FAQ of the Day: Do Cats Cry Real Tears?
Friday June 6, 2008
I have a really bizarre question for you that I have not found on your site - can cats cry when upset? Are they capable?
This FAQ was created a few years or so ago when someone emailed a similar question, and you'll see my response was in the negative. Since then, the anecdotal comments to this post have been overwhelmingly in the positive, as evidenced in all the comments since 2006 when I first posted this FAQ. I simply can't ignore these comments.
What about it? Do you think cats cry for emotional reasons? Read my reply, vote in the poll, then feel free to post your comments below.
Comments
Hey, I have had this happen once. My cat had jsut gotten in a bunch of trouble, and when I went to find her she was hiding under our piano with tars in her eyes. She was crying! It was the first time I had ever seen it!
I had a male cat back in the early 1990s, we took him to the vet for a check up and to say the least he did not want to be there. As I held him gently on the table tears ran down his face. It was the only time he ever cried and I have yet to see any of my other cats do the same. He now lives in Ontario and is 17 years old.
My cat broke a bone in her foot. Today is her first morning after being splinted. She knows she cannot go outside (she cannot climb trees in this state nor protect herself otherwise). She was up on the window seat looking out.I saw something on her face. She never has eye gunk. I went to wipe it and it was a puddle of “tears” so much so that some fell onto the surface upon which she was perched.I’ve had other cats for more than 20 years and have never seen this. Prompted me to do a search for “DO CATS CRY” which lead me to this page.
Yes I have seen cats cry my kitted (Cloudy) was upset becouse she saw a person that looked like the person who had broken her jaw and abandonded her before i found her she started meowing like she was scared and curled up in my lap real tightly in a ball and started crying so just becouse you’ve never seen it dont doubt it cats do cry its somthing that once you’ve seen you never want to see it again
My cat gets tears in her eyes fairly often. I first noticed it when I had been out of town for a while, so I thought she was really upset. I always notice it when I take her to the vet, after she’s been in the car, which she hates. I assumed that since it happened during times when she was really upset that they were real tears. My vet noticed this once, and I mentioned that I thought she really cried, and the vet laughed at me. She said she had a clogged tear duct, and sometimes stress can activate it. I noticed after that it does only come out of one eye.
Yes, before 20 years we had beautiful male cat, 1 year old ,when we must left him to neibors, he as knew that will be lefted for ever, had eyes full of tears, was very quiet and sad. We never could forget this.
Sounds more like Rhino than tears to me! I think cats have emotions and show them in their behavior. They are quiet and withdrawn when depressed; possibly they also act out like a small child and get wild or mean with their companion cats. I don’t want them to be able to cry! I want them to just enjoy life and be the supreme felines they were meant to be!
Oh Dear God…please don’t let any cats I know cry, let along my sweet baby Sonsy. I’ve never seen a cat cry and I’ve had cats as long as I’ve had siblings (45 years). Maybe it’s possible, but they exhibit their emotions so fully…If I ever saw tears in my kitty’s eyes when she was sad, somebody would have to call 911 for me.
i have a cat that i found over two years ago and right after i brought her home i took her to the vet for her first visit she had to have all the shots and tests to bring her up to date, while we were their i was holding her and she had tears on her face.
i opened my door to find my cat crying
with a bleeding ear,
I had a cat called Sing Sing (she liked to meow frequently) who was very expressive. One day when she was a kitten some relatives came to visit, and when they were leaving we were holding her out the front of our house to wave goodbye. They thoughtlessly beeped their horn, which scared her out of her wits, and she fought her way free, falling and hitting her head. She was scared, and of course hurt, and she cried for a few minutes, while meowing in an upset sounding way. My first thought was that the hit to her head was the cause, but the vet said other than a sore head, she had no physical reason to have cried. She never did it again, however.
I had an adult mail cat about 20 years ago. We took him to the vet to be neutered. When we took him home afterward he had tears streaming out of his eyes and he seemed unhappy. However, at the timeI assumed that it was caused by the anesthetic or some other medical cause, because I had heard that only humans cry tears when upset.
how can i prevent my cat from jumping over my 6 foot fence in backyard??
Today I was petting our very demanding and affectionate cat with my left hand. The newer dog was on my right and I was petting him. He began to bark at the cat. She closed her eyes and hissed at him, went up on her shelf, and tears were streaming down her little face for several minutes. I petted her and reassured her. It was so sad that I also cried. She was stressed out by the dog’s barking, and felt infringed upon by the new addition to the family. It was clear and very sad to witness.
i left my kiten on his own in the lounge whilst i went to the other room, it was for about half an hour later when i went back in and he looked very upset!! he had tears coming out of his eyes and i wiped them away and more came out!! it was so upsetting!!
Cats definitely cry - usually due to being in pain. For 3 weeks before our 18 yr old Gigi passed away unexpectedly, she had tears running down her face. Our vet later determined that stomach cancer, a very painful disease,was the cause. Now our tough guy, Mr. Greylegs, lost his appetite and has begun shedding tears also. We have had every test, xray, ultrasound avail and do not know what the problem is, only that he must be in great discomfort. Naturally we are extremely concerned and worried about him.
I let my one year old cat out in yard. I started doing that just recently. He almost never leaves the back yard, but when he does its for about a half hour or so.
Well today he stayed out for almost 7 hrs! When he finally came back home I noticed something weird in his face… tears! He did look a little stressed like a vet would expect.
I havent done any scientific study or anything but doesnt stress make humans cry too?
Oh and by the way I too started looking this topic up because I had no idea that cats cried.
I have two Maine coons and one of them, Bear, cries. I left him at the vet for dental care, but they called and said they couldn’t work on him because his nose was running and his eyes were watery which made them think he was coming down with a virus. When I picked him up he truly looked terrible, but the minute he was back in the house, his eyes cleared up and he was fine, so I attributed the “watery eyes” to stress. However, yesterday I took him to the groomer to have a small patch of matted fur shaved away. When picking him up, I visited with the groomer for a bit, and then she noticed Bear had begun to tremble a bit and he was sniffling; she said, “He is crying”. On arriving home, he went from his kennel to a place under the back seat and cried and cried. Big tears rolled down his cheeks. I tried to make up with him, but he would do his best to avoid looking at me. It took a couple of kleenex and about 20 minutes of coaxing before he stopped and would finally come out of the car. Some cats do cry.
My cat went into kidney failure recently, with one kidney recently.working now… He has kidney stones, and when he is in pain, tears pour down his face. I lay with him, hold him and sometimes cry with him cause I can’t do much for him besides pain meds and antibiotics. CATS DO CRY!!
i came across this topic because of a similar scenario…
my beloved cat jael had her first litter about two and a half months ago, and have had to get rid of the kittens because my appartment is very cramped as it is. four of the five kittens were given away in one day.
for the first few days after the kittens were gone, jael would meow in front of the refrigerator, under which the kittens used to hide. more recently she had seemed to be over it, but the other night i heard her meow once in the kitchen, and when i went to check up on her she was in front of the refrigerator, and had tears in her eyes. not just runny eyes, but like, tears.
it was heartbreaking.
I have had to leave my 6 mo. old kitten and dog alone while I work lately. She loves the dog. Then I had to take the dog to my mother’s and the kitten spent her first day all alone. She was ecstatic when I returned. The next morning, the dog still gone, I had been playing with the kitten, but I had to go to work, so I picked up the keys. I locked up the house and walked over to say goodbye, and two big tears were falling, one from each eye.
To me, it was obvious. Cats do cry. To imagine that an animal with volitile emotions and tear ducts don’t cry is pure human hubris. We’re not THAT different! Emotions + pain + tearducts = tears.
I had a big black tom cat some years ago with whom I had a very special bond. He had to have an op on his ear because of a fight he’d got into. The vet refused to give me painkillers for him stating that they wouldn’t do any good, & would slow down the healing process. I found him sitting on the table staring out the window when I got home from work the next day. When I called him, he turned to look at me with huge golden eyes filled with tears & pain. It made me cry. It was dreadfully frustrating & painful watching him suffer. He made a full recovery, but I don’t think my heart ever did.
My wife left us 6 weeks ago. She has been over only twice in the last 3 weeks. About an hour after both times that she left, my smarter cat, Albert, who is quite ferrel had tears in his eyes. I know he misses her because he has become clingy. He knows that she doesn’t live here any more and seeing her, I believe makes him sad. My other cat, Rolly, who is not that bright just looks around for her for a long time.
Yesterday,
one of my cats of thirteen years died. I found her after a stroke (her back legs paralyzed and in tremendous pain) and the vet had to put her down. It was the very first day my other cat spent at home alone without the other cat. When I returned home and settled down. The remaining cat came and sat on my lap. She was looking at me and then tilted her head down for a while. When she looked back up at me her eyes were filled with tears. I have never seen such a thing. She, nor the other cat had ever had any eye gunk, and I have never had to wipe their eyes before. Of course, my tears fell too because there was no explanation for this other than she was telling me she knew the other cat would not be returning and was sad. She had seen the condition of the other cat before I took her to the vet. She was the one who led me to the other cat when I woke up in the morning.
im on my laptop right now surfing the internet and also watchin tele, and on tele i have jus seen a cat with watery eyes and tears coming out.
i too have a cat since 3 years now ive had him since he was a little kitten and through out those years i have never seen my cat with watery eyes or tears coming out my cat has never cried.
i do wonder if animals cry…
so coming across the cat i saw crying on tele made me look this topic up on the internet.
I’ve had one cat, Belle, for the past three years. Yesterday I got a new kitten and Belle was pretty angry about it. Today while the kitten was in my room running around Belle was watching him, and she starting “crying”. She’s been doing it now for about half an hour. She’s getting me teary eyed. She just looks so sad!
I saw my cat cry for the first time yesterday. Came home from vacation after Christmas, had entertained alot and now packing away Christmas decorations. He had seemed depressed, acting a little strange. He came to me while sitting on the couch with tears in both eyes. When he blinked, they rolled down his face. I am monitoring him. Spending extra time with him and he seems better today.
I have a one-year-old female Maine Coon (Kira) who despises the dog: she regularly clacks her teeth and makes a strange chattering sound when the dog’s in sight.
Yesterday while I was working, Kira was especially agitated at the dog’s presence — and I noticed large, clear drops on the desk where she was sitting!
Called her name and she looked over at me with two tears rolling out of her left eye, and one from the right.
I examined both eyes, neither were matted and there were no signs of irritation. Could only conclude she was crying out of frustration!
Well…I called my cat Piph a big bitch kitty and Piph bitch. Later I found her sitting on the couch with tears pouring from her eyes. I felt soooooo bad. So I threw a piece of chocolate Almond Bark at her. She didn’t eat it.
i heart kittie cats!
so my cat Don Pumkin is very fat…. but very lovable you know like kristy alley…. but neways… he like to climb up on you and give you love… but the only problem is when he does i stop breathing because he ways so much…. but i take a big breath when i see him coming to i have plently of air for a 5 second petting
*so my cat Don Pumkin is very fat but very lovable… you know like Kristy Alley…. but anyways…. he likes to climb up on your chest and give you love…. but the only problem is that when he does this i stop breathing because he weighs so much… so everytime i see him i take a big breath so i have plently of air for a 5 second petting
cats do cry…. me and the wife has two cats and the oldest one crys all the time at least once a week he will have tears ion his eyes. he will do it if we dont give him the time of day or we leave the house for a long time i know it is wierd but true
Hello, yes i believe they do cry, i recently brought a new cat into the household and my loving cat tried to make friends but he is now very upset in the refusal, my cat sniffs and breathes out heavily and has tears in his eyes. i know he is crying because he snuggles in my chest like a child wen i cuddle him. Also he refuses to eat his food so therefore i know something is wrong. x thanks
My cat who was my soul mate came home from the vet after an operation, she started writhing around and screaming and in such pain, and then she looked at me and cried - I can’t get it out of my head. We rushed her to emergency, She died 2 days later, the vet had butchered her. She was 23 and I miss her like crazy. She had never cried before. I told the vet, this big “feline specialist” she was crying tears, he said “Cats can’t do that”. Idiot.
Yes I have seen this happen. My 9 week old kitten always sheds a tear in the morning time and when I come home from work.
Yes I have seen this happen. My 9 week old kitten always tears up in the morning time because she doesn’t sleep with me. Also when I come home from work, she has tears in her eyes.
My cat just scared himself so badly that he is under the bed with tears in his eyes. He got caught in a Valentine’s day balloon ribbon and thought the ballon was after him. Although hilarious at the moment, I truly thought he could have scared himself to death. Mr Tough Guy is under the bed crying which lead me here. I don’ think it made me feel any better having it confirmed that yes, they are tears.
My cat Kimba died in my house yesterday of old age & I’m a mess. I have two other cats, Hero and Lulu. Hero is running around crazy scared at everything and everyone right now, but last night he was at the windows cying out. I was crying, and my cat Lulu came over as to comfort me. Then she went over to Kimba’s favorite spot, and I could not beleive it, Tears! She turned, as to hide her face. Immediately I stopped crying, and decided to comfort her.
We have 4 cats. One of them (Sam) is very wimpy and submissive. The other cats pick on him. Well tonight I think he finally had enough and when our most dominant cat (LaLouie)started picking on him he fought back. He beat the crap out of him! There was fur everywhere in the livingroom. A few minutes later we found Sam in the kitchen with big tears squirting out of his eyes. It was heart-wrenching……We have never before seen a cat cry. But these seemed to be real crying tears. We comforted him with some kind words, petting a few treats and now he is fine. I just had to come look on the internet to see if cats really can cry. I believe that they do.
I found this webpage because I thought I saw my adopted cat cry yesterday evening, with tears in his eyes. I’ve had him for over 5 months now. Yesterday was the 3rd day in a row I had tried to give him hairball removal ointment. I tried to put it on his paw and he was not happy but ate it anyways. He got so upset last night when I put it on his paw and looked sad afterwards, and then when I saw those tears!!! I’ll never give him that hairball removal ointment again…I feel terrible. Maybe I’ll try a different flavor but I am not sure because I do not want to ruin our relationship-he is such a loving cat. And now after reading this webpage I have had it confirmed that he was crying…
My cat was crying today…or at leat I think she was… She was begging to go outside (but it’s too cold over here) and when she finally stopped begging she had watery eyes and it was running down her face… O__o
My 4 year male cat’s mother is a purebred Asian Short-hair. She cries tears when upset.
My cat’s father is unknown but he looks like a gigantic version of his mother He has yellow eyes instead of blue. He loves to tease me by pulling electrical plugs out of wall sockets or playing with the cables of my computer. The first time I scolded him with a rolled-up newspaper, he lay in my arms and shed one large, viscous tear from one of his eyes. Tonight I lost my temper and this time whacked him once with the paper. Again he cried, this time profusely. I had to hold him for 20 minutes and wipe his face with tissue repeatedly while he nuzzled my neck.
I don’t know how to control this guy, ultra-naughty one moment, then he breaks your heart with the cry-baby act. ???????
I brought home a puppy and within 2 weeks my cat constantly has tears in his eyes.
Yesterday my BF got home and found that our kitty had vomited on the rug yet again. He was very upset and yelled at the kitty for a while. Well the kitty went to sit on top of the microwave (where she usually hides when she’s upset) and when I went in to check up on her I saw tears rolling down her face. I was so upset that I began crying as well. I picked her up and held her while she hid her little face against my shoulder. I hope I never have to go through this again!
We are taking care of a neighbor’s cat who left the apartment one day and abandoned the cat. The cat can’t come in as my brother is allergic to them, but we give him food in our balcony, but the cat is a home cat. So tonight he walked in the house while the door was opened and we opened the door and directed him to leave. After he left I saw him in the balcony with tears in his eyes. He then actually shed tears. I had never seen this before and was heartbroken. It was amazing. I wish I could let him in the house. They do have emotions and do cry!
My cat has just started crying. i thought it was weird the first time but he did stop. yesterday he did it again when my brother noticed it, i started to think it may be an illness but then looking at this i dont know now. is my cat grieving or has he got an illness??
I think this is the craziest thing, but I don’t know how else to explain last night. We just got our 9yo cat back home. She was chased away by dogs nearly 8 months ago and after searching for her for several weeks we had reconciled ourselves that she was gone for good. After a series of incredible events, we finally were able to pick her up and bring her home last night. She has apparently been living in the wooded area close to our neighborhood all of this time, and is quite a mess. We cleaned out our small bathroom to keep her in until we can get her comfortable, cleaned up and to the vet for a thorough check up. I went into the bathroom to let her out of the pet carrier and introduce her new surroundings. She went for the food bowl first but as she ate she would occassionally look up at me and meow. I noticed that her eyes were tearing. My initial reaction was that she must have some kind of virus and I made a mental note that I would have to mention this symptom to the vet. However, after she was done eating and I was combing her out I saw that the tears were gone and her eyes looked normal. I am now convinced that she was genuinely crying.
I wandered across this page looking for an answer. I found my cat, Maxwell, with tears in his eyes most recently when he was in heat (yeah, he has gender issues, too). I know he was uncomfortable, but I had hoped that he wouldn’t cry over it. It broke my heart to hold him and wipe the tears.
My cats, smokey and buster, are 15 and 13. Well, Smokey died a year ago and when buster saw his body before we buried him, we saw tears in his eyes. He then just sat and watched as we covered smokey up. He was very sad because they were raised together.
My cat Inky died last Wednesday. I had to put her to sleep. My other cat, EJ, sat in the box I took Inky in all night. In the morning there were tears in his eyes. He has been like that for three days. Yes, I believe they can cry. They were together for fourteen years.
my cat was quite seriously infested with fleas so at last resort i decided to bath him. obviously he wasn’t to keen on that idea but after a while he just sat there while i bathed him and quite leterally tears were roling down his cheeks. i dont think i have ever felt as terrible as i did then and its bugging me now. was he really crying???
I’d have guessed that cats don’t cry, but was proven wrong yesterday. There was a cat fight out in front so I ran out and the bully ran away. My one year old male kitty sulkingly came in and laid down in a visually upset posture. I went to comfort him and he looked up at me with tears in his eyes! I checked for injuries around his eyes and he was fine. After wiping the tears from his eyes, he just laid there as more tears came! I wouldn’t have beleived it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. -Geo.
For the second time ever, yesterday, I saw a cat cry. In both cases it was in the final minutes in the vet’s office before the drugs were administered for euthanasia. They were real tears, and I have only seen it twice, both in female cats. I did the “do cats cry” search and found this page.
I did a search to ask if cats cry because it looks like my little Marshmallow has been crying today. Last night our cat companion Zuna died (he had fallen asleep) after 5 months of chemo and treatment for lymphoma. Marshmallow was alone with him for awhile before I came home and today we’ve been without Zuna (his physical self, anyway.) His eyes look watery and there is eye gunk there. This site was helpful and confirmed to me that yes, he is probably crying too.
Yesterday my baby Holly, got out (she is an indoor only cat). When I found her an hour later she was very upset and nuzeled against my nieck like she did when she was a kitten, I felt water so I looked at her ans she was crying realy tears. I later heard from a neighbor kid that he saw my cat get KICKED by a guy who lives in my apartment building. Later in the day Holly was still crying. It is obvious that cats can cry when they are hurt or upset.
We had a cat show up on our door step a few weeks ago…she was so skinny so we started feeding her. A few day later we realized that she was not alone, she had given birth to six beautiful kiittens. They are probally about four weeks old, I really do not know this for sure it is just a guestimation. All of them seem healthy except one she has matted and running eyes. I have washed them with warm water. What can I do for her? Thank you!
The first time my tomcat cried was when I got home from work late and he was out all day. I reckoned it was just from the cold. But now I notice that he cries if I come home very late. Dang! I thought cats are supposed to be self-sufficient and aloof, but this little rascal craves company and attention. At least he gives the mice a reason to cry because he’s a regular mouse murderer. Maybe I should get him a big puppy for company.
we took our cat to the vet today and gave her her vaccinations and she seemed very upset after we got home which was expected, but what was not expected is about an hour later when she calmed down I came into the room and she walked up to me and lays her head on me and she was crying, it made me cry!
My Dobby will be eight years old on September 4th. She has a son (she had 6 kittens, but when she had her kittens the laws in our city were very strict, so we could only keep one. The rest were given up for adoption.)
I have witnessed her cry many times, and I’ve decided to ignore any vet who says, “Cats don’t cry,” or, “Dogs don’t smile.” Everyone who’s had a dog knows they smile. They may use different muscles than a human, but they certainly smile.
So does my Dobby. She wept when she thought she had “lost” five of her kittens, she has wept if I’ve been away for an extended time and friends have been taking care of her.
Recently a third cat adopted me. The laws have relaxed (now you can have up to 6 cats in city limits) and while I was trepidatious about adding a young member (he is a little more than 2 years old) to our family.
Needless to say, Dobby was very unkind to him initially, and I was worried. I asked my mother (very good with animals) what to do, and she advised me to “discipline” Dobby.
I have never gotten mad at her, no matter what she broke or what she shredded. Even our $3,000 was fair game.
So when she hissed at the new cat and swiped at him, I yelled at her and smacked her rump.
She ran from me (I sobbed for hours after this and afterwards just told her firmly, “No”), hid for a few days (if I went to her hiding place she would rub her face over my hands and purr, but she wouldn’t come out).
Tonight when I came home, I was relieved to see her run up to greet me with her son and the new cat.
But she has been crying and hasn’t stopped all night.
I am the worst thing that has ever happened to the individual I love best in the world. I have been crying and it’s just a very sad time.
Whoever says cats don’t cry tears hasn’t observed them closely enough.
My boyfriend and I went on vacation for two weeks and left our cat Egypt to the care of a friend. Upon our return we were told by the friend that Epypt had refused to come into the house for the past 4 days, seemingly awaiting our return. Since home, Egypt has been very vocal (which she never is) and needful of a lot of closeness. My boyfriend told me that I was spoiling her a bit much and should maintain some boundaries with her. So last night, while reading a magazine in bed, Egypt started to move out of her designated foot-of-the-bed space and towards the pillows for some extra cuddling, at which point I shooed her back to her space. Within seconds, she recoiled backed into her space on the bed and her eyes became sticky and watery. I stared at her for a while to try to see if there were any signs of her not feeling well. Her eyes stayed watery for 10 minutes or so and 3 or so tear drops actually landed on the bed. I was worried and was about to run into the other room to ask my boyfriend what we should do since the cat appeared to be getting ill. Moments later, after me stroking her for a while, her eyes dried up as though she had never been tearing. This really freaked me out, as I have never EVER heard of a cat crying before. But my boyfriend explained that he’s seen her tear on a rare occasion when really upset. Seeing an animal cry has to be one of the weirdest things I have ever witnessed which is how I arrived at this blog space.
My male cat cries when I take a shower. He comes in when I’m finished and likes to get into the sink. Today he was crying in the bathtub so I let it drip for a few minutes while he played with the water. Just now he started howling incessantly while in the tub. He stopped after a while, got into the sink and continued to howl. I picked him up, held him and talked to him for a while and closed the bathroom door. He cried for a while but eventually stopped. He seems fixated on the bathroom!
I just saw, what I think was, my cat crying. I was giving her new lil sister (just adopted a kitten) a bath. The kitten was meowing excessively, along with her big sister outside the bathroom (the door was closed). When I wrapped the kitten up and took her out to the bed my big cat jumped up and had a tear in one of her eyes, it wasn’t like gunky or anything, it was like a real tear. She’s perfectly healthy, just saw the vet this week, indoor cat whom I’ve had for 6 yrs, never seen anything like it. I can see how anyone could be skeptical of it if they hadn’t seen it themselves, but I whole-heartedly believe that it was tear…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afzaWucwShE
I saw my cat cry the other day. He was laying on my lap kneading on my tummy and i was telling him no. He jumped off my lap onto the top of the couch and started crying. I video taped it. It was the weridest thing i ever saw. I never knew cat could cry.
Hey, this happens with one of my cats quite often. Most of the time it seems it’s because she’s staring out the window - and I swear- “wistfully”. Last night she and my other cat started real fighting (caterwauling meows and it got ugly) over a male stray they saw outside the window. After the crying one started backing off, my other cat was still pissed. I watched as her eyes started welling up with tears, almost as if she was saddened by the conflict between them. I was baffled.
Jeff the Cat and his little brother Pee Wee were really close. When Pee Wee was hit by a car, Jeff would sit in the window and howl and cry. It was heartbreaking. I knew cows could cry real tears, but I never knew cats could until then.
We have a cat named Violet. We have seen her cry on several occasions since we’ve had her, usually when she seems sad about something. When we see this, we react quickly and give her lots of love and comfort. It’s also happened when she’s been scolded about something. Afterward she seems to be okay. We got her from a rescue organization 2 years ago who rescued her and her mother and younger sibling from an over-crowded shelter. She’s a totally indoor cat but we watch her looking wistfully out the window sometimes like she’s remembering or longing for something.
Don’t all mammals have the capacity to shed tears under duress? It seems like a natural reaction for cats to cry.
When I was younger my mother was cutting up onions and my cat jumped onto the counter. Just like us, tears began to run down his face. I realize that he was not sad, but cats have the same reaction to onions that we do.
One of our five cats has a very sad backgroud. She was mistrieted and abandoned as a small kitten. Afterwards she found us and got a loving home. A couple of times we have seen tears run out of her eyes when licking warm cream, the best thing she knows in the world. The others have always had a happy life but they never “cry” either. Is that an expression of happiness?
I just watched the video Jenna took of her cat crying. My cat Jack was in my lap and watched intently. Then I went to another YouTube video marked “crying cat” which was the cat caterwauling. Jack turned away and looked around the room. I went back to Jenna’s video and Jack again watched intently. He usually ignores my computer screen as long as my laptop is not in the way of him sitting where he like.So there was something about that particular video. He is a master manipulator and I am well trained. Maybe he was thinking it was another control mechanism he could use on me! Smartest cat I’ve ever owned. Not that I’m saying he’s that smart. The others were just that dumb.
i have never seen any of my ‘kids’ cry, just as well as it would kill me.But i suppose we should realize that they can do after all they smile, hug, and above all love us, Give all your special kids an extra hug and tell them how wonderfull they are god bless them
My cats are stictly in door cats, i live on the 3rd floor of a big apartment complex, so going out is out of the question, they have a outdoor patio they go on. My Rocco must have snuck out one night, when i woke up in the morning Rocco was no where to be found, after searching for 3 hours my neighbors found him and my son said he had tears on his face, he was curled up in a ball and he was probably so scared he was out there all night long,thank god we found him
I am a pet sitter of both cats and birds for 28 years now. I have not only seen cats cry real tears, but I have witnessed birds mourn the loss of their mate by keening, letting out long, high pitched cries upon seeing the body. Do not for a moment be so arrogant is to believe only humans have emotions.
I have four cats. On June 18, the 18 year old died. She had CRF, diabetes, and strokes, but she wanted to live big time, and I managed to treat her for 2 years with all these conditions before she died. The other three cats had fallen in love with her (Cinder is 4, Biscuit is 3, and Muffin is 2). When she died their reactions were all different. Biscuit saw the body in my arms, put his paw on my arm, and smiled sadly, as if to say, “that’s life.” I thought he understood, but he became terrified of carriers because I had taken Misty to the vet to put her to sleep. Cinder, Misty’s best friend, was to sulk and strike out at the others for the next three months, while Muffin, the youngest, totally surprised me when big tear welled up in his eyes and stayed there for a month. He stopped “singing” as he went around the house, and was obviously generally depressed, until a friend sent us a tunnel for him to play with. I had never seen a cat cry before either, but, when I thought about it, my cats reacted to this death exactly the way humans do: with anger, fear, and sadness.
My ex-husband and I had a cat named “Frac.” He was extremely smart and very preciocious, if you know what I mean. Anyway, he was showing signs of wanting to mate at an extraordinarily young age. We had him neutered, of course and when we brought him back from the hospital he started to look at us with a look that showed he felt we had betrayed him. Frac started to cry then and continued to do so for about 10 minutes. I’m certain that this was real crying. I’ve seen that look of betrayal on a cat’s face before (What? we’re moving?) but that was the only time I ever saw a cat actually cry. He did other things that were extraordinary, too. When my Ex came back from an extended business trip, Frac started “talking” to him excitedly in a way that was unmistakeable: He was cursing…! In cat language, of course, but the message was clear. Many years have passed since then. My Ex and I are no longer married, and I heard through mutual friends that Frac passed away a year ago. But I will never forget him.
I have never seen a cat cry tears but I had a Manchester Terrier that cried whenever she was scolded. Tears would run down her face onto the floor. I believe cats can cry as they have feelings. My cat Casey carries a little stuffed bear and suckes on it and cries (no tears yet) when he can’t find me, the vet says he has seperation anxiety.
Cats definitely cry tears and it is the most heart breaking thing to see. A few years ago, I was merging families. I had a gorgeous black kitty, Midnight, and two wonderful twins (littermates), Smokey and Ashley. All were declawed. Two other kitties moved in with me, Zack and Hootie, both had claws. Midnight was my alpha and Zack had been the alpha in his other family. Out of intinct, he tried to get rid of the competition. A scuffle broke out and I quickly separated Zack from Midnight. Midnight had tears in his eyes, looking at me as if to ask “what did I do to deserve this?” It was THE most heartbreaking little face I saw.
My old cat used to puddle up his eyes when it was dinner time. The tears would get to just about overflow but when he got what he wanted off your plate, no more puddling. Then he’d move on to the next person. He did this for 17 years. It was a sympathy ploy and it worked (for anybody that didn’t know what a con artist he was that is).
My old cat Morton could puddle up, he did it when you were eating at the table. If the food wasn’t forthcoming, he would puddle up to just the brink of overflow, once he got what he wanted then he’d move on to the next person and repeat his performance. Worked too (on those people who didn’t know what a con artist he was).
My 14 year old Sophie occasionally has some clear discharge from her eyes, but I never associated that with crying. Her crying, in my view, is more of a sound — a plaintive Meow that tells me to call out to her.
3 summers ago my cat buddy disappeared for a week….showed up one day as i was getting the mail on the front porch. during the heat of summer. he was dehydrated.buddy is a very quiet and well behaved boy. but on this day he he was groaning and howling a deep tone.ive had him for 9 years now.he spent 3 days at the emergency pet clinic and 1 more day at 5 mile pet clinic.i visited him every night after work.as he layed there in the cage I would talk to him, gently stroke his body with loving caresses(sp).he knew he was very sick.this cat owns my home, owns my bed,and is next to my best friend debbie and my family, the most important thing in my life.buddy made it thru whatever he ran into.and i tell him every day how much i love him.cats do cry…honest…that summer day he showed up he had tears in both his eyes, and it about tore me up. he just looked at me, like he was saying, “what now dad”?…last year, true story, buddy got locked in a garage down the alley for whatever reason….hes always checking things out….i looked and looked and looked for him, called for him, walked the neighborhood…one morning I was standing in my alley calling for him, and i heard his wailing voice…i pryed open the doors to that garage and let him out…and boy did he let me have it vocally as he raced to the back door to get food and water..honest and true folks….my boy had tears in both eyes, he was howling at me……hes here on my lap now as i type this…im an ok person….but a much better man and human bcause of this cat….thank you for listening and reading…..jerry
I was surprised to see my blue point Siamese cry one night.
He has never been allowed outside because of the area in which we live. Too many birds of prey, coyotes, foxes, and mountain lions. But, one morning, Sambo managed to make it outside when my husband was not paying attention.
I didn’t get home from work until after dark. When I did, I saw my husband walking through the pasture, looking for Sambo.
I began calling and calling and was relieved when Sambo came crawling out from under a fallen tree. I scooped him up and ran into the house.
He was okay but he was shaking. That’s when I noticed he was crying. Huge tears just rolling down his face and dripping off his jaw.
We dried his face and snuggled him for the rest of the evening. We also made sure he wasn’t alone for several days. Sambo never tried the door trick again.
My darling angel Princess was my sole mate. I did what I could to keep her alive, during her last month as I was by her side I noticed tears..She was such a good girl…I was blessed to have had her in my life for 17 years and life without her will never be the same, she will always be missed.
yesterday my son came to get his cat to take him to the vet, after a month of staying with me because of their moving. His cat, Stryper got to be unseparable from one of my cats, Joshua, who is able the same age. The ate, slept, and played together the whole time Stryper was here. Last night my son came to get his cat, and as soon as Stryper left, Joshua ran to the window and scratched at it to get out to go with Stryper and there was tears in his eyes. I never saw this kind of thing before and one of my cats, not Joshua, but Fluffy will be 15 years old this Saturday, November 17th. It was strange when I got on the computer and saw this topic this morning on the computer.
i’ve never actually seen my cat cry physically, but he is exceptionally expressive. he’s the most talkative cat i’ve ever met, and loves having conversations with me. he cries (vocally; it’s quite a heartbreaking sound) when he’s upset about something (like when he loses one of his toys and expects me to find it for him). he even frowns when he’s frustrated; he gets this little line right between his eyebrows, and sometimes even wrinkles up his nose a bit if he’s really having a hard time with something (like when he’s trying to open doors). i haven’t seen tears, although when i used to be gone on weekends a lot he would have gunky eyes when i would get home on monday, and would need to cuddle for a bit and yell at me until he felt better. but generally, he seems to be more of a get angry rather than get sad sort of cat. which is a lot like me, actually.
I had a cat named Nina whom is the only cat I’ve had who cried. I’ve had a total of 8 and still have 3 of them. Nina whom was their mother was a kitten found at a construction site where she had survived amongst her mother and all the other kittens in her litter for 3 days. Needless to say if she was human she’d prob have mentla/emotional trauma problems. I’ve ahd my share of childhood trauma therefore at times would go in a depressed emotional crying for the world type of state. Little Nina would always join me in these crying sessions and I could feel her emotion.So I need to submit that some cats can indeed cry “for real”.Thank you.
I really don’t think that cats cry for emotional reasons.When cats are distressed they express themselves by peeing or. . .well,pooping.I once had a black domestic called Pennywise and when he decided he didn’t want to be an indoor cat anymore,he let me know by pooping on the kitchen floor,right in front of me. I grew up with cats and I saw a lot of stress and sadness peeing, but never any tears.
I never saw my 25 year old cat Priss cry but when I had tears in my eyes, she would jump on my lap and put her paw on my cheek and stroke it. I made no sound of sniffing etc. but she knew when I was sad. She died in May of 06 and her ashes will be buried with me.
Years ago I had two cats who had lived together for 11 years. One of them died, and at one of the moments where I was really sad, the other one shed a tear.
Now I have a very skittish kitty who is not taking a new cat arrival well at all. She hides all the time. If I ever come home and pay attention to the other two cats and not her, when I do go find her, she is crying clear tears that drop off her face. As soon as I start petting her, her eyes dry up. She also cried like this when I first got her, and she was scared and hadn’t adjusted yet.
Both of these cats are/were dilute tortie and white…
I’m a very big cat lover,I always had cats growing up and I presently own three,but I think that saying that cats cry for emotional reasons is weird.No matter how much you love your cat,you can’t attribute human attitudes to them.I’m not saying that cats-or other animals for that matter-don’t have emotions,’cause they do, and sometimes stronger than ours,but what I do say is that they express them in different ways.Cats meow when they want attention,or purr,and when they are unhappy they pee and poop(I think someone already mentioned that).My point is,I love my cats,and I know that many people wish their pets were more like us than they really are, but we should use common sense.
My cat cried when i left to go to florida and he was whinning and tears were rolling down his cheack.
Yes, cats do cry! I had a domestic shorthair who accidentally stepped on broken glass when I dropped a drinking glass in the kitchen. We took him to the vet who stitched up the cut and placed a very tight bandage around his foot. When we brought him home he was meowing in such discomfort and trying to get the bandage off himself. He was in such obvious discomfort from the sound of his meowing, and when I looked at him he had tears which soaked the fur below his eyes. I immediately took off that bandage and he was fine after that!
I’ve had cats all of my 54 years and never saw one of them cry. Their body language demonstrates every emotion they’re capable of. I don’t doubt some of them do cry, but if one of my did, it would be the death of me.
My husband passed leaving 3 sim, mite laid on his pillow and meowed checkin him I found tears in both eye’s as well as shane,heather, this got to me I too beging to cry right with them,this lasted for the day, and stop the next day, as if to say we all must move on and that means you too mom! it’s 2007 now and the cat queen has call them home, tie was 24,shi was 18, heather was 19 all well in thier teens, I pray I never hear or see this again.
Maybe it is your luck that you haven’t ever seen a cat cry, but if you did it would surprise you and cause you to question what happened. My girl Princess aka Taliban/Terror is a very active cat. So one evening she became quite ,when I found her she was silently upset and had a big pool of tears in her beautiful green eyes.Well, I know my cat , so I realised refusing to let her out when she had badly needed to (eat grass) had upset her so and made her resentful and sad. So now , I let her out even when I dont really have the time. I try for her health.
Back in oh,around 2002,my 10(he was 6 then) cat fell out a tree.I went to him and he had things he had in his eyes never seen in his - tear drops!He turned out to have basicly “twisted” his paw.I beleave they can cry.
My cat Max cried one time. He was about six months old, and at that age, he sometimes got destructive if I answered the phone and stopped playing with him. Once he knocked a china cup off a shelf, and I chased him down the basement steps with a broom. I was about to spank him, and looked down at his face. He was crying!
I never wanted to see that again, and since that time, I have used time outs when my cats misbehave, rather than even threaten to hit them.
They have been created differently to humans with some similarities. They have emotions like us. I have seen types of tears from several cats over the years, however they weren’t flowing saline water like a human’s I think that there’s was like a human’s when the eye has been created to automatically respond when there is some external trauma, in an effect to protect the eye, like from another cat scratching etc. Regards Laura.
My cat Punkin has inflamed bowel and has been prescribed Metranizadole. This medication has a very bitter taste and it brought tears to Punkin’s eyes. I now put the pills into gel caps and he is fine with it.
My cat Norbert tears up when she’s extremely stressed. But the vet diagnosed her has having the herpes virus in her eyes, so we meds to give her when she starts getting stressed to help her from tearing up. It’s heart-wrenching to see….
I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:
My 15 yr. old cat cried today when my daughter took her away to live with her. On the car trip to Vegas my daughter called to tell me about it. I came to look up on the internet to find out if cats cry and found this site… She has always been an extremely expressive and talkative cat…God, I already miss her so.
I have seen my cat (Dee) cry. He just came back from the vet after a (thankfully) minor operation to remove a lump from his tail. Even so, they cut quite deep and he had to have stitches and a collar to stop him playing with the wound.
At the time we had a new kitten about five months old. As soon as she entered the house she instantly took to Dee and followed and copied him in everything he did. They instantly became best friends!
On returning from the vets, our kitten was scared of him (the smell? the collar?). Dee sat on the floor at my feet with his shaved tail, stupid big collar and the kitten being really frightened of him and sobbed and sobbed. He really cried. For sure. Never seen anything like it…. Hopefully never again!
I’ve had many cats growing up and only one cat now; however, this cat (Scooter) is very different from the others. Scooter is definitally emotional. Just a few cute things: I use to walk him on a leash when he was younger and he liked it, he will wake me up every morning if I’ve slept past the alarm clock, and gets really lovy dovie/cuddily when I pay extra attention to him (like giving him a bath), he also gives me normal kisses to say hello. He’ll jump on my lap, I’ll give him a kiss on his almost lips, and then he’ll jump off. Scooter has cryed many times and it was first noticed via punishment. Not only due to fear or being hurt, but this morning he was all teared up with one tear going down his left cheek while relaxing in my son’s arms like a baby. I looked at him and swore that he was crying out of happyness. I gave him a kiss and whiped his tears and he looked so happy. This is when I decided I needed to find out if cats really cry. From experience, I’ve believe that all cats don’t cry, so it must be just certain types of cats. Of maybe there just less likely to cry (like men) when there emotionally distraught, but some are born more emotional (like some men). Interesting thoughts.
When my 19-year-old tuxedo cat died, my other three cats had very distinct reactions. The female, and the one who was possibly the closest, withdrew and became angry. The 3-year-old Maine Coon because extremely nervous, but the 2 year-old Maine Coon cried. He suddenly had big tears in his eyes all the time and he was lethargic. The tears didn’t go away until 6 weeks later when a friend sent us a tunnel for him to play in. Because Muffin has never had tears in his eyes before, nor since, I have to conclude that this was his way of mourning. Leigh
I DO ENJOY YOUR BLOG, MY FIRST TIME TO READ IT. SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST LITTER OF KITTENS
I AM IN THE DARK. THEY ARE 3 WEEKS OLD.WE WERE SURPRIZED, I TOOK CARE OF THIS SMALL BREED DURING THE WINTER, SHE IS ONLY 6MO. WE THOUGHT SHE WAS A HE. WAS SO COLD OUT, JUST KEPT IT WARM AND FEED. DID NOT KNOW IT WAS GOING TO BE A KEEPER. NOW, I HAVE 4 KITTENS
IN MY CLOSET THE VET DID A C-SEC. SHE IS SO SMALL TO SAVE HER LIFE. TO PREMEIES AND TO NORMAL. THERE DOING O.K.HAVE A LARGE PLASTIC
SHELVE AT THE DOOR STANDING UPRIGHT AND THE DOOR CLOSED TO THE SHELVE FOR AIR.VERY SANTIARY, AND I FEEL LIKE I HAD THE KITTENS I HAVE DONE SO MUCH WORK. BUT TODAY SHE MOVED ALL KITTENS OUT BUT ONE, NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE, COULD NOT FIND THEM AND ONE LEFT IN THE KENNEL ALONE CRYING, IT WOKE IT ME UP. I COULD BELIEVE MY EYES ALL KITTENS WERE GONE.I KNEW THEY WERE TO LITTLE TO CRWL
VERY FAR 3WKS,MY DOG FOUND THEM UNDER THE BED.SHE HAD PICKED THEM UP. THE ONE LEFT IN THE KENNEL I PICKED UP AND HAD DIARRA? AND I
CLEANED THE KITTEN UP AND CHANGED EVERYTHING
AND SHE FINALLY LET THEM STAY IN THERE. BUT
STILL WANTED TO CARRY THEM OUT, ACTING STRANGE TODAY. MAYBE BECAUSE ONE IS SICK . KITTEN DID MAKE A MESS. I DON’KNOW? DOES MOTHER WANT BABY’S AWAY FROM THE LITTLE ONE .
AND ALOT OF CRYING TODAY . I FINALLY HAD TO PUT HER IN THE CLOSET WITH THEM AND CLOSE THE DOOR. HELP!!!! I NEED IT! OH, I,M SORRY
THE CAT’S NAME IS SUTTER. LAD 5/27/08
Lad, I’m not sure how you found a blog from last year unless you came here by search. In any case, since probably no one else will find your post (or my reply), I’d urge you to join my forum and post your questions there. You’ll probably get replies from a number of members. Good luck with your rescues and bless you for taking this poor momcat and her babies in.
thanks for posting everyone. reading what everyone has submitted helped me.
we’re foster/adopting a kitty cat that is 4 years old. i don’t really know much about her past except that she was returned to the humane society because she had a urinating out of the litter box problem that seemed like it was stress related. she is a very mild, very smart and responsive cat. my partner and i have been wanting a cat for a very long time, but have been struggling because she is allergic to most cats; yet not really to others it seems. she is not allergic to this one, there is a goddess! we’ve had KC in the house for a little less than a week. she hasn’t been eating that much - i’m not getting too too concerned because i know her appetite will adjust to what she needs once she settles in. she’s been eating about a 6th of a can twice a day. we have plans to transition her diet to raw food with vegetables as soon as the adoption is final. (and she looks ready)
this morning, i fed her a 3rd of a can, and as usual she ate only half. she will only eat her food if you sit with her right now, otherwise she will follow you. we played for a little while and then i got hungry myself and made a bagel with cream cheese. we were both starring out the front window when i saw her looking at my bagel, lick her lips and look at me. i got the idea that she was hungry and wanted some. so i wiped a little bit of cream cheese onto a finger and brought it close to her mouth - she started licking. i was glad, and pretty sure that it wouldn’t hurt her. she seemed to want more so i gave her more. then i noticed something fall. i wasn’t sure what it was - maybe she licked hard enough to knock down a piece of ccheese.
it was a little drop of clear water! and on her right eye was another. she cried 2 more tears and she was continuing to eat. i was concerned that she was not ok, or was sad. i think she became self conscious ‘coz then she turned away and stepped down to the arm rest. one more tear fell and she shook her face to get rid of the other that was accumulating. she seemed ok. almost like she didn’t really want to talk about what just happened. i told her i was gonna look what happened up on the internet. she’s sitting on my lap now as i type this on my laptop. (hmmmm, maybe “laptop” is a better name for this smart and sensitive cat)
anyways, she’s got a great home here. we are a holistic health family. we know that for her as well as us, stress leads to very very unhealthy things and have a priority that her life be free from stress other than not quite reaching that cat toy. she is doing well.
whatever past she has, i hope she can let it go and be happy with us. it’s heartbreaking to see her cry. but i am glad she is releasing it.
Brittney Rose Stanbrook (lilshortie) of Brockton, Massachusetts writes:
AAWWWWW! I have heard of this hapening even though cats aren’t supposed to display emotion!