Kitten: why they love to stay in the bathroom when we are there. A reflection about the answer.

Summary

Cats seek out bathroom time with their owners due to the undivided attention they can receive during these moments.

Abstract

The article explores the common behavior of cats following their owners into the bathroom, attributing this to the cats' desire for attention. It suggests that the bathroom is a place where owners are usually still and focused, providing cats with an ideal opportunity to be noticed and petted. This behavior is part of a larger pattern where cats seek to engage with their owners during moments of stillness, such as when owners are using the computer or relaxing. The article also touches on the mutual emotional benefits of the human-cat interaction, as both parties release serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine during these exchanges. The author reflects on the contrast between the simplicity of a cat's life, living in the present, and the complex, multitasking nature of human life, often filled with digital distractions.

Opinions

Cats are experts at observing human behavior and use this knowledge to maximize their chances of receiving affection.
The bathroom is a strategic location for cats to gain their owners' undivided attention because owners are typically stationary and focused on a single task.
Cats may perceive their owners' screen time as relaxation, unaware of the potential mental chaos it can cause for humans.
The author emphasizes the importance of living in the present, a concept that animals inherently understand and practice, unlike humans who are often preoccupied with multitasking and digital distractions.
The article implies that both cats and humans benefit emotionally from the bonding time in the bathroom, with the interaction being a source of happiness and stress relief for both parties.

Kitten: why they love to stay in the bathroom when we are there. A reflection about the answer.

It seems like a universal cat pattern and it is.

Furio (the blond one) and Bigotitos (the two-colors-one), pic by the author.

A few days ago I was sitting on WC, the IPAD in one hand, and with the other hand, I was caressing Furio, my blond cat, when I discover an article called: ¿Tu gato te sigue al baño? Este es el verdadero motivo. (Does your cat follow you to the bathroom? Here’s the real reason.)

Most of the time the kitten entry in the bathroom asking for our love, or if the door is closed, they meow like crazy until we let them in. What treasure is hidden? You can believe it or not, but the treasure is yourself.

Let’s get it straight once and for all: cats try to capture our attention whenever and wherever they can. Not only to ask for some gentle caresses on the chin when we lie down on the sofa to enjoy our favorite series, or when they settle down, literally, in front of our computer.

Ok, but Why the bathroom? Because is probably the only time we are really still, and we are not running around the house. Our attention is nowhere else. You can’t get up to do anything else either. And your cat knows it.

Human: listen to me (now that you’re stuck in the bathroom).

That is exactly the same reason why they are dancing just in front of our computer when we are working. Kitten is an expertise in the art of observation. They know well our habits, in a way we are cannot imagine.

Now the human is calmy looking at this rectangle.

By caressing our kitten we both produce serotonin, endorphin, and dopamine. So we love it. We both need it. But it seems like only pets have time for thinking about it. We are focussing on a thousand things at once.

My Reflection

We are not infinite beings. We cannot make all the things we dream with. We need to assume it. It is a somewhat hackneyed mantra but it is 100% true: we live in the present. Animals don’t need to think about it to know it. Kitten thinks that when we are looking at the screens we are relaxing. Poor animals don’t know anything about our storm inside the head. The twelve windows we have open on the laptop, the Instagram stories we are “liking”, the matches on tinder, the spam emails, the deadlines, webinars, zooms, etc, etc. Kittens only want to share with us this precise time we both are together. Which is unique and unrepeatable.