Why does my kitten only look me directly in the eye when he's really relaxed and half asleep?

Question

I have a fabby wee kitten - playful and sweet but I guess sometimes I just don't understand his behaviour. The only times he will look me in the eye is:

(1) when he's far off and sees me or when he's playing hide and seek and about to spring out of something towards me (so cute and funny) and

(2) more so now (he's about 4 months) when he's lying relaxed on me looking up at me, he'll stretch out a paw to touch me, stare for a while and then blink or just close his eyes and go to sleep.

What does this mean? And is there a reason he won't look me in the eye any other time?

Answer 1

Cats don't enjoy prolonged eye contact because it's seen as a threat or challenge.  They bully each other in very subtle ways and staring is one of them.

When they want another cat to know that they are friendly or mean no harm, they blink their eyes slowly a couple of times and then look away.  It's the cat's equivalent of smiling and shows that they feel relaxed in your company.

The Messy Beast web site has a great article on cat body language which  you might enjoy reading.

http://www.messybeast.com/cat_talk2.htm

Answer 2

Believe or not that is how cats show affection. The slow sleepy eye

close is the equivalent to a cat kiss. You do the same back at him

and he sees it as a return kiss. I do it to my cats all the time. It also

shows you that he is relaxed and trusting of you. Enjoy your time

with him. They are very beautiful and interesting animals.P.S. he doesn't look you in the eye right now because there is so much more to see. Later when he is older he will look you in the eye. I always think they have age old wisdom in their eyes. Don't ever look a dog directly in the eye because they see that as a challenge and can get aggressive but it is ok with a cat.

Answer 3

Its nothing personal trust me.

Theres so many other things going on around he most probably wants to see them aswell. When he;s tired its better for him to focus

Answer 4

Maybe he still a little young and hasn't got used to the big bad world around him.Give him time and if you are a kind and responsible owner you will be rewarded with years of loving looks.

Answer 5

my cat does that! he only looks at you when he wants some thing!!

Answer 6

Cats tend to avoid eye contact anyway.  Ours mostly look through us and not at us.  In the cat world looking directly at another cat and making prolonged eye contact is a threatening motion and which ever one holds it longer is the 'stronger/dominant' animal.

We get direct eye contact when they want something, as soon as they know we are paying attention they walk toward the food/water bowl or the litter box as if to say "take care of it.  You have thumbs"