There are many anecdotal stories of cats behaving like a jealous lover when there is a new baby or boyfriend in the house. Cats are reported to glare, hiss, and even attack the offending person. But, do cats really feel jealousy or are the owners anthropomorphizing from their own range of emotions?

In this interesting article from Messy Beast, Sarah Hartwell compares and contrasts human and cat emotions. Ms. Hartwell considers basic emotions such as fear, disgust, desire, sadness, happiness, and anger, as well as complex emotional states like stress, depression, and jealousy.

In her concluding remarks she supports the idea that cats and other animals have feelings. However their feelings must be interpreted in the context of their own physical needs and their own environment.

They have a more limited range of feelings than humans and their reaction to environmental stimuli is different to humans, but they show many responses indicative of emotions. She recommends that rather than attribute full human feelings to cats, it is better to understand how cats perceive the world and to adjust our behavior to accommodate their physical and emotional needs.

Do Cats Have Emotions?

Posted by Julie.