Content
- Cat Feelings and Emotions - Differences
- what are emotions
- what are feelings
- How do cats feel?
- How to know if your cat loves you
In popular culture, there is often a belief that cats are cold and distant animals, unlike our dog friends who are affectionate and affectionate, but is this true? Without a doubt, if you have or had a feline, you will know that this statement is not true, because cats too feel a wide range of emotions and express affection in the most diverse ways.
Still, if you've ever wondered if cats have feelings, we recommend that you read this PeritoAnimal article, in which we want to explain how cats feel so that you can better understand their furry.
Cat Feelings and Emotions - Differences
First of all, it is necessary to know how to distinguish between feelings and emotions, because although the two concepts are related, popularly we tend to confuse them. These two terms are quite abstract and are linked to the subjective experience of each individual; however, to know how cats feel, you need to know how to identify each one.
what are emotions
When we talk about emotions, we usually refer to the field of psychology as a set of neurochemical and hormonal responses that predispose us to react in a certain way to a specific stimulus. For example, the sight of a snake can produce, for many animals (such as a mouse), an immediate fear response. This emotion is due to the activation of the limbic system in response adaptive to the environment, in this case, when faced with a stimulus that threatens the individual's physical integrity.
However, while many of these responses are instinctual, these emotional responses are also instinctive. are due to learning. That is, the information the brain takes in about what we experience will affect how we will react when we experience it again. For example, if a dog has been mistreated in the past, it will likely have an emotional fear response in the presence of people because it will link them to the negative experience.
what are feelings
So what is a feeling? The answer to this question is simple because, similar to emotions, feelings are closely related to the limbic system, but they are distinguished by including the conscious evaluation of the experience.
To better understand, although both concepts are linked to the subjective way in which we experience a situation, emotions are basic and direct, as they appear immediately together with the stimulus. Feelings, in turn, involve a process reflective and self-conscious. For example, you might feel happiness when you remember a memory that you identified as happy, or you might see a snake and be able to analyze what it feels like to see it, reflect on how rational it is to be afraid or disgusted, etc.
How do cats feel?
Now that you know the difference between emotion and feeling, it's easier to understand how cats feel. But to understand this, it's important avoid using our human perspective to understand the world and put ourselves in the cat's shoes, since we are animals with the ability to reflect on ourselves, which allows us to form a self-concept, distinguish ourselves from other individuals and feel complex emotions such as guilt or shame.
Therefore, we cannot attribute this self-awareness to cats, as it has not been proven that they have it and this can lead to mistakes, such as assuming that if you fight with your cat, he may understand that he has done something wrong.
What this means? In the case of cats, they are purely emotional animals, who respond to different situations in the most appropriate way: they feel fear of stimuli that are perceived as dangerous or unknown, and joy in the face of rewarding stimuli... For this reason, we cannot say that cats have feelings, but live here and now and they don't need to reflect on their own experiences, but learn from them. It's that, although emotional responses are basic and immediate, they evolve over time, depending on the experiences acquired in different situations and faced with different stimuli. Thus, it is not strange, for example, for a cat to be afraid of dogs, but to be affectionate with the dog he lives with at home, because the latter does not pose a threat to him and because they have created an emotional bond.
Now that you know that cats have feelings, you might also be interested in whether cats are jealous?
How to know if your cat loves you
If you have a feline, you should have no doubt that your cat loves you, because he certainly does. Cats are very peculiar animals, which have a wide range of communication ways to express how they feel, and among them, their way of express affection:
- Purr.
- It rubs against you.
- Occasionally offer you a gift.
In fact, it has been empirically demonstrated that cats create a attachment bond with people, much like a child would. We understand attachment as a biological behavior in which the cat perceives its human guardian as its source of physical and emotional security just as your mother would, since you are the one who cares, feeds, provides shelter and care, key elements for his well-being, which generate the positive emotions he associates with you.
So even if cats are quite temperamental animals and with less reasoning ability than we are, this is not an impediment to feel affection for other individuals. We must not forget that cats are social animals, despite the reputation of being an antisocial and independent animal that is often attributed to them, and that, therefore, they need other individuals to survive. For this reason, feel and express affection is vitally important to your little friend. There is no doubt that cats have feelings, and those feelings are adorable!
If you want to read more articles similar to Do cats have feelings?, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.