1. "Why do cats love sitting in boxes so much?"
2. "Why is my cat crazy for the smell of my feet?"
3. "Does my cat actually love me or is he just trying to get more food?"
You can breathe a sigh of relief: "Cats do love their owners," says Bradshaw.
They show this in two ways: by rubbing their head on your leg (or sometimes a nearby chair leg), and by licking you. Both of those behaviours are things that cats do to other cats to show affection and reinforce a friendship – not because they want something.
It's worth keeping in mind, however, that cats are fundamentally territorial animals and will bond more strongly to the place they live than the people they live with. "It's a legacy from when they were wild animals," says Bradshaw. "The most important thing to have is a safe place to rest and a hunting territory that you know, otherwise you get eaten or you starve. They haven't lost that."