Can Animals Love Humans?

[Methuselah]

Well, we all know that we humans can love our pets, but can animals love us humans in return? I really do not know the answer to that question. But, having watched quite a few of these videos, I think the answer is: Yes; they can:

PS: I cannae stand the term 'owner': how can one 'own' a sentient being?!

[ANYWEATHER]

Yes me lady loves me....

[Eagle Eye]

11 minutes ago, Ed Stone said:

Well, we all know that we humans can love our pets, but can animals love us humans in return? I really do not know the answer to that question. But, having watched quite a few of these videos, I think the answer is: Yes; they can:

PS: I cannae stand the term 'owner': how can one 'own' a sentient being?!

Cats cannot it's impossible(they lack that part of the brain) for them but most other animals can

[Puddy Galore]

35 minutes ago, Eagle Eye said:

Cats cannot it's impossible(they lack that part of the brain) for them but most other animals can

Disagree.  I’ve just spent time with my pregnant foster cat as I do each day.  She came from a drug addict home and was both neglected and abused.  Every night she sits on my lap, playing the piano and puts her head in my neck purring and trilling for comfort.  Mongy one of my old cats (long since deceased) would gently touch my face with his paws as did mums old Maine Coone cat Josh when she cradled him like a baby (a big 7kg baby!).  Likewise one of my current cats Lewis amazes the vets with his outward shows of affection to me when he's at the vet, he almost kisses my nose and purrs and purrs. .  And when I knew my father was dying I sat and cried and cried and my Scarlet became very distressed and tried to comfort me.   Sorry but it may simply be you cannot connect with them

Edited May 6, 2022 by Snowycat

[Eagle Eye]

8 hours ago, Snowycat said:

Disagree.  I’ve just spent time with my pregnant foster cat as I do each day.  She came from a drug addict home and was both neglected and abused.  Every night she sits on my lap, playing the piano and puts her head in my neck purring and trilling for comfort.  Mongy one of my old cats (long since deceased) would gently touch my face with his paws as did mums old Maine Coone cat Josh when she cradled him like a baby (a big 7kg baby!).  Likewise one of my current cats Lewis amazes the vets with his outward shows of affection to me when he's at the vet, he almost kisses my nose and purrs and purrs. .  And when I knew my father was dying I sat and cried and cried and my Scarlet became very distressed and tried to comfort me.   Sorry but it may simply be you cannot connect with them

Yes, it was the wrong animal that I was talking about.  I don't know what I got cats from but it's snakes that are incapable of love since they have don't have the mental capacity (they can still feel affection though and can still actually cuddle up with because of that like other pets). Parrots are a pet that can also show you the most love as well interestingly, about the same as dogs and cats (if you get what I mean). Empathy and sympathy is likely found most in dogs and cats so yes I get what you mean there as well. You should also know that my family has many cats that I have seen affection from (much more than dogs but that's because I try and steer clear of them, too energetic even for me and one from another family once took my bag and I had to wait half an hour for them to put it down) and I used to have 2 cats as well, one of then I never really knew as it was ran over when I was 3 and one died last year and I could tell the pain it went through before it died.

[RebsAbbo]

Dogs show grief/bereavement too so I think this is an expression of love. 

[Methuselah]

3 hours ago, Eagle Eye said:

Yes, it was the wrong animal that I was talking about.  I don't know what I got cats from but it's snakes that are incapable of love since they have don't have the mental capacity (they can still feel affection though and can still actually cuddle up with because of that like other pets). Parrots are a pet that can also show you the most love as well interestingly, about the same as dogs and cats (if you get what I mean). Empathy and sympathy is likely found most in dogs and cats so yes I get what you mean there as well. You should also know that my family has many cats that I have seen affection from (much more than dogs but that's because I try and steer clear of them, too energetic even for me and one from another family once took my bag and I had to wait half an hour for them to put it down) and I used to have 2 cats as well, one of then I never really knew as it was ran over when I was 3 and one died last year and I could tell the pain it went through before it died.

Given the somewhat inebriated state I was in last night, I could have mistaken a cat for a boa constrictor, myself!

[Weather Enthusiast91]

Unless they have experienced some form of severe trauma, then dogs and cats generally show love towards their humans, no doubt about that. But I do believe that certain animals lack the mental capacity to do so. I can't imagine pets such as tarantulas, snakes and fish being able to show any love.

[Beverley Lass]

My whippet girl does such a good impression of true love that she has
me hooked as her personal slave,  lol.
I don't know to be serious but she does stare 'lovingly' at me , comes for cuddles
frequently and relaxes beautifully. She never wants me to leave her and is crest fallen if
I'm  at all displeased when she's done something wrong.  
She understands about 80 words too which makes for a good bond.
I know I love her ever so much.


 

[Beverley Lass]

Funnily enough I saw mention of this topic on today's BBC news ..
A review of the papers .. the Sunday Telegraph ..
Mentioned that Oxytocin levels rise considerably in both humans and their pet dogs
when gazing at each other.   The 'love hormone'.


 

[mike57]

An interesting topic, our cat will come and put her paw on your arm when she wants a fuss.

When my mother passed away suddenly (aged 89 so had a good innings) her dog was stood over where she had collapsed. My wife went down to her house as she couldn't get answer on the phone, and my mums dog didn't bark which she always did normally, which alerted my wife to the fact that all was not well.

My own guess at an answer, animals probably don't have the complex emotions of humans, but they do feel an attachment / get comfort from their human living partners, and cats in particular also dislike any sort of change. Animals recognise distress, our old cat woke us up when our dog was very ill, and on another occasion where an ambulance had been called next door, in both cases by walking over our heads repeatedly, which she didn't usually do, even if confronted with an empty food bowl.

As to how they process the emotions I have no idea,  but they certainly know how to interact with humans in a way that gets the result they want and are pleased when there human companions return after an absence.

[Methuselah]

One of my 'worries' is, why? Sometimes it's hard to see why any animal would want to love humans:

 

[Puddy Galore]

2 hours ago, Ed Stone said:

One of my 'worries' is, why? Sometimes it's hard to see why any animal would want to love humans:

 

I often wonder myself with some of the cases we get within cat rescue.  

I recall seeing a documentary about weaponising dogs, just awful. 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Snowycat

[Lauren]

On 06/05/2022 at 21:45, Eagle Eye said:

Cats cannot it's impossible(they lack that part of the brain) for them but most other animals can

With respect, that's absolutely ridiculous. They have the same parts of the brain that humans do in regards to emotions namely the hippocampus, amygdala and hippocampus to name the main 3.

Plus if you've ever owned a cat you would tell they are perfectly capable of love.

 

Edit: I see you say you meant snakes, nevermind.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Lauren

[lassie23]

My late cat adored me, and now my house is full of a random cat's kittens, and they love me too.

[diddy1234]

Parrots develop a very deep emotional relationship with their human counterpart.

And almost all parrots bond for life.

Parrots will pick up on the emotion of the person the moment they walk in. I guess it's in their interest to sense danger.

My Congo African Grey is an enjoyable fruit cake who loves an argument and will quite happily swear at me but I wouldn't have it any other way.

[mushymanrob]

when our pomeranians look up at us with their wide open eyes and taild wagging like heck.... yes...

[Puddy Galore]

19 minutes ago, diddy1234 said:

Parrots develop a very deep emotional relationship with their human counterpart.

And almost all parrots bond for life.

Parrots will pick up on the emotion of the person the moment they walk in. I guess it's in their interest to sense danger.

My Congo African Grey is an enjoyable fruit cake who loves an argument and will quite happily swear at me but I wouldn't have it any other way.

did you ever see the video of the fire fighter trying to rescue a parrot off a roof?  The bird kept telling the fireman to go forth and multiply - it really was so funny.

[Rush2019]

On 08/05/2022 at 16:18, mike57 said:

An interesting topic, our cat will come and put her paw on your arm when she wants a fuss.

When my mother passed away suddenly (aged 89 so had a good innings) her dog was stood over where she had collapsed. My wife went down to her house as she couldn't get answer on the phone, and my mums dog didn't bark which she always did normally, which alerted my wife to the fact that all was not well.

My own guess at an answer, animals probably don't have the complex emotions of humans, but they do feel an attachment / get comfort from their human living partners, and cats in particular also dislike any sort of change. Animals recognise distress, our old cat woke us up when our dog was very ill, and on another occasion where an ambulance had been called next door, in both cases by walking over our heads repeatedly, which she didn't usually do, even if confronted with an empty food bowl.

As to how they process the emotions I have no idea,  but they certainly know how to interact with humans in a way that gets the result they want and are pleased when there human companions return after an absence.

Had a flood in the kitchen during the small hours of Thursday last week, it was my cat of almost 20 years who woke me, her meow was unusually shrill and she seemed agitated, she would not let me ignore her.  She shut up as soon as I  was half way down the stairs.  Coincidence or just an amazing little aged lump of fluff?

[mike57]

37 minutes ago, Rush2112 said:

Had a flood in the kitchen during the small hours of Thursday last week, it was my cat of almost 20 years who woke me, her meow was unusually shrill and she seemed agitated, she would not let me ignore her.  She shut up as soon as I  was half way down the stairs.  Coincidence or just an amazing little aged lump of fluff?

Not a coincidence, they know something is wrong, I had a similar experience with a cat about 40 years ago, her food bowl was floating across the floor after the washing machine flooded. Obviously its a lot simpler than we would explain it, just 'things are not right'. Next step is raise the rest of the household. Other animals do this as well, Blackbirds make a particular warning noise when a cat is stalking, to warn others. After all from an evolutionary viewpoint the abilty to raise and respond to 'alarms' has to be a positive one as it could avoid injury or death.

[Beverley Lass]

52 minutes ago, mike57 said:

Not a coincidence, they know something is wrong, I had a similar experience with a cat about 40 years ago, her food bowl was floating across the floor after the washing machine flooded. Obviously its a lot simpler than we would explain it, just 'things are not right'. Next step is raise the rest of the household. Other animals do this as well, Blackbirds make a particular warning noise when a cat is stalking, to warn others. After all from an evolutionary viewpoint the abilty to raise and respond to 'alarms' has to be a positive one as it could avoid injury or death.

My whippet starts barking and going nuts when the blackbirds make that alarmed 'ticking' call because she's
learned that I run out to try and help .. scaring off any cats or predators !

[Derecho]

Sadly our family lost our much loved Bengal cat this week, in his last few days he was very tired and stopped eating. He had a heart condition which was fine after some initial treatment though his health declined last week. He spent his last night sleeping in my Mum's arms the whole night after sleeping on her lap during the previous day.

He was put to sleep and died peacefully and there has been a fair few tears. We loved him and given his last few days, I think it's clear that cats can love their owners too.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Quicksilver1989

[markyo]

I had a stray middle aged cat that came to "live" with me, she first came and sat outside the back door, hungry but aggressive, few weeks later after patience and food she tolerated me stroking her! 9 years later we had become friends, she waited on my drive for me to get home every night, she'd fuss about me before and after food and then go out. I'd got her a proper little cat home outside, waterproof, wind proof and warm.  One night i came home in the dead of winter, been sub zero all day, snow and ice. She was their waiting for me, got into the kitchen and she jumped up as usual on the counter for a stroke and food, this time it was different, i could see the happiness in her eyes, she never touched the food to start with, it was obvious there was genuine emotion. Never forgot that evening, that old girl and me became very good friends. Still miss her to this day.

[Puddy Galore]

33 minutes ago, Quicksilver1989 said:

Sadly our family lost our much loved Bengal cat this week, in his last few days he was very tired and stopped eating. He had a heart condition which was fine after some initial treatment though his health declined last week. He spent his last night sleeping in my Mum's arms the whole night after sleeping on her lap during the previous day.

He was put to sleep and died peacefully and there has been a fair few tears. We loved him and given his last few days, I think it's clear that cats can love their owners too.

So sorry to hear about your sad loss.  I lost my part bengal girlie suddenly in February, she was only 9.  It is so heartbreaking to lose them.   

Edited May 11, 2022 by Snowycat

[Methuselah]

There are, of course, quite a few animals that love humans for all the wrong reasons: