Do Cats Know When You Are Sad?


While you are having a bad day or feeling down, you might ask yourself do cats know when you are sad?

Yes, cats most definitely can. They can sense your emotional states even if they cannot communicate with you, but they can still detect hints from your facial expressions by your body language, tone, and voice.

This means that cats might be able to sense when you are sad and they provide confirmation to you in their own special way.

However, you might still consider, do cats know when you cry? Well, in this post we will list all related questions that you might want to know about your cat.

Let’s talk about it. 

Do Cats Know When You Cry?

Yes, they do. Cats can know all senses of their owner specifically when they are crying.

Even if they cannot talk to you, you can see by their body language. Cats will often be close to you while you are crying.

According to my experience, I cried on my bed one night because I was breaking up with my boyfriend. When my cat saw that I was crying.

She came and licked off the tears from my cheeks and slept on my arm quietly. 

Her actions can show me that she loves me and tell me to stop crying. So I can strongly say, yes my cat really knows when I am crying.

However, all cats are different. Some cats might not understand while their own is crying or sad. They just try to bite or meow at their owner to get attention.

Is It Okay to Cry into Cats?

Yes, it is okay. While you are sad or feeling down, you might want to talk with someone to show what makes you feel down.

Cats are a wonderful support to you that you can tell or cry out to them. They will help comfort you.

Cats are like your family member, your friend, or a clergy member. You can share your feelings with them at any time since they are the best listener.

You can share your sadness, your daily story, or even your secret story that you cannot share with others.

If you never share with them, we recommend you do it. You will be surprised by it and feel better afterward.

By sharing it with your cat, it can also make you feel better and redress your stress.

Please remember while you are sad or want to cry, you are not alone. Your small friend always stays with you.

How Do Cats React When Owners Crying?

Cats cannot be able to express their thoughts in words, they do have ways to express their emotion and understanding of those around them.

We can see their reaction such as they come up on their owner’s lap, purring, biting, meowing, giving a little kiss to their owner, laying off tears from their owner’s cheeks, or staying with their owner quietly.

Anyway, cats have different abilities and characters, so their reactions when owners cry are also different from each other.

Some cats might show much activity while their owner is crying but some may not, so we can know it by their body language.

Why Do Cats Comfort You When You Cry?

Cats are special animals that they can connect to their owner on such a deeper level than other pets.

Cats are able to understand all your emotions and they try to comfort you when you are crying. It is the best way to show you that they love and care for you.

Cats might try to lick their owner’s tears because they don’t like to see their owner wet (in cats’ minds wet = bad), so this action means they try to save you!

However, some cats will stop and pull away from their owner if they know that their owner is sad, while some will approach to care for their owner and stay with them until they feel better.

Do Cats Cry When You Are Sad?

Cats may not actually cry when their owner is sad, but have you ever noticed your cat looking at you with a sad expression on their face when you are feeling sad or down?

If yes, it is the way that your cat is trying to respond to your emotions. While they may not cry, there is evidence that they do comfort you in their own ways.  

Cats are really quite adept at recognizing human emotions. You can note your cat’s response when you are sad and you will get surprised by them.

Final Thought: 

Do cats understand when you are sad? Yes, cats know when you are crying or sad.

While they do not fully understand the concept of sadness like humans, cats are able to recognize humans by facial expressions and sounds.

As a result, they try to comfort their owner by using their own body language to make their owner feel better.

Daney Hak

I’m a passionate cat mom and pet lover. Apart from being a cat owner, I’ve spent many years of my childhood around them. In my experience, I’ve learned the importance of understanding your cat to be able to cater to them adequately. Thank you so much for your time.

Recent Posts