In popular culture, cats are often believed to be cold and distant animals, unlike our dog friends who are affectionate and affectionate, but is this true? No doubt, if you have or have had a feline, you will know that this statement is not true, because cats also feel a wide range of emotions and express their affection in different ways.
However, if you have ever wondered if cats have feelings, we recommend reading this article by Animal Expert, in which we want to explain how cats feel so that you can better understand your fur.
- First.
- We must know how to distinguish between feelings and emotions.
- Because although the two concepts are linked.
- There is a widespread tendency to confuse them.
- These two terms are quite abstract and are related to each individual’s subjective experience; However.
- To know how cats feel.
- It is necessary to know how to identify them.
When we talk about emotions, we generally 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, a snake’s vision can produce an immediate fear reaction in many animals (such as a mouse). This emotion is due to the activation of the limbic system as an adaptive response to the environment, in this case, to a stimulus that violates the physical integrity of the individual.
However, while many of these responses are instinctive, these emotional responses are also due to learning. In other words, the information that assimilates the brain about what we experience will affect the way we react when we experience it again. For example, if a dog has been mistreated in the past, it will probably have an emotional fear reaction in the presence of people, as this will link them to the negative experience.
So what’s a feeling? The answer to this question is simple because, like emotions, feelings are closely related to the limbic system, but differ by including our conscious assessment of experience.
To better understand, although the two concepts are related to the subjective form in which we live in a situation, emotions are fundamental and direct, because they appear immediately with the stimulus. Feelings, in turn, involve a process of reflection and self-awareness. For example, you may feel happy when you remember a memory you identified as happy, or see a snake and be able to analyze how you feel when you see it, think about the rationality of being afraid or disgusted, etc.
Now that you know the difference between emotion and feelings, it’s easier to understand how cats feel. But to understand this, it is important to avoid using our human perspective to understand the world and put ourselves in the place of the cat, since we are animals with the ability to reflect on ourselves, which allows us to forge a self-image. distinguish ourselves from other individuals and feel complex emotions like guilt or shame.
Therefore, we cannot attribute this self-awareness to cats, because it is not proven that they have it and this can lead to mistakes, such as assuming that if you fight with your cat, he can understand that he did something wrong.
What does that mean? In the case of cats, they are purely emotional animals, which respond to different situations in the most appropriate way: they are afraid of stimuli perceived as dangerous or unknown, and rejoice with rewarding stimuli … Therefore, you cannot say that cats have feelings, but they live here and now and do not need to reflect on their own experiences, but learn from them. This is because, while emotional responses are basic and immediate, they evolve over time, depending on the experiences acquired in different situations and in the face of different stimuli. Thus, it is not strange, for example, that a cat is afraid of dogs, but that it is affectionate with the dog with which it lives at home, because the dog does not pose a threat to him and because they have created an emotional bond.
Now that you know cats have feelings, you can also wonder if cats are jealous.
If you have a feline, you should not doubt that your cat loves you, because he certainly loves her. Cats are very special animals, which have a wide range of forms of communication to express how they feel, and among them stands out their way of expressing their affection:
In fact, it has already been empirically proven that cats create a bond of attachment with people, similar to what a child would do. Attachment is defined as a biological behavior in which the cat perceives its human guardian as its source of physical and emotional security in the same way as its mother would be, since it is you who cares, nurtures, offers shelter and affection, key elements for its well-being, which generates the positive emotions that associates you.
Therefore, even if cats are quite temperamental animals and with less reasoning capacity than we are, this does not deter affection for other individuals. It should not be forgotten that cats are social animals, despite the reputation of being an antisocial and independent animal that is often attributed to them and therefore need other individuals to survive. That’s why feeling and expressing affection is vitally important to your boyfriend. There is no doubt that cats have feelings and that these feelings are adorable!
If you want to read articles similar to Do Cats Have Feelings ?, we recommend that you visit our Curiosities section of the animal world.