Cats like people with strong maternal instincts. Cats prefer reliable people who can take care of them steadily. Within a family, cats always pick their favorite one. Is it true that people who are good with cats have good virtue? It might be true. Whether humans or animals, they tend to gravitate towards those who benefit them. People who are good with cats definitely have good qualities in other respects worth learning from.

Are Being Good With Cats and Having Good Virtue Related?

As sentient beings, although we are different from ordinary creatures, we still live on Earth and inevitably interact with all living things. This interaction sometimes happens naturally, and sometimes it is the intentional result of humans. For example, some people are naturally fond of small animals, willing to raise cats, and some even deliberately feed stray cats and dogs on the street.

Some people are naturally liked by animals; we call them people who have good animal affinity. When these people interact with animals, the animals easily accept them. When animals are hurt or frightened, seeing a person who is good with animals can quickly soothe and calm them. Elders believe that people good with cats and animals have good virtue. According to Master Xingyun’s teachings, humans should naturally have a compassionate heart, and treating animals kindly is a form of accumulating virtue. Animals have spirituality and are very sensitive to virtue. Therefore, people who are good with animals must also be people with good virtue.

Why Are Some People Good With Cats?

Because they may have a scent that cats like:

1: According to Xinhua News Agency’s description of cat behavior, cats like people with strong maternal instincts.

2: Cats like reliable people who can steadily take care of them.

3: Within a family, cats always pick their favorite one.

What Are the Characteristics of People With Good Virtue?

People with abundant virtue often have the following five characteristics. Do you have any of them?

1. Gentle Personality

People often say: your temper and personality shape your life. A person's temper and personality may not completely determine their fate but are very important and have a big influence on one’s destiny.

A person with a gentle personality and good temper easily connects with others, and people enjoy interacting with them, thus gaining more opportunities than ordinary people. Rather than saying they are lucky, it is more accurate to say their good temper benefits them.

Conversely, if a person is irritable and quick to anger, others may feel fearful and avoid them. Buddhism often says: "Once a thought of anger arises, millions of obstacles appear." When a person loses their temper, all obstacles come forth. It is not so much bad luck as it is bad temper.

2. Few Desires and Contentment

Disasters are not from outside but brought upon by oneself. Many misfortunes stem from desires because desire is a bottomless pit that causes one to lose oneself and reason. Without restraint, it brings disaster.

What life truly needs is actually very little; anything beyond that is desire. Zhuge Liang said in "Admonition to My Son": "Without indifference, one cannot clarify ambition; without tranquility, one cannot achieve far-reaching goals." Only by having fewer desires and contentment, not being tempted by external things, can one find the true self, gain great wisdom, and truly understand life’s value and meaning.

3. Kind and Compassionate Appearance

Ancient people often said: "Face arises from the heart." Our inner state shows outwardly. A person willing to help others and filled with compassion always has a smiling face and gentle expression, making others feel happy. Over time, this manifests as "kind and compassionate features."

If a person is always full of hatred and resentment, it shows as a fierce and murderous look, eventually becoming a cruel and terrifying appearance.

4. Generous Giving

Buddhism teaches cause and effect: practicing generosity leads to the fruit of wealth. A person’s wealth is the result of practicing generosity.

Those with deep virtue are often generous and joyful in helping others. Such people have a bodhisattva’s heart and cannot stand to see others suffer. Whenever they see others in trouble, they never stand idly by but devote themselves fully to helping, even if it costs them suffering and hardship.

5. Refraining from Killing and Practicing Release

Buddhism places "do not kill" as the foremost of the five basic precepts because this rule is very important and the consequences of killing are severe.

Similarly, if one refrains from killing and practices release, the merit and blessings are boundless. Being vegetarian is the ultimate form of release. If a person refrains from killing, practices release, and longs eats vegetarian, they accumulate great virtue.

Summary

Elders often say that people who are good with cats have good virtue because they naturally have compassion and are willing to treat cats kindly. Cats and other small animals have great spirituality; if they do not see a person with good virtue, how would they willingly get close? Therefore, people who are close to cats are indicated to have good virtue and can naturally be loved by cats. If one does not treat cats kindly, cats will not approach them.

Cat affinity and virtue are not necessarily related. Some people have good virtue but not cat affinity. Of course, a person who loves cats and often attracts their attention, so cats approach them, indicates they are animal lovers who are likely compassionate and empathetic people.

Of course, the saying "people who are good with cats have good virtue" belongs to feudal superstition and lacks factual basis. Do not judge whether a person is good solely by their cat affinity. A person's character must be understood through long-term interaction and living together, rather than just by their ability to attract cats.