A Michael Broad Blog
If a person had the personality of a domestic cat a doctor would diagnose him as autistic or having Asperger’s. That should answer the question in the title. What I’m saying is that the behaviour of cats and humans is different (obvious). People consider the domestic cat to be a bit aloof and independent …
In my opinion, the main reason why your cat puts her/his paw on your face when you hold her is because your head, when face-to-face with hers, is too close for comfort. By putting her paw on your face she is keeping a certain amount of control over the distance between you and her. …
I’ll focus on cats. To quote P.L. Bernstein (The Welfare of Cats) some scientists (see below) have suggested that anthropomorphism “may have evolved to enable humans to recognise animals as ‘alternative sources of social support’”. The main reason for being a cat guardian is companionship. This may have had the consequence of acting as …
Are men reluctant to neuter their male cat? Sarah Hartwell’s article on men’s emotional barriers to neutering their male cat made me smile and reflect on my own attitudes. In summary, I think I am fair in saying that Sarah’s conclusion is that men struggle with neutering (‘castrating’ but don’t say that word) their …
Here are three points about anthropomorphising cats. Anthropomorphism is the “attribution of human mental states (thoughts, feeling, motivations and beliefs) to nonhuman animals”. Let’s say, though, that cats have emotions and therefore I’d argue they have feelings too. So some anthropomorphising is just a true recognition of cat behaviour and senses. That’s my personal …
If you are so minded and if you really want the ultimate reassurances that your cat is being treated and cared for in a way that you can’t even manage yourself, you can forget about boarding catteries and instead select a five-star pet hotel which has four-poster beds, full body massages and a room …
Do we, inadvertently, nearly always anthropomorphise the domestic cat? I believe that we have difficulty with dissociating the cat as a family member from human family members. I believe that all too often without realising it people judge cat behaviour from the standpoint of human behaviour. They measure cat behaviour in reference to the …
