Do your cats react to your anxiety?

[madzoya]

I'm just curious, as I don't remember Zoya's behavior changing with my moods. 

Bruce was kind of skidish yesterday, refusing to being held and not coming for pets. He would play and was in intense mode even. He still followed me everywhere but was kind of electric.

As there have been some stress and I know I'm in a high state of anxiety, am I affecting him? Or is it just coindence?

 

[di and bob]

I'm sure they can pick up on our moods, mine definitely know when I'm mad, they disappear! Being upset  and crying usually brings them over to comfort, or maybe they are curious to why I'm acting that way? When we are stressed we tend to be distracted and our routines subtly change, and you know how cats react to change. When we get ready to go away for a while, they definitely pick up on the flurry of activity and the heightened moods, they become anxious themselves, and more clingy.  Cats have a more advanced brain then we give them credit for, I'm sure it's not just coincidence, if anything they are MORE sensitive to our moods and changes in the changes in their routines then humans. 

 

[Alejandra Rico]

Yes, all animals react to our emocional state, and cats are not an exception. Our body language is an expression of our feelings and emotions, and cats are much better than we are at reading it.
It is just natural for them to react to our mood, but not all cats will react equally to the same state. Some will avoid contact with their human if s/he is a source of anxiety, while other (more dog like) will try to confort him or her.