When I cry she is always right there by me makin sure im ok,and when Im screaming and yelling she screams and yells too! I think its wonderfull and I think that they for sure care and can sense human emotion.

 

I was really sick last week and my four didn't leave my side the whole time. I swear they didn't sleep for the whole week I was off work.

Also, if I am upset they all coming running up for hugs and stuff.

Funny, I was going to post the other day about cats knowing when you have had a bad day. I got home after a really bad day at work and my four were acting like circus animals they had me in stitches laughing less than an hour after I got home.

 

...it also appears at times the a cat is just using the owner for food or warmth etc. What is your guy's opinion?

That's Vequi.

 

Notice that its us girls who see the innocence in our cats

My cat isn't nice to me when he wants food etc he just sits and whines at me as if to say 'why isn't it done already?'

 

I read a study in a book that said cats are actually smarter than dogs, but cats have absolutely no desire to please thier owners in the way that dogs do. Having said that, I personally don't think my cat gives a rats ass whether I live or die as long as he still gets his treats on time and his litter gets cleaned out once a day.

 

Justin says Sabby gets depressed when I go away for a few days. He's always thrilled when I get home.

 

My cats are waiting at the door when I come
home and are all over me wanting to be
held and purring. My sister said they are
quiet and sleep alot when Im gone. When
I come home they play with each other,
run around, try to sit or lay by my computer
or what ever Im doing. They are very attached
to me.

I had posted this before. my son cat sat
while I was in Europe. He said mittens
would periodically walk around the house
looking for me and would yowl. So yes I
think cats care!

 

"Care" is a human emotion that cats don't have, so I don't think you can say that cats "care" about their owners. I do believe they become attached and accustomed to the humans they live with; they recognize those humans as their sources of the things they need, and they recognize that certain behaviors gain them the things they want. It's stressful to them to be separated from those they are used to being with, and they seek to prolong that relationship, and are in distress when it is ended. Also, cats don't like change in their environment. The addition of a new human or the removal of a known human causes distress.

BTW, I don't think cats can be owned. 8)

 

My cats definitely care about me. Sammi follows me everywhere I go around the house. Bailey worries when I am crying, she always rubs up against me and purrs.

 

Oh, Tim! Why can't you just let us believe that they care? :wink:
Well, I think Addison and Franny both know when I am upset and they will come over and sit on me and purr and just be lovey, so I think they do it to try to make me feel better. So, I think they care in their own kitty emotion way!

 

Oh, Tim! Why can't you just let us believe that they care?

I see no harm in anthropomorphizing one's cats, if it's pleasing to do so, as long as one REALLY understands that animals don't have human behaviors and emotions. If I went for a walk in the woods and encoutered a grizzly bear and treated him like Smokey the Bear, I would be very, very dead. 8)

 

Oh, Tim! Why can't you just let us believe that they care?

I see no harm in anthropomorphizing one's cats, if it's pleasing to do so, as long as one REALLY understands that animals don't have human behaviors and emotions. If I went for a walk in the woods and encoutered a grizzly bear and treated him like Smokey the Bear, I would be very, very dead. 8)

Excellent point! I was just playing with you. You were right!

 

I was just playing with you.

I knew that, I saw the winking smiley.

 

Punky spent a week at my parents house when I went to Florida for just over a week back in December. While my parents gave her shelter and food just as I would, she was pretty miserable without me.

I doubt you'll find anyone here that's going to say that their cats are animals that just use them for food and shelter, lol. I don't think cats would be the number one pet in the U.S. if that was the case.

 

Sorry to go off topice, but where'd you get that kitty-smiley?

 

I don't really remember. If you want to download it and reupload it to your own host, go ahead, I'm pretty sure it's public domain. I got it off one of those smiley sites.

 

cats are animals that just use them for food and shelter

Oh, sure, of course it's more than just food and shelter. Cats enjoy their relationship with their humans. Why did they allow themselves to be domesticated if if wasn't for their benefit? They get affection, attention, mental stimulation, as well as all their needs taken care of. I suppose it depends on what you define as "care". In the human terms, unselfish love, self-sacrifice, and these altruistic philosophic and spiritual connotations usually given to human caring is way beyond cats. If you just mean if the cat will miss us when we're gone, sure I'll go for that.

Cats engage in specific behaviors that humans interpret as caring and affection because it gets them something in return. These behaviors are not natural to the cat, they are learned in their relationship with their human. People who have adopted strays or ferals, or raised kittens, and if they're observant, notice that their cats' behaviors toward them change and grow over time. This is because the cat learns what will get them what they want. If it's a specific behavior, such as butting, that gets them attention, they do it to get the attention, not because they're showing affection. Because they've learned that act produces the results they want.

Oh, well, I'm rambling. Ya gotta read the book. 8)

 

I agree with what Tim said. Cat's don't think or have emotions like humans. Everything they do is from learned behaviors. They come to you for food because that is where they have gotten it before. They wait for you at the door when you come home because they expect it. They cuddle with you because it's a pack animal behavior and you are their "pack." They "miss" you when you leave for awhile because it is change in their routine. When you are upset and crying, they sense that you are not your normal, happy self, come to you because something is strange. Animals get stressed out when there is something strange or different in their routine.

If you die and don't come back, they won't know exactly what changed in their routine if there is still someone there to feed them. They will know that there is something different in their environment, but won't know exactly what it is. They won't think, "My Momma is never here anymore!"

 

"Care" is a human emotion that cats don't have, so I don't think you can say that cats "care" about their owners. I do believe they become attached and accustomed to the humans they live with; they recognize those humans as their sources of the things they need, and they recognize that certain behaviors gain them the things they want. It's stressful to them to be separated from those they are used to being with, and they seek to prolong that relationship, and are in distress when it is ended. Also, cats don't like change in their environment. The addition of a new human or the removal of a known human causes distress.

BTW, I don't think cats can be owned. 8)

now, does that just apply to cats, or to all animals? i know you dissaprove of anthropomorphism, but what about large parrots such as maccaws and cockatoos and african greys. they have the mental capacity of a 3-5 year old human child. they become very attached to a particular human and can become neurotic when that human leaves or dies. they screech, pluck feathers, become agressive and anti-social, etc. this doesnt happen all the time, because usually they are familiar with several humans and learn to cop with the support, love, and care of the other humans they are familiar with, but they will always remember and miss their one special human.

there's a cockatoo at a local pet store who was owned by the founder of the store, who died. the cockatoo is extremely friendly to everyone i've seen go near him. but he plucks his feathers. he has since his human died, and he still does.

so i think they can "care" about their human.

 

My comments apply to all animals. Obviously, the more intelligent an animal, the more complex of emotions it is capable of having, and the more complex behavior patterns. But no animal is as intelligent as a human. Not even close. Therefore is not capable of the same emotions or behaviors or thought processes.

 

Oooooooh, good point, Ragdoll.
When our Rottie died last year, our cat Franny walked around the house looking under neath tables, behind furniture, under beds, etc. crying for our dog. She kept looking and looking and looking, it was so sad.

 

what about my cockatiel who flips out if i leave the room? he'll fly right after me. i have to be in his feild of vision or he will screech (if he's caged) or fly around frantically looking for me. even if i step outside for two seconds, he screeches until i come back. he preens my hair, and tries to eat off my plate, even eats out of my mouth if i let him. he presses his forehead to my fingers when he wants scratched and petted, and he sings to me.

i realize the only reason parrots make good pets, even ones that are only 1-2 generations out of the wild, is because they are "flock" animals, and their human family becomes their flock. but they do bond to a particular person more than others. in a family, the bird always has a "favorite" person, and it's not always the person who feeds them and cleans their cage every day and plays with them. sometimes it's a child or someone who has nothing to do with the daily care of the bird. sometimes it's so extreme that no one BUT the favorite person can go near the bird without being bitten or squaked at. there's a pionus parrot named Jelly Bean at a little specialty bird store, and almost everyone who goes near him gets attacked. but one day my mom went in with me, and Jelly sat on her shoulder the whole time we were in the store, even preened her hair. he'd never met her before, just instantly liked her.

 

NewRagDoll - you must have missed my post about the definition of "caring".

The main reason I go to such great lengths to explain myself is that it's important for both the owner and the pet that the owner understands the pet, and attributing human attributes to a pet, while basically harmless, does nothing to further that understanding.

As I said before, ya gotta read the book. And I'm not even going to mention which, because there are a number of cat behavior books out there that basically say the same thing.

 

Oh, c'mon, I'm not cynical, and I'm not putting anybody down. You're all free to think what you want. I love my cats as much as the next person. I just choose to try to know and understand them as cats, not as little four-footed people.

And what I've written here isn't something I've made up on my own, I'm not smart enough for that. It's what the professional cat behaviorists write about. And those who wish to close their minds to what people more experienced and knowledgeable have to say, then, well, that's their loss.

 

I am the primary caretaker for the kitties. That said, Mozart loves Hubby, and gets very depressed when he's travelling. He mopes, and won't eat as much. He'll curl up on his pillow at night, and when Hubby gets back, he'll stick to him like glue for a couple days for cuddles and pets, and sleep on him. So that's definitely love, and not worry about the survival/food thing.

When I'm off somewhere, Mozart and Kayla miss me the most. Mozart mopes, while Kayla will hide. Ginza copes better - he looks in all the rooms for me, cries and calls for me, but will accept substitute laps. Pixie couldn't care less if we never came back, she's more concerned about who's going to feed her, whoever it is.