Will a Cancer Man Come Back If You Ignore Him? Here’s the Truth

If you’re thinking about ignoring a Cancer man to make him come back, I’d use an abundance of caution.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with this tactic, and very seldom does it work.

In this guide, I’m going to show you:

• What happens when you ignore a Cancer man,
• How to give a Cancer man space in a way that encourages him to open up to you, and
• How to get a Cancer man back after you’ve broken up or he’s distanced himself from you.

I’ve seen a lot of uncertainty swirling around on the internet about what buttons to push with a Cancer man if you want him back, and as a Cancer myself I can say with confidence that you don’t want to push buttons at all.

You just want to be real.

I can show you how.

But first, let’s set the record straight about what could happen if you ignore a Cancer man.

Will a Cancer Man Come Back If You Ignore Him?

The answer is almost always no—a Cancer man won’t come back if you ignore him.

Whether you’ve broken up or he’s asked for space and you’re hoping to entice him again, ignoring him does the opposite of what you want.

In all likelihood, it will sever your connection with the Cancer man completely.

It will not make him curious to reach out to you, work on things or reignite the flame.

Giving a Cancer man the cold shoulder convinces him you’re showing your true face to him.

There are very few situations where ignoring a Cancer man might work.

In these situations, the Cancer man must have feelings for you still.

If he doesn’t, there will be no reaction from him.

Crickets.

He’s as good as gone.

Not only does he have to have feelings for you, but he also has to be open to getting back together (I’m going to explain in just a bit how to open the door even wider).

He has to miss you. He has to miss being with you.

And you have to know what to do with that information to motivate him the right way.

The problem is, ignoring a Cancer man is not the best form of motivation.

It’s dangerous because it sends so many negative messages.

If he knows you’re ignoring him on purpose, it sends the message that you’re a game player, which he avoids like the plague.

It’s also possible that he’ll assume you don’t want him, or worse, that you’re trying to hurt him.

Which will be devastating to your chances of getting back together.

Read Next: When a Cancer Man Is Done With You

What Happens If You Ignore a Cancer?

Cancer is an intuitive, deeply feeling water sign. 

When you ignore a Cancerian, they have an overwhelming emotional reaction to that treatment.

It cuts them deeply.

You wouldn’t know it from their silence.

But the pain and humiliation it causes can be so intense that it instantly turns their heart cold towards you.

This ensures that the Cancer can protect himself from further hurt.

Cancers are terrified of being taken advantage of.

They will do anything to avoid feeling like someone got the better of them.

In short, ignoring a Cancer man in most cases will make him ignore you back until the end of time.

It will also leave a bad taste in his mouth in case you ever try to get back together with him in the future.

If the Cancer man lost feelings for you, it won’t affect him emotionally.

It might irritate him, but he won’t be devastated.

However, his irritation will cause him to simply let you go and move on.

Should You Ignore a Cancer Man Back?

The only time not speaking to a Cancer man might work, like I said, is if he still cares about you and can see himself having a future with you.

But even then, you can’t full-on ignore him like he doesn’t exist, never replying to his texts or responding to him reaching out to you.

When a sensitive Cancer man is trying to reconnect with you, continuing to ignore him will surely drive him away and keep him away.

However, if he’s actively ignoring you or he’s set a no contact rule after a breakup, then giving him space is the only way to go.

It shows respect for his boundaries.

In the case where he’s not sure he wants to let you go or he’s having doubts about breaking up, leaving him alone can encourage him to check in on you.

However, this is where your reaction is crucial.

As soon as he contacts you, you must respond.

It’s OK to show the Cancer man that you do want him back.

If you don’t—if you choose to ignore him further—you’ll lose out forever.

Because the Cancer man would rather cut you off than allow himself to be rejected by someone he cares for.

He might never get over you.

But in his mind, he was avoiding taking a huge emotional risk that could have cost him everything.

How to Get a Cancer Man Back

Do you want to get back together with a Cancer man?

I wouldn’t recommend just using the silent treatment as a way of doing it.

As I’ve tried to show, most of the time it’s not effective and will just make the Cancer man feel bad.

And if you make him feel bad, he’ll have no reason to contact you.

There’s a way to give a Cancer man space that allows him to process his feelings about you and open back up to the prospect of a relationship.

But it’s not just ignoring him.

Enticing a Cancer man back into your life requires the right balance of expressing your true feelings and avoiding any and all forms of pressure.

The choice has to be his.

Here’s how to do it.

Allow Him the Space He Needs

After a breakup or when a Cancer man has pulled away, in almost all situations he needs to create some healthy space.

So allow him to do that.

Don’t bombard him with messages.

Show the Cancer that you’re OK with giving him time to mend his wounds while you mend your own.

This is not quite the same as ignoring him.

It’s more about shifting the focus to taking a rest period where you both can recuperate.

Send Him a Kind Message

After you’ve given the Cancer man some time and space—maybe a couple of weeks or so—send him a meaningful message.

It should be relatively brief so that it doesn’t overwhelm him, but it should also be of substance.

The message should be about him and your concern for him.

Not about yourself.

Resist sending him any messages about how sad or lonely you are.

This can trigger him to get defensive and will only work against you.

Instead, ask him how he’s doing.

Let him know that you really care about him and you’d like to reconnect with him.

If you’ve hurt the Cancer man before, make sure to express your sincere regret in this message and ask for a chance to make it right.

Again, don’t go overboard.

You just need to show him that you’re serious.

Respond If He Reaches Out

As I was saying earlier, don’t ignore him if he texts you!

Respond right away to show him that you’re not messing with his head.

If you want to be with him, you have to open up your heart to him.

Put yourself out there first.

And keep putting yourself out there until he feels comfortable with doing the same.

When you respond to him, the main thing is to be sincere.

Don’t play it like you couldn’t care less whether he contacts you or not.

He wants to know he has an impact on you.

That he matters to you.

Show How Much You Care

Don’t hold back.

Give the Cancer man what he wants.

If he’s starting to come around to communicating with you, give him your attention.

Let your nurturing side come out with him.

Show concern for his personal affairs. Offer to help him out of a bind.

Send him a handmade gift in the mail.

Cancers respond well to tangible displays of affection.

The effort matters much more than anything else.

Words do mean something to him, but an action has to be there to back them up.

Bring Him Back to the Good Old Days

Cancer men are very attached to the past.

They’ll miss their ex when the relationship was good.

Even if the relationship was bad, they’ll miss the happy parts.

Which makes it easy to elicit a Cancer man’s sentimentality about your relationship.

Evoke memories of the best times you had together.

Say to him, “Hey, remember when…” and walk down memory lane with him.

Post online about things that will remind him of being with you.

Share videos of you playing a guitar he gifted you while singing a song about missing someone who’s gone.

Tug at his heart strings.

The Cancer man will feel this.

Last But Not Least…Never Push a Cancer Man to Get Back Together With You

One thing you’ve got to understand about a Cancer man is that he makes decisions based on his feelings in the moment.

You could get a totally different response from him on a day that he’s in a bad mood than on a day that he’s in a good one.

Which is why you want to make sure you’re never pushy or demanding.

A Cancer man has to be in a receptive mood to rekindle your romance.

If you push him, especially when he’s not feeling it, he’ll remember it.

It will color his perception of you the next time he thinks about you or you try to reach out to him.

Even if he’s tempted to contact you, he’ll hesitate.

So never push him.

I mean it.

Even the littlest comments can be perceived as trying to pressure him, which is a turn-off.

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say you’re texting with a Cancer man and the conversation goes like this:

Cancer Man: “I’m in such a weird head space. I don’t think I have the capacity to give anyone or anything my attention right now. I think I just need to chill for a bit.”

You: “OK, I’ll be waiting! I miss you so much, can’t wait to see you when you’re feeling better! XOXOXOXO”

This can be perceived as pushy to the Cancer man because it’s focusing on getting what you want—access to him—while he’s telling you how unsure he feels.

A better response to him would be: “I totally understand. If you ever need someone to talk to, you know I’m here.”

See the difference?

It’s simple, it offers your sincere support, and it puts the focus on what the Cancer man needs.

Ultimately, the only way you’re going to get back with a Cancer man is if he believes you’re coming from a place of genuine consideration for him.

Final Thoughts

While ignoring a Cancer man doesn’t pay off, knowing when to leave him alone and when to nurture your past connection with him does.

And certainly, giving him space when he asks for it is a mature way to respond.

At the end of the day, a Cancer man wants to feel wanted.

So when he’s ready to communicate and he starts texting you, it’s important to encourage him.

Ignoring a Cancer man to spite him will backfire.

Similarly, not paying attention to him in order to make him more interested in you is a gamble because he might not care all that much, or it might make him think you’re playing with his emotions.

As always, use your heart to guide you with a Cancer man.

Choose openness and vulnerability.

This is the only way to get him to welcome you back into his loving arms and reestablish an emotional closeness with him.

Best of luck, and let me know how it goes!

Frequently Asked Questions About Cancer Men

Do Cancer men give second chances?

Yes, Cancer men are known to give second chances.

But this only happens if you show in all humility how sorry you are for any hurt you caused him.

He has to feel like you’re being totally real with him, and that you won’t do it again.

How long does it take for a Cancer man to miss you?

A Cancer man might miss you immediately after you break up.

However, that doesn’t mean he’ll rush to get back into a relationship.

If there are lingering feelings of resentment, he’ll need time to repair.

If you’ve been trying to appeal to the Cancer man’s sense of sentimentality in an effort to get him to miss you, you’ll know pretty soon whether it had an effect.

Cancers can’t ignore their feelings for long, so they tend to respond relatively quickly when they don’t feel bogged down by emotional baggage.

Do Cancer men need space?

Yes, Cancer men need space.

It’s a common misconception that they don’t need space because they’re known for clinginess.

It’s true that they can be smothering with their affection when they’re feeling comfortable and happy in a relationship.

But if you pay attention, you’ll also notice them scuttling off to get alone time here and there.

And if you intrude on it, they’ll get snappy.

They do indeed need space for themselves, where they don’t feel like they have to cater to anyone else’s needs or demands.

This is how they recharge, so that they can keep on taking care of others.

Why do Cancers go silent?

The number one reason Cancers go silent is because they’re feeling wounded or offended.

Cancer is a passive zodiac sign that retreats into itself as an immediate reaction to discomfort.

If you haven’t offended the Cancer and they’ve gone mute on you, then they’ve lost interest, or something else is going on in their lives that demands their attention.

If it’s the latter, they’ll reach out when things cool down for them.

But if they’re no longer into you, you won’t hear from them again.

When is a Cancer man losing interest?

A Cancer man is losing interest when he starts acting wishy-washy with you.

He stops reaching out to you or seeming invested in whether or not you like him back.

He might treat you with real kindness and courteousness when you interact with him, but there’s nothing outside of that.

No special treatment from him.

You might wonder if he’s even alive from the way he doesn’t respond to you.

That’s his way of distancing himself and hoping that you’ll also lose interest too. 

How to make a Cancerian man miss you?

It’s pretty easy to make a Cancerian miss you if you tap into their sense of nostalgia.

Reminding a Cancer of good times had between you brings those memories up like they were yesterday.

You might show them a picture of a vacation you took together, smiling and looking happy.

Or you could offer to meet up at your favorite park bench where you two used to sit together and talk about anything and everything.

Say you’ll bring a sandwich to split and he’ll have a hard time turning down that kind of comforting energy.

What makes a Cancer man chase you?

Being patient, nurturing and sincere makes a Cancer man chase you.

You have to demonstrate your willingness to be an open book before he’ll take a chance on you.

Which is why in the beginning you’ll have to do a bit of chasing first.

I explain how to do this in my guide Do Cancer Men Like to Be Chased?

What happens if you ghost a Cancer man?

If you ghost a Cancer man, it’s very unlikely that he’ll talk to you again.

It sets the tone for feelings of abandonment, from which Cancers have a hard time recovering.

Ghosting is not a good plan to get a Cancer man to chase you or feel sorry if he hurt you.

It just solidifies his distrust and makes him lock up his heart and throw away the key.

Will a Cancer man regret leaving you?

Yes, a Cancer man may very well regret leaving you.

Cancers feel regret for almost anything and everything that goes wrong.

They also tend to feel a strong sense of responsibility when they know they’ve done you wrong.

Which, in many cases, will make them regret leaving without giving you closure.