How Do You Say Sorry To A Cat? Do Cats Understand When You Say Sorry?

Clumsiness can always get in the way of relationships especially if the one offended does not understand the word “sorry”. There are times that as a cat owner you will accidentally step on your cat’s tail or paw. Other times, you could wrong them by accidentally kicking them on the bed or forgetting to give them their meals. These situations could happen especially if you are busy, running, or too occupied with your chores that you forgot that there is a tiny cat roaming around the house.

One thing that will lead you in this article is because you found your cat hissing at you, not cuddling with you, not greeting you when you come home and they have the looks that they wanted to kill you. In addition, if you try to approach them they will immediately run away and leave you hanging.

Thus, how do you restore a relationship with your cat if they are holding a grudge against your recent unpleasant behavior?

How Do You Say Sorry to Your Cat

Listed in here are ways you could try to win back your sweet feline friend and restore your bonding moment.

1. Approach Them Slowly

A lot of times when the cat is not comfortable around you they will hide or run. When you see them either in the kitchen or in the living room, you slowly approach them, identify the cat’s mood and use your sweet voice. If your cat tries to run away then don’t force it. Wait for the time that they will calm and allow you your presence with them.

It’s important that you follow them up and see what their reactions are to you approaching again. You can’t neglect them or they will forever be away from you. Just be patient until the time comes that they will soften on you. Also, remember to approach them with a happy facial expression too. You can sit beside them, slow blink to them, and offer your hand, do not touch them right away, and allow them to sniff you first. And if your cat does not back out then that is the time that you will go near them and start stroking them.

2. Speak to Your Cat

Your cat may not entirely understand a word that you’re saying but it is still a useful effort to try. Cats can recognize the tone of voice and the emotions accompanying it. That’s why it is important that you will not shout at them. Use your happy and affectionate voice when you speak to them. In addition, your feline friend can also recognize their name, catch their attention by saying their name softly with all the love and care for your cat.

Furthermore, you can train your cat by saying over and over again the word sorry to them. But, do this only when they feel resentful to you and you say “sorry” so that they will remember that word as a word that expresses regret and wanting to be friends again. Remember to say it in your sweetest voice so that they will feel loved by you. Speak to your cat until you hear their soft meow when you speak.

3. Pet Your Cat

It’s not enough that you just stroke them on their head, say sorry in your sweetest voice then walk away. Build a better bond with them by petting them on the body parts that they feel loved the most. You could start petting the head of your feline, on the forehead, on your cat’s chin and on the cat’s ear. Again, only do this if they did not hiss at you or scratch you. 

In addition, you can also do belly rubs and brush their coats while they lie down feeling like a boss. If you are not too busy, you can take your cat for some snuggle or let your cat sit on your lap while you stroke their head and watch your favorite tv show.

4. Play With Your Cat

Another bribe you can do to your cat is by persuading them to play with you. If your furry friend has a favorite game that both of you always do then use that game to entice your cat to forgive you. You can start by showing them the toys then if they respond positively then use that toy so that both of you can play.

On the other hand,  both of you can also play outside. Cat’s love a good hunting session, thus it’s nice that both of you take your playtime outside and let your cat chase a ball or have an artificial rat toy that you can use to make your cat have the most fun. By doing this activity, you can distract your cat from all the resentment they feel towards you and replace it with some fun playtime.

These kinds of playtime is also a great exercise for your cat especially if most of the time they are being an indoor cat.

5. Provide Treats

Who does not want yummy treats? This could be your last resort though because your cat might think that they will have to stay away from you so that they can have yummy treats. They will continue to stay away and will take this as an advantage to control you. If all the things listed above did not work out then you can use a treat as a backup. However, do not rely on these treats alone, make an effort to give your time and attention as well.

In addition, giving constant treats to your kitty will lead to weight gain and risk obesity. Control the portions given to them especially if you always wrong or hurt your cat.

When Is the Best Time to Apologize to Your Cat

Apologize to your Cat after a few minutes of you accidentally Hurting them. You don’t have to rush the process because what you will only get are hisses and a few scratches. Thus the best timing to apologize is when you let them cool down and when you found the cat’s body language relaxed and not aggressive.

Do Cats Understand When You Say Sorry?

Cat’s will not understand the word sorry but they can sense it in your voice. Since you are apologizing to a cat it’s important that you back it up with actions. They will understand that you are sincere and that you don’t want any harm to them if you make an effort to engage and give your cat attention.

Do Cats Forgive You if You Accidentally Hurt Them?

They will not understand that it is an accident thus it might result in them staying away from you. However, if you apologize in the right way you can easily win your cat back. They are not humans that hold grudges on people, as long as you give their time to calm and not be aggressive to your actions then you can make them be your friend again.

How Do You Get a Cat to Trust You Again

You can regain trust by apologizing to your cat. Make an effort for them to see that you will not step on their cattails or inject medication into them. Well, in this case, you can’t avoid accidents or constant visits to the vet. What you can do is to spend time with your cat, play with them, give them good food and let them enjoy it so that when both of you have a better bond then your fur baby will not easily get mad at you.

We may think that because they are just cat’s that it’s okay to step unto them, hurt them, kick them or do all sorts of bad stuff to them. Cats are animal that have emotions and love their pet owners with all of their hearts. We ought to give back all the love and adoration to them. Do not ignore them but make an effort to make amends even though they are cats, they deserve respect just as a person deserves respect too.