Animal Emotions

NewsWeek ^ | July 21st Issue | Mary Carmichael

[Pro-Bush]

July 21 issue — Everyone who’s ever owned a pet has at least one story (usually many, actually) of an animal that seems just as emotional as any human. TAKE RUTH OSMENT, who says her two cats, Penny and Jo, feel sorry for her when she cries—running to her and drying her tears with their fur. Or Donna Westlund, whose roommate’s parrot Koko shows all the classic signs of a teenage crush, calling out “Hey, come here,” whenever she tries to leave the room. Then there’s John Van Zante. Recently, he watched Max, a Labrador retriever mix, sit lovingly by a woman in a wheelchair in a convalescent home while she patted his head for several minutes. It wasn’t until the elderly woman wheeled off down the hall that Van Zante realized she had been parked on Max’s tail the entire time. Max hadn’t complained at all. “He was in pain, clearly, but he seemed to know that she had special needs, so he just sat through it,” says Van Zante, communications director for the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

[Pro-Bush]

I was doing some research since my cat is down in the dumps -- Hope you enjoy!

[cricket]

A wagging tail is no 'reflex'. . .if you watch carefully, you may even see that your dog is smiling!

It was not too long ago that researchers argued that animals could not feel pain (seems there are still some people out there who choose to believe that myth). . .

. . .accepting 'emotions' I guess, is the next biggest hurdle in researchland.

[ravingnutter]

Have you tried St. John's Wort? It works on my dog, who misses his "daddy"...hubby is working out of town. The poor dog cries all the time and gets anxiety attacks. I got it in the liquid form so I can use the eye-dropper to dose him. Another good product is called "Rescue Remedy", it is recommended by vets and can be found at just about any health food store.

[Mr. Bird]

I certainly don't know if my dogs feel emotions like I do, but I can guarantee something's going on in there.

[arasina]

Does your cat have rules that you're not obeying and that's why he or she is down in the dumps? My cat has certain rules that I must abide by. >^..^<

I read the Newsweek article and I'm glad to see that scientists are coming around regarding pet emotions. It's NOT just anthropomorphism on the part of animal lovers. Of course, animals do have instinctual behaviors, but the human animal does as well.

[ellery]

For decades, psychologists have discounted the idea that pets can love their humans back. They have argued that animals that appear to express emotions are merely reacting to hormonal rushes triggered—in cold, but typical, technical language—by “outside stimuli.”

I don't see how this differs from a physiological explanation of human emotions.

"It's funny how dogs and cats know the inside of folks better than other folks do, isn't it?" - Eleanor H. Porter "Pollyanna" 1912

[88keys]

If only they could talk!!

Some folks really go way too far in "projecting" feelings to their pets, but I'm absolutely convinced there's more to animal behaviour than simply being "well-trained" and reacting to a "stimulus/reward"...

Thanks for posting this, and I hope your cat will feel better...my advice is, take him/her to the vet a.s.a.p. to make sure there's not some physical problem, and if there's not, you will have to figure out what's bothering him/her...you can get really good advice from a good vet (it's sort of a pre-requisite that they be an "animal lover", LOL!) and you know your animal better than anyone else, so you can "adapt" their advice to your own situation...

(been there, done that, it works, and best of luck to you and your kitty)

[Severa]

When I was in HS we lost our Doberman, Merlin, to cancer. At the time we also had a Dalmatian named Eliza that was his pal, his 'partner in crime' so to speak. For about 3 or 4 days after Merlin died, Eliza ate and drank very little if at all and was a LOT less active than normal, she just kind of laid around the house looking rather sad. Some say she was just reacting to us being sad (Merlin was 9 when he died and we had bought him when he was 10 weeks old, so it was really hard on the whole household) and others say she truly missed her friend. I believe it was both of these things.

[js1138]

If only they could talk!!

We would all be in jail.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Say, Scott... post the picture of your happy dog! (You know the one I mean?)

[hunyb]

If any of you doubt that animals have emotion, just get a soccer ball and take my dog to her favorite park.........

[Pro-Bush]

Have you tried St. John's Wort?

Thanks for the advice, I'll try this on my cat!

[Pro-Bush]

Thanks fot the kind words. I'll take him (Drake) to the vet if he doesn't get back to his normal self by Wednesday. (Maybe it has to do with the 106 degree heat here in the Sacramento area -- I know it sometimes makes me kinda grumpy).

[Capriole]

Speaking as a recovering scientist myself, I think some scientists, particularly psychologists, are idiots. For years we've been hearing the stupid fallacy that animals don't have the same emotions we do. But the fact is that the higher mammals have essentially the same brains we do, modulo a little cortical tissue and speech-production wiring. When it comes to the parts of the mammalian brain that generate emotions, it's pretty tough to tell the difference between the brain of a human and that of a cat or dog. (I haven't cut up the brain of a horse so I can't speak to that.) You don't have a fancier apparatus for producing feelings of love, anger, fear, or joy than your dog does, though you can modify those feelings a little with cortical inputs that may not be so well-developed in your dog.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Sure thing Bear:

This is Chance with the look he gets every time he goes out to play.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Thanks! I love that pic... if you looked up "happy" in the dog dictionary, that pic would be there!

[Pro-Bush]

Does your cat have rules that you're not obeying and that's why he or she is down in the dumps?

I know what you mean. I am obeying all rules, my cat doesn't give me a choice, I must obey or I get pestered non-stop until I give in. On another topic, I really like your your big orange cat and all your other pictures/art on your homepage.

[GrandMoM]

Does your cat have rules that you're not obeying ....yes, and I actually saw it on a T-shirt so it must be a cat thing.

....the T-shirt says,"My mornings consist of Let Cat In, sip coffee, Let Cat out, sip of coffee, Let cat in, sip of coffee, Let cat out.....

[Pro-Bush]

....the T-shirt says,"My mornings consist of Let Cat In, sip coffee, Let Cat out, sip of coffee, Let cat in, sip of coffee, Let cat out.....

That is great! The only thing I can add is : "My mornings consist of Let Cat In, Give cat wet food, sip coffee, Let Cat out, sip of coffee, let cat in...

[GrandMoM]

My mornings consist of Let Cat In, Give cat wet food, sip coffee, Let Cat out, sip of coffee, let cat in.......your right, that's what really happens!!!!