The 10 Signs Your Cat Has Imprinted On You

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0:00 Introduction
0:15 What is Imprinting?
2:15 Signs Your Cat Has Imprinted on You
2:43 Sign 1: Your Cat is Excited to See You
2:55 Sign 2: Friendly Vocalizations
3:12 Sign 3: Kneading
3:34 Sign 4: Head Butting/Bunting
4:05 Sign 5: Tail Held Straight Up
4:52 Sign 6: Your Cat Licks You
5:26 Sign 7: Curling Up In Your Lap
5:45 Sign 8: Direct Gazing
6:40 Sign 9: You Can Do Things Others Can't
7:09 Sign 10: They Bring You Presents

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[LolaInTheDesert]

I adopted a 2 year old cat from a coworker whose husband didn’t treat the cat well. She was SO fearful that she hid under my bed and stayed there. Every evening I laid on the floor beside the bed. I brought food & water to her and talked to her there for hours every day. After 2 weeks she surprised me by coming out from under the bed and laying with me. She never hid again. We were completely bonded. She also wanted absolutely nothing to go with ANYONE else. Eventually she got comfortable with my young daughter, but no one else. She lived to be 19 years old and passed about 10 years ago. I still miss her. Her name was Sydney.

[Strokearm]

1. Excited to see you
2. They make vocalizations around you
3. Making biscuits
4. Head butting
5. Tail straight up
6. Licking
7. Body next to you/in your lap
8. Direct staring
9. Let’s you do things they don’t let other people do
10. Bringing you presents

[saraann]

We have a stray who just decided one day that she was ours. Immediately strolled up on our porch for pets, purring away, and started giving gifts. She's now 90% an inside cat, who makes biscuits on us, who guards us while we use the bathroom, and loves to be held like a baby. It feels so special to have been chosen by a cat.

[callie]

My indoor cat brings me dish towels from our kitchen every single night. He drops them in the hallway just outside of my bedroom door and I praise him each time. I cannot even begin to imagine how many birds, mice and other tiny creatures we have spared by keeping him indoors, but I am so glad that he found a positive way to utilize his wonderful hunting skills! It's nice knowing that we are safe from the evil dish towels because of our loyal hunter.

[shirleyrogers]

My cat was born and lived her first six years in a shelter in the "quiet" room for fearful kitties. Her tail was always down. After a year of me walking slow and talking soft, that tail is up, she comes to her name and is starting to lay against me. She's still spooky, but getting better.

[suzettelilly]

In 2010 my mother died suddenly. And days later I walked by a beautiful cat in a pet store window who looked as sad as I felt. I went in and discovered that Lilly had been adopted and was dropped back and she was depressed. I said that I would take her and never let her go. She was so pretty, good manners, affectionate--VERY SMART--and she wasn't shy about what she wanted. Over nearly 14 years together--and she still looked beautiful and still very bossy. And then she was gone. I'm still praying she'll be back. I've never been a crybaby--until now.

[lindakayaz]

Our 10 month old cat bonded with our newborn daughter. The cat started by laying next to the baby in the crib and on the the jungle gym. The cat slept with our daughter her entire life. She sat with her when our daughter was older and worked on homework after school. The cat even gave her love bites from time to time and "groomed" her. The cat mourned when our daughter went away to college . She stopped eating. It was sad to watch. The cat lived for 21 years. The bond they had was special.

[marygolosinski]

I have a young child with ASD and she loves our cat. But she is often also unsure of if the cat likes her, is mad at her, etc. Reassurance only very occasionally works to calm her concerns. We watched your video together and she was able to identify all ten behaviors on her own, smiling bigger at each one. This is such a wonderful tool. Thank you so much!

[jerushamaxwell]

From a shelter, I adopted a Siamese-mix 8 year old girl who seemed visibly depressed from missing her longtime family who had surrendered her for lack of funds. Turned out that she wanted a mutually loving relationship, and as a lone senior whose previous old cat had just died, I wanted the same. She invented the welcome home ritual that we perform every time I come through the door. She sleeps with me and because she's treated with love every minute of the day, she's very secure and bonded to me. At over age 13, she's still frisky, silly and meows only to demand play time. We're so lucky to have found each other!

[Wilbs]

For those hesitant to get an older cat in fear that it’s too late to imprint, it can be done!! I adopted a beautiful 9yr old black cat years ago and she very quickly imprinted and bonded to me. I had her 9 years after adoption (she passed last year at 18). I Met and moved in with my husband 4 years ago and she spent those 4 years letting him know I was hers 😂 she always slept on my face/neck and would follow me everywhere waiting for me to sit down so she could get on me somehow. That cat was a part of my soul I will never get back. Hug your kitties and appreciate every cuddle. ❤

[ndtimesttime]

Found a stray kitten while at work. Vet felt she was 4-5 weeks old at the time. I brought her home and my wife and I cared for her and brought her back to full health. I had absolutely no previous experience with cats. Fast forward year and a half later and I am officially a “cat dad”. She meets me at the door after work and curls up on my every night prior to bed. Way more affectionate then I had ever believed a cat to be and I find myself borderline spoiling her. Definitely the best decision to rescue her as I would likely have never owned a cat let alone get to full on “cat Dad” status.

[catlifex]

So how many people found themselves smiling watching this? I realized I had a big smile on my face as the video went on along and I figured out how wonderfully imprinted my cats are to me. I’d say the feeling is mutual!❤️

[smr_]

It's been almost a 6 months since I lost my cat, and I felt a bit teary eyed realizing he did most of this things to me

[Carmen]

I got a free ranch cat, and the owner said good luck because she’s psycho!
Once she got away from the teens, dogs, cows, etc she must’ve felt better. I’ve never had such a loving, intelligent, trainable cat in my life! She’s even super friendly with strangers, deer and dogs (until they chase her). She went from being a free castaway to absolutely priceless <3

[ThatoneAnomaly]

In November i had found a starved kitten in a bush. She was completely ferral, and didnt let me near her for 3 days until she finally did. Since she was only 11 weeks old. Seeing she does everything on this list nearly made me cry. I love my girl 🥰

[messyspiller]

Yess my cat has different meows for different situations as if he is saying English words 🥰 if I say "state your concern cat!" He will literally start to "talk" non stop for minutes 😂

[HellaJ]

I raised a kitten from 4wks to 16yrs. He went with me everywhere; vacations, long car rides, hotels, ever changing homes …Starbucks! Purrs, trilling, biscuits. When I lost him to diabetes, I chose my next cat by how he presented his tail (high). 6yrs strong and have never regretted my choice…or him choosing me 😃

[sahb]

I actually felt very loved after this video. They're far more expressive than people give them credit for. They also get more comfortable and loving with time if you're being patient with them and treating them right. We adopted a 3.5 year old cat five years ago and we still find her mellowing and wanting more love and affection and security over time or learning to communicate or wanting to be part of things.

[PurpleRhymesWithOrange]

Years ago there was a stray I tried to take in. I let him shelter in my shop and left food for him. He would never allow me to get close enough to touch him but from time to time he left me presents on the doormat inside the shop. I felt so bad for him that someone had hurt him too much for him to trust a human again but it was wonderful to see these signs that he appreciated sharing the space with me.

[Rike-hcwt]

My cats always greet me at the door when I come home. My ex husband confirmed they'd always get up and walk to the door a minute before I unlocked the door - we were living in an apartment. On the second floor. They always recognized my steps outside the building (!), knew it meant I was going to be arriving in a moment, and came to say hello. To this day it makes me feel so loved and leaves me in awe at their sense of hearing!