Do Cats Know When You’re Mad At Them?

Do Cats Know When You're Mad At Them?

Yes, cat’s know when you’re mad at them, but only to a certain extent.

As much as we love our cats and as amazing as they are, sometimes they do something that just upsets us. Maybe they knocked over a flower vase that was given to you by your grandmother.

Maybe you were about to sell a couch on Craigslist and that cat clawed it all up just before the transaction. Or maybe they just meow excessively!

Regardless of how much you love your cat(s), shit happens, plain and simple. I mean come on now, we’re talking about cats here. The most mischievous of house pets! (Though I’m sure Husky and Parrot owners would disagree.)

Cats Know When You're Mad!

Believe it or not, cats can recognize their owner’s different emotions. And no, this isn’t just some hunch that people guess at based on how their cat acts. There have been actual scientific studies on cats’ ability to recognize human emotions

Before we domesticated them thousands of years ago, cats lived in social groups. Big cats and other cats in the wild still live in these same social groups today.

One important part of a social hierarchy is the ability to recognize different emotions.

After two thousand years of domestication, cats have slowly learned how to read the emotions of their humans. Cats use both auditory and visual cues to understand the emotions you’re displaying. This is how cats are able to tell when you’re mad at them.

It’s also how cats are able to tell when you’re crying or sad.

Cats Understand Your Body Language

Another way cats are able to tell when you’re mad at them is by looking at your body language. One way cats communicate with each other is with their body language.

Over time they’ve developed the ability to partially understand their humans’ body language. 

We should note that they’re not experts at body language like other humans are. Instead, cats can only pick up very obvious cues.

But those obvious cues are still used for cats to determine when you’re mad at them. 

Cats Pick Up On The Tone Of Your Voice

The final way that cats are able to tell when you’re mad at them is because they can detect changes in your tone of voice. Not only can cats understand when you’re talking to them, but they can also tell when you’re mad or happy. 

Another study has shown that cats may actually change their behavior around you based on how you’re talking to them. Which makes sense of course because I’m sure you’d change your behavior if someone was yelling at you vs. showing you affection!

Don't Stay Mad At Your Cats!

We understand that it’s normal for you to get mad when something goes wrong. Cats are mischievous creatures who are great at breaking things, spilling things, waking you up at 4 am, and scratching your furniture up. 

But, the reason they do all of this, is because they’re cats! Your cat is simply acting like a cat. They don’t know that it’s wrong to spill your water over. They don’t know that scratching up the couch is bad. Cats are just that.. CATS! And they’ll always act like cats.

If your cat does something that pisses you off, then find some other way to take out your frustrations that doesn’t involve yelling at or scolding your cat in any way. 

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