Animals Have Feelings Too!

Miss Fleur (my cat) has been in the bad books lately.

She is desperate to claw the couch in my office, so I now have to keep a spray bottle of water on my desk to squirt at her when she’s naughty. (She hates water and will run away from even a couple of drops. Seth on the other hand would just look up at me as if to say, “nice try sweetheart” – and then keep on doing whatever he was doing!)

The husbear roused on her on the weekend, and she promptly put herself to bed – even before it got dark.

Miss Fleur has a bed in the laundry, and she is locked in there when we got to bed, because otherwise she tends to party up a storm at 3am. If you go in early on a winter’s morning, she looks so snuggly tucked up in her box!

The rest of the time however, she rarely goes near it. Except for when she knows she is in trouble – then she gets into her bed  of her own accord, and sulks.

I’ve gotta tell you – it’s hilarious!

Fleur also gets scared when we take her to the vet. Thankfully our vet has a good bedside manner with their patients, and also uses special vet supplies and equipment to make it easier and less stressful for the patient.

But does Fleur – or cats in general – feel or express love?

I’m sure Fleur does! Even though we joke that she is the #worldsworstcat because she hates being picked up and cuddled, there’s no doubt that she loves us in her own weird cat way.

She shows her love with head bumps, rubbing up against our legs, and wiping her wet nose against us (cat snot – ewwwww!).

So yes, I’m sure cats have feelings too!

It doesn’t take much to convince most people that dogs have feelings – they are effusive in their love for their owners and pine when separated from them.

Having had other pets, like cockatiels and guinea pigs, over the years, I’m pretty sure that they also feel and express emotions – fear, anger, love.

However I’ve never had much to do with larger animals of any sort, so was quite surprised to learn that horses have feelings too.

A few years back we went on a horse riding adventure – the first time for most of us – and throughout the ride our guide/instructor kept us entertained with a running commentary about the horses – their personalities, some of the shenanigans they got up to, and the relationships they formed:

• Gus and Storm were best friends, and quick to defend each other if they thought somebody (horse or human) was having a go.
• Diva had a “husband” among the other horses – but unfortunately he also had a mistress, and on occasions would spend the majority of his time with the “other woman”. Darling Diva would be so broken-hearted that she would go off her food – to the point that the vet had been called in to treat her anxiety and depression!
• I couldn’t help but laugh at what the guide said about Rennick (below): “Rennick hangs out with the other bachelors, and like single guys everywhere they think they’re really something – but they really aren’t. Any time we get a new female horse she might spend maybe a day with the boys, before deciding, ‘Um, nooooo'”.

Still, I can’t help but wonder about other animals – like the hermit crabs the kids had as pets when they were little. And what about snakes?!

What’s been your experience? If you’ve had a pet rabbit or kept cows, sheep, chooks, or something more unusual – do you think animals have feelings too?!