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#11
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
On Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:37:48 -0500, Christopher A. Lee
wrote: On Wed, 9 Sep 2015 21:20:57 +0100, "Christina Websell" wrote: "Christopher A. Lee" wrote in message . .. On Wed, 9 Sep 2015 14:56:23 -0400, "JJ" wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote in message ... "J" wrote in message ... http://news.nationalpost.com/news/wo...ve-you-science Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown. Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact, cats show no sign of separation anxiety. Let's just say that Boyfriend prefers me to stay at home with him and is delighted when I come home, whether I've been out for a couple of hours on a shopping trip or away for the day like last week. Whether this means he *loves* me, I don't know. I do know he is very attached to me and no-one else. No matter how many weeks he's been fed by other people e.g. when I've been in hospital, once I am home he becomes afraid of them again. He sees Claire at least twice a week, she was here 3 times a day looking after me last year but he wants to go out the minute she visits. Luckily she is not offended, she's Tigger's meowmie. I don't know if animals experience love for humans in the human sense of it. I do know that Boyfie only wants *me* to be with him. Is that love? Maybe he is just used to me and feels safe with me. I love *him* anyway.. Tweed I read the article. They may not "love" us as we humans love one another, but last week my wife was away for a week, visiting our daughter. He acted normally. Ate normally, slept his usual 16 hours a day and demanded that I scratch his head as he always does. But when she came back he immediately started following her around the house for 2 days, No fear, just trying to be close to her. And in the evening, when I read in bed, he always comes around to poke at the book, and then lies down in the crook of my arm and we "read together" for a while. Is that love? I think that's the way cats do love. Jay They love us the way cats love - eg all my female cats have held my hand down with a watw and licked it the way they do with their kittens. Storming Mormon alert. Eh? That typo should have been "paw". |
#12
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
On Wed, 9 Sep 2015 21:20:57 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote: They love us the way cats love - eg all my female cats have held my hand down with a watw and licked it the way they do with their kittens. Storming Mormon alert. Too many people think animal love should be like human love, but THAT is just stupid, as the animals aren't sex-obsesssed. |
#13
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
On 9/9/2015 4:24 PM, JJ wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message ... On 9/9/2015 2:56 PM, JJ wrote: "Christina Websell" wrote in message ... "J" wrote in message ... http://news.nationalpost.com/news/wo...ve-you-science I read the article. They may not "love" us as we humans love one another, but last week my wife was away for a week, visiting our daughter. He acted normally. Ate normally, slept his usual 16 hours a day and demanded that I scratch his head as he always does. But when she came back he immediately started following her around the house for 2 days, No fear, just trying to be close to her. And in the evening, when I read in bed, he always comes around to poke at the book, and then lies down in the crook of my arm and we "read together" for a while. Is that love? I think that's the way cats do love. Jay (crossposting snipped) I take exception to this statement from the article: "Before cat lovers start despairing about their aloof pets," (snippage) I've only been owned by two cats. Neither of which could be described as "aloof". I've always heard that word associated with cats but it doesn't make sense to me. Nothing could be further from my experience. Cats that jump up in my lap aren't "aloof". Cats that talk to me and want to play aren't aloof. Cats that sleep curled up next to me certainly aren't aloof. What the heck is with this reputation of cats being aloof and standoffish? I'm pretty sure Persia loved me. I'm pretty sure Buffy loves me. Like you, Jay, Persia did and now Buffy does jump into bed with me and settle down with a book before bed. We "read together". Love? Well guess what, she doesn't have to be there but she chooses to. Yep, I think that's the cat version of loving human. Buffy is a bed-hog! Jill Aren't all cats? Edgar loves to sleep on my bed (his sister, Agatha, prefers a corner on the carpeted stairs) and rolls up into a ball just at the place where my back is supposed to be. When I ask him to move (sometimes with a little nudge) he WILL move to the foot of the bed, but he gives me a kind of dirty look. Then I scratch his head and all is well again. Buffy thinks my computer chair belongs to her, when I'm not sitting in it. When I sit in it she jumps up in my lap to get scritches. Because she doesn't love me. And please don't tell me cats don't understand. They sometimes like to PRETEND that they don't hear you, but their hearing is just fine (they hear their Fancy Feast can being opened from 3 rooms away!) Of course they understand. When I talk to them, I could swear they understand, especially specific words or sounds. If I call Edgar to come upstairs with me at bedtime,. and he rushes over, isn't that a kind of love as well? Jay I have pet steps next to my bed. I bought them when Persia was having a bit of a difficult time jumping up. Buffy uses those steps to peer at me. I tap my hand on the bed and she jumps up and rolls around. She gets scritches, rolls over, gets her belly rubbed. She wraps her paws around my hand (gently) and goes to sleep. Yep, she absolutely doesn't love me. Jill |
#14
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
On Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:55:51 -0700, The New Other Guy
wrote: On Wed, 9 Sep 2015 21:20:57 +0100, "Christina Websell" wrote: They love us the way cats love - eg all my female cats have held my hand down with a watw and licked it the way they do with their kittens. Storming Mormon alert. Too many people think animal love should be like human love, but THAT is just stupid, as the animals aren't sex-obsesssed. Dogs hump legs. |
#15
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
In article ,
Christopher A. Lee wrote: On Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:55:51 -0700, The New Other Guy wrote: On Wed, 9 Sep 2015 21:20:57 +0100, "Christina Websell" wrote: They love us the way cats love - eg all my female cats have held my hand down with a watw and licked it the way they do with their kittens. Storming Mormon alert. Too many people think animal love should be like human love, but THAT is just stupid, as the animals aren't sex-obsesssed. Dogs hump legs. That's ALSO a sign of dominance; it's not only for sex. -- JD I've officially given up trying to find the bottom of the barrel that is Republican depravity.--Jidyom Rosario, Addicting Info |
#16
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
"Judith Latham" wrote in message ... In article , Christina Websell wrote: "J" wrote in message ... http://news.nationalpost.com/news/wo...ve-you-science Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown. Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact, cats show no sign of separation anxiety. Let's just say that Boyfriend prefers me to stay at home with him and is delighted when I come home, whether I've been out for a couple of hours on a shopping trip or away for the day like last week. Whether this means he *loves* me, I don't know. I do know he is very attached to me and no-one else. No matter how many weeks he's been fed by other people e.g. when I've been in hospital, once I am home he becomes afraid of them again. He sees Claire at least twice a week, she was here 3 times a day looking after me last year but he wants to go out the minute she visits. Luckily she is not offended, she's Tigger's meowmie. I don't know if animals experience love for humans in the human sense of it. I do know that Boyfie only wants *me* to be with him. Is that love? Maybe he is just used to me and feels safe with me. I love *him* anyway.. Tweed I'm sure my cats have loved me, and that Sootie does. I don't think I'm deluding myself, their behaviour and desire to be with me, for me to show them affection when they could be doing other things they like etc. They just don't like to show it as dogs show it and you do have to earn it with a cat. Judith But is it *love*? The scientific part of me says it's more likely that cats just want to be fed and have a comfy bed inside when it's cold or raining and will do what they have to to achieve it. My heart says that Boyfie loves me. Tweed |
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
On 9/11/2015 12:59 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Judith Latham" wrote in message ... In article , Christina Websell wrote: "J" wrote in message ... http://news.nationalpost.com/news/wo...ve-you-science Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown. Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact, cats show no sign of separation anxiety. Let's just say that Boyfriend prefers me to stay at home with him and is delighted when I come home, whether I've been out for a couple of hours on a shopping trip or away for the day like last week. Whether this means he *loves* me, I don't know. I do know he is very attached to me and no-one else. No matter how many weeks he's been fed by other people e.g. when I've been in hospital, once I am home he becomes afraid of them again. He sees Claire at least twice a week, she was here 3 times a day looking after me last year but he wants to go out the minute she visits. Luckily she is not offended, she's Tigger's meowmie. I don't know if animals experience love for humans in the human sense of it. I do know that Boyfie only wants *me* to be with him. Is that love? Maybe he is just used to me and feels safe with me. I love *him* anyway.. Tweed I'm sure my cats have loved me, and that Sootie does. I don't think I'm deluding myself, their behaviour and desire to be with me, for me to show them affection when they could be doing other things they like etc. They just don't like to show it as dogs show it and you do have to earn it with a cat. Judith But is it *love*? The scientific part of me says it's more likely that cats just want to be fed and have a comfy bed inside when it's cold or raining and will do what they have to to achieve it. My heart says that Boyfie loves me. Tweed Does it really matter? We love them. They cuddle with us so they must get something out of the deal. Jill |
#18
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
Christina Websell wrote:
"Judith Latham" wrote in message ... In article , Christina Websell wrote: "J" wrote in message ... http://news.nationalpost.com/news/wo...ve-you-science Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown. Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact, cats show no sign of separation anxiety. Let's just say that Boyfriend prefers me to stay at home with him and is delighted when I come home, whether I've been out for a couple of hours on a shopping trip or away for the day like last week. Whether this means he *loves* me, I don't know. I do know he is very attached to me and no-one else. No matter how many weeks he's been fed by other people e.g. when I've been in hospital, once I am home he becomes afraid of them again. He sees Claire at least twice a week, she was here 3 times a day looking after me last year but he wants to go out the minute she visits. Luckily she is not offended, she's Tigger's meowmie. I don't know if animals experience love for humans in the human sense of it. I do know that Boyfie only wants *me* to be with him. Is that love? Maybe he is just used to me and feels safe with me. I love *him* anyway.. Tweed I'm sure my cats have loved me, and that Sootie does. I don't think I'm deluding myself, their behaviour and desire to be with me, for me to show them affection when they could be doing other things they like etc. They just don't like to show it as dogs show it and you do have to earn it with a cat. Judith But is it *love*? The scientific part of me says it's more likely that cats just want to be fed and have a comfy bed inside when it's cold or raining and will do what they have to to achieve it. My heart says that Boyfie loves me. I think other mammals have many of the same emotions that we have. Love isn't strictly an emotion, although it involves emotions, but it also requires thought, which humans do more of than most other creatures. So what we think of as love might not mean the same to another species. But I don't have any doubt that they feel affection - you can see that among cats. They're a social species, even if not as much as humans are (or maybe just differently). Cats also bond with non-human species, who don't feed them, so the cats must be getting something other than their basic physical needs from those relationships. Affection is an important part of social relationships. I don't have much investment in figuring out whether my cats feel the same things toward me as I do toward them. I like the way they curl up with me, rub noses with me, purr when I just talk to them (Licky), get tremendous joy from walking down the street with me (Smudge), roll around on the floor, squirming in anticipation of being petted, sit there slow-blinking at me, and all the cute ways cats show affection. We understand each other - we're mammals, we like touch and cuddling, which are important parts of human interactions, too. I might not be able to expect the same kinds of commitment from a cat that I would expect of another person I'm close to. But I still get plenty from cats and I'm pretty sure they get plenty from me, and not just food and shelter. -- Joyce A clean house is a sign of a broken computer. |
#19
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
jmcquown wrote:
On 9/11/2015 12:59 PM, Christina Websell wrote: "Judith Latham" wrote in message ... In article , Christina Websell wrote: "J" wrote in message ... http://news.nationalpost.com/news/wo...ve-you-science Rudyard Kipling was right. Cats really do walk by themselves, and do not need their owners to feel secure and safe, a study has shown. Although absent owners might worry that their pet is pining, in fact, cats show no sign of separation anxiety. Let's just say that Boyfriend prefers me to stay at home with him and is delighted when I come home, whether I've been out for a couple of hours on a shopping trip or away for the day like last week. Whether this means he *loves* me, I don't know. I do know he is very attached to me and no-one else. No matter how many weeks he's been fed by other people e.g. when I've been in hospital, once I am home he becomes afraid of them again. He sees Claire at least twice a week, she was here 3 times a day looking after me last year but he wants to go out the minute she visits. Luckily she is not offended, she's Tigger's meowmie. I don't know if animals experience love for humans in the human sense of it. I do know that Boyfie only wants *me* to be with him. Is that love? Maybe he is just used to me and feels safe with me. I love *him* anyway.. Tweed I'm sure my cats have loved me, and that Sootie does. I don't think I'm deluding myself, their behaviour and desire to be with me, for me to show them affection when they could be doing other things they like etc. They just don't like to show it as dogs show it and you do have to earn it with a cat. Judith But is it *love*? The scientific part of me says it's more likely that cats just want to be fed and have a comfy bed inside when it's cold or raining and will do what they have to to achieve it. My heart says that Boyfie loves me. Tweed Does it really matter? We love them. They cuddle with us so they must get something out of the deal. I just said basically the same thing - but not nearly as succinctly. -- Joyce A clean house is a sign of a broken computer. |
#20
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Your cat doesn't love you: science
On Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:59:33 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote: But is it *love*? The scientific part of me says it's more likely that cats just want to be fed and have a comfy bed inside when it's cold or raining and will do what they have to to achieve it. My heart says that Boyfie loves me. GLyN doesn't stay inside often. He DOES, however, follow me like a dog whenever I'm outside, and he talks to me constantly then, and only then. Inside, he won't eat until he has gotten up on my lap and been petted, and he does the same AFTER eating, almost every time he eats, day or night. He doesn't just loaf on my lap, he has to be ON my chest, or even my shoulder, and will strain to get his head tilted back far enough to see me when he's there. NOT the same as human love, but a close enough version for me, and apparently, for him. |
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