Cats send all sorts of nonverbal signals, both to each other and to us humans. One of those signals is a blink.

A Cat's Blink

If you own a cat and haven't ever noticed it blinking at you, keep an eye out. It usually happens just as the cat enters a room where you are sitting.

It will notice you from a small distance, stop, blink both eyes once or several times, and then approach. Once you are on the lookout for it, the blink is quite noticeable. It's slower than a human blink and looks, well, intentional.

What Is Your Cat Trying To Tell You?

A blinking cat is a happy cat. Blinking in cats is a signal that they recognize the presence of another cat in their vicinity but they are not going to fight it.

A blink sends the message: "You are my friend. I am not angry. I am not threatened, or threatening."

Territorial Blinks

This kind of message is very important in the wild, where cats battle for territory. Run across a neighboring cat and you'd better make your intentions clear, or you may find yourself in a fight. The blink serves to say: all's well here.

If you don't feel silly doing it, try blinking at your cat, perhaps while stroking it. Sometimes our facial gestures can trigger a response in them. The two of you can have a mutual friendship moment, sending "I'm okay you're okay" messages back and forth.

So, why do cats blink at us, when we aren't cats and don't understand such feline messages? Welldo you ever speak to your cat?