Question
My girlfriend has an indoor cat that now lives together with us. I never had any pets before, so I have a hard time interpreting. Sometimes, she will approach me and meow in a voice that sounds like “I desperately want attention”.
So I slowly reach down to her and try to pet her. Then she turns around and moves away, so that I can barely reach the lower back. She will stop there, notice that I am not petting and make another meow that sound accusatory to me. She turns back around, I pet her sides or her head, and she moves away from me again.
This just happened after I wrote the post. She came to me, got petted a little but, went away and rolled over. We often pet her when she lies of her side or her back, but she is getting up directly afterwards today. This is new to the behavior I have described already.
14 MB animated GIF showing me petting her
Most of the time, food and water are just fine, so that is probably not the issue.
Trying to pick her up works at some times, often she will jump away like I scared her. If I managed to set her onto my lap, she will stay for some 20 seconds and jump off.
Usually she will come back five minutes later and sit on my mousepad or in front of my keyboard. Then I am able to pet her a minute before she goes away. Now she is sitting on a pillow next to my desk and dozes.
What does she want when she approaches me and meows like that?
Answer
Odds are, the cat's as wary of you as you are of her. She wants to know if she can trust you. These cautious approaches are very typical, and you're handling it very well. As she starts to get more comfortable with you, she'll stick around longer for more attention. Not chasing after her or holding her in your lap when she wants to go are very good things, as she knows that she can get attention from you when she wants and also leave when she wants.
From the video you included, I'd say you have nothing to worry about. She clearly likes the attention you're giving her. She just wants to have it on her terms.
Answered By - Roger