does cats have emotions and feelings

Cats do not experience anything like people do. They do not have the brain capacity to do so. They are not cognitively self aware (sentient). Only humans and a handful other species have been demonstrated to be cognitively self aware. However, 'emotions' as we experience them, are the closest that humans may get to feeling like animals. This is because the brain areas that are most active during emotional situations are located in the basal ganglia, or lower brain. We have a vastly larger cortex (the grey matter) than most other animals, and this adds an entire new level of processing that is absent in non sentient organisms.The basic instinctive behaviors that interact with emotions are highly conserved between species, so for instance the joy of 'winning' at anything probably 'feels' similar to what a cat may 'feel' when it catches a bird, or a Gazelle. This also applies to love, fear, and anger. The difference lies in the fact that you are aware that you exist and that you are angry. The cat is not aware of itself, or its anger, it only responds to the anger and expresses it in its behavior. It cannot ponder upon its own existance, like you can. Cats do have emotion, but the experience of it from the perspective of the cat is nothing like it is from your perspective.What you are doing is called Anthropomorphism. You are interpreting the behavior of another organism in light of human traits. The behavior of a cat as it interacts with you is not sentient (self aware). They DO NOT have the brain capacity to interpret the world in the way that you do

While cats are different in physiology and feelings, they display enough of what we consider to be emotion. They wouldn't have made it into so many homes and hearts if they didn't. People may choose to read into the emotion displayed. Doesn't hurt anyone. Bob Blaylock Nov, 21 2006 at 03:05 AM
setTimeout('Comment.clearEdit(83044);', (120 - 56636173) * 1000);

Anyone who's ever really known any cat knows how wrong this answer is. science_geek Nov, 21 2006 at 05:09 PM
setTimeout('Comment.clearEdit(83761);', (120 - 56585577) * 1000);

Yes, Bob, don't you have anything better to do than run around and follow me? If you have ever studied neuronal function, had any basic idea of how the human body and mind function other than from your subjective experience, as well as having an understanding of human and animal physiology, you would realize how ridiculous your statement is. We have a cat. I know animal behavior quite well. I perform research on animals. Look at the question I answered. Cats do not experience anything like people do!

Mammals like cats and dogs are selm aware and do show emotion one standard used for there self awarness is the mirror test. Cats and Dogs know there own reflection and thus know who they are and what they look like. As for emotions cats show a wide number of emotions they are one of the most bonding mammals on the planet to humans even Charles Darwin said this in his accounts when he studied mammals such as cats, They are not just a Flesh,blood and bone with Electroic impulses like some of you are making them out to be !!! More scientist will agree that house hold animals started out with only limited emotions to survive but over thousands of years being domesticated there brains have picked up emotions and thus feelings for there human companion/owner !!!!