Who hasn’t been in a situation where your cat has stolen your seat when you get up for a cup of tea or for a toilet break during a television show? It’s like your cat is waiting for you to move so they can settle somewhere more comfortable. Many times cats can also become restless if you are sitting in the seat that they usually spend their nap time in. So they will either annoy the hell out of you until you leave the seat or sit and quietly wait for the opportunity to pounce when you get up from it. Some of the reasons behind a cat taking your seat when you get up are as follows.
1. Routine
Many cats will have a favorite spot in the household that they like to take naps in. One of those might be they sofa or the armchair. When you are gone from the home, if you don’t spy on your cat then you won’t know where it is that your cat sleeps. So your cat could decide that the left hand side of the sofa is their domain.
So they spend the majority of their time having naps throughout the day there. So when the time comes for you to sit down to watch something in the evening, and you are sitting in their spot, they can become restless because they want you to get up out of their seat so that they can lie in it. If you don’t move from the seat they will either pace around the room for a few minutes to get your attention. If that doesn't work they will wait for the opportunity to steal your seat from you when you take a break for a cup of tea.
2. Scent
Most pets can recognize you by your scent and the outline of your body. Cat’s sense of smell is 40 times stronger than humans. Cats have 200 million receptors in their nose and humans only have 5 million. If you are around your pet and you don’t wear perfume or aftershave, then they will recognize your scent especially if they have been living with you for a while.
Cats have an organ on the roof of their mouth referred to as the Jacobson’s organ. This organ sends messages back to the brain and researchers believe that it helps a cat to recognize people or new guests who are encroaching into their terriotory.
If your cat scents that this is the chair that you spend a lot of time in, then they will want to go to the chair that has your scent.
3. Warm
When you leave your seat, you leave behind a nice soft warm spot for you cat to sleep in. Cats love heat and they usually have a body temperature of 99 and 102.5 degrees so if they are cold they will want to go to a warm spot. So if you have been sitting in that seat for a long period of time, then they know that it is going to be comfy and warm.
4. Copycat
Many cats will see their owners as being their protectors as well as their servant. So if your cat sees you doing something on a regular basis then they might want to copy your behavior. Cats see you sitting in that chair for long periods of time and they will know that it must be warm and comfy. Cats love to sleep in nice soft warm beds. So as soon as they see you getting ready to leave your chair, they prepare for takeover.
Dealing With a Cat That Wants to Be Alpha
Some cats think that they own the household and think that you are their minion that was put on this earth to feed and look after them. You can usually see signs of an alpha cat in your household around the age of 2. If a kitten is taken from its mother at an early age which is usually before they reach 8 weeks old then they will likely miss out on being disciplined by their mother for bad behavior. Cat owners will never be able to teach a kitten how to behave in a non-aggressive manner in the same way that its mother could but they can take steps to reduce it.
To avoid alpha behavior in your cat, try to reassert negative behavior from the start. Correct any aggression towards you or toward any other pets in your household as soon as it happens. If your cat is scratching you to get to the seat or it is jumping on the back of your chair to take over your seat, then you need to remove your cat from the situation and correct it every time it behaves in a bad way.
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