8 Signs You Have Gained Your Cat's Trust and Loyalty (NOT EASY!)

If your cat trusts you, you've won a true friend for life. In fact, it is trust, not love, that your cat considers the most important aspect of a strong relationship. Unfortunately, a cat's trust is something that is very hard to gain and incredibly easy to lose. You are a lot more powerful and physically stronger than your cat, so when your cat trusts you, in their eyes, they literally trust you with their lives. So, how do you know that your fur baby truly trusts you? Here are nine signs that they do, starting with this really adorable one. Although your own kitty shouldn't have to deal with any predator more ferocious than the vacuum cleaner, in the wild, their ancestors would have had to contend with all kinds of vicious beasts, from leopards to snakes to even larger birds of prey, all looking to turn those moggies into meals. As a result, most cats have an instinctive urge to hide themselves when it's time to sleep. When you first got your own kitty, whether they were a fluffy little kitten or a grown cat fresh from the shelter, you might have noticed that they tended to spend a lot of time hiding until they got used to you. After they figured out that you were a friend, however, they may have started sleeping out in the open more often, or even sleeping next to or on top of you. This is a huge sign of trust, as your kitty is saying that they not only trust you to not personally take advantage of them while they're vulnerable and asleep, but also that they trust you to defend them from anything else that might sneak up on them looking for a snack. When you enter a room, you might see your kitty roll over onto their back, exposing their soft, floofy tummy. You might also have personal experience with what happens when you try to touch that tum. Most cats really don't like it and will not hesitate to get their claws out. So why do they roll over and show you their belly if they don't actually like being touched there? Is it just their idea of a practical joke? No. It's actually your cat's way of showing that they trust you. A cat's belly is the most vulnerable part of their body. A thin shield of fur, skin, and fat is the only thing separating their delicate, vital organs from the outside world. A cat showing you their tummy is their way of saying, I love you enough that I feel okay being vulnerable around you. So what does it mean, then, if your kitty does like having their tummy rubbed? Some cats will never enjoy this experience. Not only is it a bit nerve-wracking for them having somebody touching their vulnerable underside, but the area can also be so sensitive on some cats that being touched there can cause them physical pain. You will get the odd cat, however, who can learn to tolerate having their tummy touched, and a precious few will even enjoy it. A cat allowing you to touch their belly is an intense sign of trust from that cat, and signifies that the two of you have a deep and special bond. Imagine you live in a world full of 72-foot-tall giants, who control everything you do, have immense brain power and physical strength, and are, at the same time, somehow the clumsiest people you've ever met. Now, imagine that those giants sometimes like to pick you up and squeeze you. How do you feel about this? This is basically what it's like for your kitty to have humans try and pick them up. The average human is about six times the size of the average cat, and several times stronger. Yet, they fully trust us to lift them fully off the ground and let us hold them in our arms, despite knowing that we could so easily hurt them, especially by accident. Your cat can leap a distance of eight feet and land gracefully on their paws without stumbling. How do you think it looked to them when they saw you trip over your own shoelace last week? Most cats will never learn to shake the way that a dog will, although some can be trained. Cats don't have an instinctive desire to please us and obey commands the way that a dog does, and learning to shake involves learning to associate one command with three different steps. 1. Lift paw. 2. Put paw in human hand. 3. Allow paw to be shaken. For most cats, it's too much effort for what, from their perspective, is a completely pointless task. But your cat might let you shake their paw on your own, by taking hold of it, lifting it, and shaking it a bit. This might seem less impressive than having your cat play an active role in the process, but if your kitty allows this without protest, then it is still a pretty major deal. Cats rely on all four of their legs to maintain balance, so having one of their feet lifted off the ground is already putting them in a very vulnerable position. Their front paws are also usually their first line of defense, so having this taken away from them can cause a cat to feel unusually helpless. If your cat allows you to hold their paw like this, then that's a sign of true trust. Sign number 6. As cat parents, we all wish that our kitties would realize that we are Seriously, what's the big deal? Why does your cat think that it's appropriate to shove their butt in your face? Well, it's because they're trying to give you a whiff of their scent. No, don't worry. It's not the kind of scent you might be thinking of. Cats have a distinct pheromone scent that they use to communicate information about themselves to other cats, and they have special glands in their butts that make this scent extra strong in that part of their body. It's still kind of gross, but at least it's not quite as gross as you might have been thinking. Sharing information about yourself is already a huge sign of vulnerability, but when your cat shows you their butt, they're showing you trust in more ways than one. By facing away from you, they're giving you a prime opportunity to attack them and trusting that you won't take advantage of that. Kneading or making biscuits is the rhythmic pressing motion that you might notice your cat making against soft surfaces, or, unfortunately, your body. Unfortunately, because cats often forget to put their claws in when they do this. The motion is so named because the movements look kind of like your cat is trying to knead dough, but that doesn't mean that they're planning to turn you into a load of bread. Baby cats knead their mama's belly when it's feeding time as a way to stimulate milk flow. As they grow up, they don't associate this motion with getting fed anymore, but doing it still reminds them of being kittens and feeling safe and protected. It might be uncomfortable when your kitty kneads you, but it's a sign that they see you as a parental figure, and therefore someone that they love and trust. Cats sometimes get described as quiet pets. They get described this way most often by people who have never interacted with or owned a cat. Legend has it that when the first cat was created, God realized last minute that he had run out of animal voice boxes, and so had to substitute an alarm clock beeper. The consequences of this mistake can be felt whenever your cat wants attention, or just feels like chatting, at 5am. But your cat being vocal isn't a bad thing. Remember what we said about cats being prey animals? Prey animals tend to be quiet, because being loud and screamy is how you attract predators. Your little furball, however, doesn't care about potentially alerting a lion to their presence. They know that they can trust you to keep them safe, and they are confident enough in that trust to abuse it by meowing at the top of their lungs whenever their breakfast is a few seconds late. But another extremely puzzling behavior cats do is staring. If you notice your cat intently staring at you, it's actually a powerful message they are trying to send you. And no, it's not them asking for a snack. Check out this video to find out what it actually means, and be sure to subscribe to our channel and join our feline-loving community.