The motor oil story made me chuckle a bit. But I can also relate a bit.
Long ago, my wife wanted a cat of her own. She found a Himalayan for free,, that the young girl who owned it couldn't keep it. (Long story there.) It was love at first sight, and that cat was my wife's cat. Sadly, when we got him, he was infested with fleas, and we didn't know right away. Well, all our cats are indoors & such,, so it affected all the others. He was miserable due to the fleas,, and my wife (who had limited experience with cats at the time,) decided to give him a bath. My comment was; "You'll regret it!" Well, when I came home, she was sitting in the floor with him, he was on a damp towel. She had politely drew some warm water in pitchers, set him in a sink, and gently poured the water on him a little at a time,, all while scrubbing his fur & skin with flea soap. She said it was so bad,, the water turned red with blood. He never fought her,, and she gave him his bath, and THEN,, used a hair dryer to dry him. When I came in, he was sitting there,, allowing her to gently blow dry him. She had to give him a few baths,, but he was always great about it. We figured he was just grateful as it likely felt very good to him.
As mentioned by many above,, folks usually feel like a cat is aloof, or doesn't seek human companionship, easily or maybe in a needy way like dogs.
Well, I will say that we have 4 of them, as well as having owned several over the years. Many of them DO seek our attention & will want to be petted & lay in our laps. We can be in the living room, and all 4 will be around us or in our laps. If we move to the "happy room" all will move out there as well. And they also know who is the Alpha, and will obey me over my wife. I can speak, and they will pay attention. And they also know which one is "in trouble" if I speak a certain way. They are also jealous of attention by the Alpha,, (me) in general.
I could spin stories all day about such stuff.
Basically, you give love & will receive it back 10 fold.