No worries at all! I’ve always been a cat person, from when I was a kid to my now early 30s, so it’s something I’m very passionate about haha!

I’m also doing my Cert III in Animal Care Services, looking to move into either Vet Nursing or Animal Tech, so it’s also in part due to my coursework lol!

It is hard when one has a single cat, and we have to go to work; we always worry whether they’re sad or upset with us. But also, it’s important to look at it from a cat behaviour perspective: many many single cats are perfectly content being alone as they often sleep during the day anyway. They’re crepuscular, so they’re more active during dawn and dusk (for hunting/predation purposes), and are less ‘domesticated’ than dogs. Ancient humans relied on dogs to help with hunting and companionship, so they have been bred over thousands of years to meet those specific needs. Cats, while we have had them around us since the Fertile Crescent, haven’t been bred as much for specific needs, because their natural behaviour was enough to keep mice and rats away from our food storage and silos!

Cats love human companionship however, just in their own natural way! They enjoy the benefits of scritches and a warm lap, never having to worry about food, we take care of their health and development - so they live longer and happier lives with us. It also helps to look into how a cat expresses love for us, as it is very different to dogs! Cats will slow blink at you to tell you “I love you and trust you” and you can do the same to them! They will often seek out your company, just happy to be in the same room, on your desk, all up in your hobbies (sewing is chaos!) because they love you and trust you! They will sit on your lap or in contact with you because consensual touch is their way of saying “this human is awesome and is mine and I love them”. Rubbing their face on you, or their bum on you, is then marking you as theirs, as part of their family.

Jackson Galaxy and The Kitten Lady on YT have so many great videos on cat behaviour, advising how to interpret those behaviours so as to better understand them. Highly recommend those for more in depth information!

It’s human nature to wonder if our cats are lonely when we’re not there, but honestly, the vast majority of the time the cats are happy being a single cat! They see you as their family, their bevy (herd), as their provider and source of comfort. Introducing a new cat can work out for sure, but often it just causes distress because a new cat is encroaching on their territory; territory and ownership is important for cats.

So do research more, don’t just take this students word for any of this. There are always exceptions and many success stories! I’d never ever say “don’t introduce new cats to an established cat!” But only to do research and come up with a plan on how you’re going to do the introductions!

And of course, female cats are just better at accepting other female cats and male/female kittens! Male cats are generally more solitary, and often happiest when their humans are their own :)

Regarding cats being afraid of other humans (like your friends/family visiting), that’s pretty normal and standard tbh. They know and love you, but don’t know who those other humans are. A good way to help your cat in those circumstances is to find out what it values (as in, is your cat extremely food-motivated or play-motivated) and have the new human attempt interaction using that. So give the new human either the cats fav toy or high-value treat, and attempt to call the cat over. It also helps to stand sideways to the cat, as that is way less threatening, or sideways crouched. It can take time, but with patience and consistency, your cat may see that new human as not a threat but a source of treats and play!