'This old cat never snuggles with me': Person going through a rough time gets an unexpected helping paw from their concerned senior cat who refuses to leave them alone all night

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Sep 16, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

There are still a lot of people out there who truly believe that cats don't have feelings. That cats don't care about us. That cats only tolerate us because we bring them food. But that is so not true. We, as actual cat owners, who have lived with cats for many years, know that cats love their humans so much, more than we ever expect them to. And something that we have learned over the years - the same thing that the person in today's story learned - is that even cats that are "unaffectionate" on a day-to-day basis, are always there for us when we need them the most. 

Cats will surprise you with how much affection they can give you in moments of need. They will remind you, right when you need it, exactly what it is out there that makes life so worth living. Affection, love, unconditional love. You give them a little, and they will return it tenfold. 

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  • 01

    "It’s all true…(cats can sense emotional pain)"

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    via Indy-CBJ
  • 02
    This morning I was in deep despair over how people have been treating me lately. I went to go take a bath to collect my thoughts at 1:30 in the morning and I just check in on my little one, Ms. Joy, before I did so and saw she was passed completely out.
    via Indy-CBJ
  • 03
    While I was taking the bath I had racing thoughts that quickly turned dark and I was just laying in the tub for almost a hour. Then out of nowhere I heard a bang bang on the door to the bathroom followed by a sad mrph and a little noise it's hard to explain she does unique to her but I always took it as "hey pay attention".
    via Indy-CBJ
  • 04
    I jumped out of the tub without drying off, opened the door. She immediately started to rub on me and she had these sad little eyes looking at me...
    via Indy-CBJ
  • 05
    After I got dried off and layed down in bed she followed me in and curled up next to me on my bot. Here's the thing...this old cat never snuggles with me, she just prefers to lay by my head on the nightstand and watch over me during nights. Now she's laying on me doing a purr/snore in my bed using me as a pillow...she's ever done this before...
    via Indy-CBJ
  • 06
    I am now a believer that somehow these animals know when something is deeply wrong with us and will go out of their way to help...
    via Indy-CBJ
  • 07
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    via Indy-CBJ

  • Cats know. We think that when we first became cat owners, we didn't fully believe that either, but it has been proven to us one hundred times over through the years. They know when we need them, and they will be there for us during those times. 

  • 08
    greenbasket hope you're feeling much better now, and please treat yourself well my cat also got affectionate when i was crying one night, and overall just gave a lot of joy during difficult times. happy that your sweet fluffy friend was there for you! you both are wonderful
    via greenbasket_
  • 09
    Indy-CBJ OP Not really but the little girl stayed there until 5am this morning when she started to stir for some breakfast. She did her job so she got the sacred 7am churu before heading to work.
    via Indy-CBJ
  • 10
    NeedCoffeeFirst6 Reading this reminded me of my own cat. He was usually very aloof and hated being touched. But when I was 20, I lost a close friend and was crying alone at home. For the first time ever, he climbed into my lap and stayed there quietly, almost like he was saying "I've got you." Animals really do know when something's wrong, even when they can't say it.
    via NeedCoffeeFirst6
  • 11
    Mili_713 Cats are extremely smart animals. My girl Eve is a calico diva who otherwise couldn't give a flying f about what I was up to but after my grandpa passed, things got really hard. I didn't have the time to grieve because there was so much responsibility on me and my grandma and mum were too devastated to be able to do anything.
    via Mili_713
  • 12
    When everything was done and things settled back into normalcy, that's when it started hitting me. For others that initial bout of sadness had passed but it just started for me and I even had my finals in a week. I started crying at random intervals of the day and it was just really hard.
    via Mili_713
  • 13
    Eve was such a sweetheart. She cuddled up to me, kept licking me and rubbing against me clearly trying to make me feel better. Bless her little heart it did. It helped so much. I was very close with my grandpa and it was absolutely heartbreaking but my sweet girl helped me get through it.
    via Mili_713
  • 14
    Then she went right back to her sassy self but always shows up for me when I need it. We grew up together, I picked her off the street when I was 11 and it's been 8 years of the best friendship ever.
    via Mili_713
  • 15
    skandranon_rashkae My girlcat usually lets me cuddle her under protest - she'll sit in my arms for about 30sec to a minute before deciding she's done and twisting her body to escape.
    via skandranon_rashkae
  • 16
    One evening, my boyfriend woke me up out of a de d sleep saying he had a medical issue. Immediately grabbed my car keys and took him to the hospital. This was 1a. ER solved the acute crisis and admitted him for observation and testing. I was by his side the entire time until it was clear that the final test and transfer we'd been promised wouldn't happen until the next day,
    via skandranon_rashkae
  • 17
    so I went home to get some actual sleep in my bed and not a hospital chair. I got home around 10p, utterly exhausted, scooped my cat into my arms, sat on the floor, and wept. She sat quietly in my arms as my tears soaked her fur, and didn't move until I'd cried out all of the stress and fear of the day. I'd do anything for that cat.
    via skandranon_rashkae

  • It's so wholesome to read everyone's stories in the comments as well. Honestly, after so many years of having cats, it's hard for us to imagine how anyone out there could still think that they are aloof and uncaring animals, but people still do, so maybe these people need to read these stories as well. 

  • 18
    Warm Molasses_258 Aww, my cat Nezuko is the same. She isn't particularly cuddly, but if you had a bad day or if you're sick, she won't leave your lap and insists on sleeping on your chest/lap.
    via Warm_Molasses_258
  • 19
    ThatWeirdGhost Look at her adorable little face, omg. My cat did something similar when I had my first ever, what I think was a panic attack, a few days ago. They do know and they do care. I hope you are a bit better and lots of kisses to your little helper!
    via ThatWeirdGhost

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