How to Get a Cat to Like You | Lifehacker

 all right up good boy you don't have to do anything to get a dog to like you some treats help but most dogs will get along with humans right away we've been breeding that into them for all of human history cats however are very different while they've been living near us for about 5,000 years we've only been breeding them for about 200 so they're basically still wild animals and when cats behave very differently from dogs we misinterpret that as them being mean or unfriendly well cat doesn't have to be unfriendly you just have to do a different kind of work to win them over [Music] today we're gonna meet Cosmo the cat just like people every cat is different if they don't love you right away don't take it too personally if you own a dog you know that they love new smells and investigating and rolling around in them and getting them all over that itself cats are the opposite an unfamiliar scent can turn them off so if you're worried about bringing that kind of smell into the cat's home you could spray yourself with a pheromone like comfort zone or feel away these are a bit expensive they're usually for cat owners trying to protect a new furniture but if your new furniture and you want to take this to the next level you can bring this with you spray yourself just once or twice on the torso let it settle in for a couple of minutes and this might help calm the cat never notice how a cat gravitates right toward the one allergic person in the room they go past everyone else who's trying to attract the cat going yeah don't do any of the head spend some time actually ignoring the cat that gives them space to scope you out on their own terms [Music] let's try a technique from cat guru Jackson galaxy he calls it the Michelangelo the idea is instead of reaching your hand out like this which can be intimidating you let it dangle you make maybe a loose fist one finger poking out a little like a cat nose cats don't see very well up close that's why they have whiskers so you don't want to be shoving this in their face you're holding it and waiting for the cat to come to you it investigates it maybe invites you to scratch and then you try to it still may reject you at that point it might ignore you altogether but you just have to be patient and let the cat take the lead the safe zone for petting is different for every cat but Tom McNamee author of the inner life of cats recommends you start with the spots that a mother cap would nestle her kittens that can be behind the ears or the base of the tail [Music] all cats are naturally territorial so they're very conscious of their environment you don't want to be a big imposing creature in their space get down on the floor meet them on their level don't block the exits if they feel like they can come and go they're more likely to come back to you here's one I have a lot of trouble with I love to stare in cap right in the eyes but that can be counterproductive that's the look they give when they're hunting and you're doing that to them instead you want to give a long slow blink that shows that you're disarming you're relaxed and friendly you're not hunting them a great modern toy is the laser pointer I love making a cat chase it around this is especially good with a new cat according to cat behaviorist Michelle Nagle Schneider if you get the cat in hunting mode they're more comfortable they forget to be afraid of you point the laser under furniture and other hiding spots to better simulate prey that runs and hides from your cat then either lead them to a treat or lead them back to you and give them a treat let them catch their prey so that they don't get bored very quickly let's ramp this up beyond treats if you work with the owner you can feed the cat its regular meal that establishes you as a potential provider worthy of trust and affection one more tip from Jackson galaxy is to keep a special jackpot treat that only comes from guests Cosmo has never had this particular treat before so ideally we get him to associate me with the tree Adam won't give you these these are just special guest treats keep them in the house when people come over hand them the treat maybe even before they come indoors then every visit from a guest it's like a visit from Santa as long as you understand cats from their perspective you'll be a better cat friend the things they do will be really weird to humans they definitely don't behave the same way dogs do I just learned to go along with it let him know that whatever he does I won't hurt him I'm his friend

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