The 5 Most Common Relationships Between Cats and Their Humans: Which One Do You Have With Your Cat?

Friend, mother, partner... find out which relationship you and your cat share.

People may all think they are simply raising a cat, but there are actually many different ways cats and humans live together. The experience of having a cat is not quite the same for everyone.

Mother, friend, partner, roommate, and boss are five of the most common dynamics. See which one fits you and your cat.

The Mother Type

In short, your cat sees you as its mother, and it may rely on you heavily.

Typical behaviors that show you and your cat have a mother-type relationship:

1.It follows you everywhere. Whether you are going to the bathroom or going to sleep, your cat is right behind you. If it cannot see you, it starts meowing.

2.It is timid, afraid of going outside, and afraid of strangers. When it gets scared, it runs straight into your arms.

3.When it does something wrong, it will not fight back. If it gets scolded or punished, it just curls up pitifully and begs for forgiveness.

At the heart of this relationship is your cat’s complete trust in you. It has no guard up around you, and you could say you are its only source of security.

The Friend Type

This one is easy to understand: your cat treats you like a friend, an equal companion. You keep each other company, but neither of you feels tied down.

The key behaviors are:

1.Your cat does not cling to you on purpose, but it does not avoid you either. When it wants to play, it comes to you. When it wants time alone, it quietly stays by itself. When you try to play with it, it plays along.

2.It respects boundaries and will not force affection. When you are busy with other things, it spends time alone and does not cling.

3.If you go out for a short while, it does not make a fuss. It handles being alone just fine.

This relationship is more equal. You need each other, but you are not bound to each other, and you can respect each other’s space.

The Partner Type

This type is also common. Your cat becomes extremely possessive of you, and its affection is reserved just for you.

The key behaviors are:

1.It is only close to you. It acts completely differently toward other people in the home. It may let you pet it, but not let anyone else do the same.

2.Before bed or after waking up, it likes to snuggle up to you and rub its face against yours.

3.It gets jealous very easily. If you smell like another pet, it may hiss. If you try to pet another pet in the home, it may put itself between you.

4.It only purrs for you, not for anyone else.

In this relationship, your cat sees you as its one and only partner. There is a strong sense of exclusivity, and its favoritism is easy to spot.

The Roommate Type

This type is mainly about peaceful coexistence. You and your cat are simply housemates.

The key behaviors are:

1.You live your own lives, and day-to-day interaction is not much. If you do not make the first move, neither does your cat.

2.It almost never seeks affection on its own. It may even move away when you reach out to pet it.

3.There is no separation anxiety at all. Whether you leave or come home, your cat’s reaction is fairly calm.

4.You do your thing, and it does its thing. There is hardly any entanglement between you.

This relationship is mostly about presence. You know the other exists, but you each go your own way.

The Boss Type

This relationship is not rare either. Your cat believes it is the boss of the house, and you are there to serve it.

The key behaviors are:

1.It interacts with you like it is giving orders. Whenever it wants your attention, it will not give up. If you ignore it, it meows, paws at you, and may even swipe at you.

2.It refuses to obey. If you pick it up, it struggles immediately. If you pet it too long, it may hiss at you. If you do not stop, it will actually strike.

3.It shows no remorse after doing something wrong. If it knocks something over, it knocks it over. When you scold it, it treats your words like meaningless background noise.

These five dynamics are the most common between indoor cats and their humans.

So which relationship do you think you and your cat have?