"Emotion"
is the term we use for feelings, some of which are
instinctive and some of which are learned from
those around us as we conform to society's
expectations and norms. Human emotions range from
"primitive" feelings such as disgust,
rage, fear and lust to "complex"
emotions compassion and jealousy.
Recent studies, especially in fields such as
neuropsychology, show that the more
"primitive" or basic emotions have a
physiological basis and may be caused by chemical
stimuli (such as sexual attractant scents called
pheromones) or visual stimuli. Basic emotions
appear to cause chemical changes in the body in
response to a stimulus. This article looks at
feline feelings. In places it compares or
contrasts human and feline responses or makes
references to other animals for illustrative
purposes.
Two
Polarized Views
According to many pet owners, the answer is
"yes". Cats display a range of feelings
including pleasure, frustration and affection.
Other feline behavior is attributed to jealousy,
frustration and even vengefulness. Owners base
their answer on observation of feline behavior,
but without an understanding of what makes a cat
tick, they risk crediting a cat with emotions it
does not feel as well as recognizing genuine
feline emotions. Owners who veer too far into the
"Did my ickle-wickle fluffy-wuffikins miss
his mummy then?" approach may not understand
(or not want to accept) that a cat's emotions
evolved to suit very different situations to our
own.
Cats and humans are built much the same way and
share many of the senses - sight, hearing, smell,
taste, touch - as well as having additional
"senses" which are adaptations to our
particular environments and lifestyles (e.g. the
Flehmen taste-smell reaction in cats). Though
humans have better vision, cats have better smell,
taste and hearing. Like us, cats feel heat, cold,
pain and other physical sensations. Physical
stimuli may lead to physiological responses, some
of which are termed emotions. If humans and cats
have similar responses to, for example, the smell
of enticing food, they may share certain emotions
e.g. happiness at the prospect of a satisfying
meal.
According to many scientists, however, the
answer is "no". they argue that humans
like to anthropomorphise animals, regarding pets
as surrogate children. We interpret their
instinctive behaviors according to our own wide
range of emotions. We credit them with feelings
they do not have. Some scientists deny that
animals, including cats and dogs, are anything
more than flesh-and-blood "machines"
programmed for survival and reproduction. Others
credit animals with some degree of emotional
response.
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