Happiness doesn't look the same for everybody. For some, it means to laugh until you run out of air; others think that happiness means to be in a state of general peace and satisfaction with yourself. No matter what we understand as the definition of happiness, somehow we always manage to transmit the exact feeling, with surgical precision, to whoever is listening to us. Unlike sadness, which tends to be particular for every person, happiness is a feeling that's individually defined but universally understood. Maybe that's because there's so much poetry trying to figure out sadness and all its different sources, and very little (in comparison) dedicated to explaining happiness. That one is easier to understand: you feel complete, joyful, your brain is flooded with dopamine, and your whole body is relaxed. No matter how you define it, you always know what it means.
Since happiness looks different for human beings, it wouldn't be crazy to assume that it also looks different for animals. For dogs is easy to spot: they wag their tails, jump, bark, run around, and live like everyday it's a party. We love them for their enthusiasm. For cats, it seems to be nothing of the sort. They don't have such obvious ways to show they're happy, and that's why sometimes we don't really know how our furry friends are actually feeling. Their tails don't wag; they only meow when they want something, and running around is simply beneath them. So, how do we know if our cat is happy? They have other tells.
They blink slowly while looking at us; they follow us around the house and curl up beside us on the couch; they look for proximity, not contact; they close their eyes and fall asleep in our presence because they feel comfortable and protected. A happy cat doesn't make a fuss; they coexist quietly with us. If we pay enough attention, we'll notice in an instant how comfortable, how happy, and how loved they feel. That's all we need.
We know that understanding our feline floofs can be a challenge. And that's why we put together this list of photos! In all of them, cats are happy in their own way. Hopefully, they'll help us identify the signs better next time!