" Well, if we think about it, it's even worse to think that a cat can be jealous of a human, since it is not even jealous of other cats. But we can think that, perhaps, that the cat considers my cousin to be a resource of hugs and he wants to protect them. We would speak, therefore, of resource protection rather than jealousy. For the second would require a level of consciousness that the cat does not have.
Morgan's canon: a simpler explanation of those "jealousy"
Maybe you know the Ockham's principle, which says that of all the possible explanations, the simplest is often the good one. Well, the Canon of Morgan follows the same logic but applied to the animal world. And this can also be applied to understand the actions of my cousin's cat after the arrival of her new boyfriend, what the cat wants to express with them.
Is it possible that your arrival has disturbed the routine at home? More frequent departures and arrivals later, and that the cat does not have the same routine as when its owner did not have a partner? When her boyfriend comes home, he takes his place on the sofa, just where the cat used to lie, for example …
In short, it is possible that the presence of the groom is, in fact, associated with two things that the cat detests more than any other: the change of routines and changes in their environment. Maybe the smell itself is associated with something unpleasant and stressful, so the cat tries to make it disappear urinated where that smell is more present: the sports bag or the side where he sleeps. These are the most likely explanations and for which there is a solution.
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If they are not jealousy, what is the solution?
This is one of the best kept secrets … When we are in love we are willing to do anything for that person. And if we "win" the cat, we will surely earn points with its owner. That is why we must take the opportunity to give a new "candy" to our hairy. Ask your new partner to play with him, so the cat will not perceive the novelty as a disturbing element, a change of routine or environment, but rather as something fun for him.
Written by: Daniel Filion
Expert in feline behavior.
www.educhateur.com
Read also: 10 tips to adapt your house to a cat!
