Hey, /an/.
I'm beginning to wonder if cats can feel legitimate unconditional love for their owner, or something similar. Is there any scientific evidence to prove such a thing?
My cat spends most of her time laying on me, and purring like a jet engine. Just wondering what motivates this.
>>2017690
>Is there any scientific evidence to prove such a thing?
of course not.
science is the application of math to objects.
love is not an object nor is it amenable to math.
i'd like to think my cat cares about me
>>2017700
>of course not.
Actually, with the relatively recent developments in psychology and neurobiology, OP's curiosity is warranted.
Get with the times, or get left behind, grandpa (or grandma).
My experience is that cats don't love their owners as much as they love anyone who treats them well.
>>2017738
>the relatively recent developments in psychology and neurobiology
>I use my left temporal lobe when shitposting on 4chan
>look, that cat's left temporal lobe lit up, he must be shitposting on 4chan!
"Love" is a human concept with humanized standards, but animals certainly can and do form attachments even in the wild. Your cat recognizes you as a source of positive associations such as comfort, food, warmth, petting, play; this will cause her to enjoy your presence and (probably) prefer you above other humans. She will likely direct towards you the same bonding behaviors she'd use towards others of her species (e.g. allogrooming). She may even experience distress upon being parted from you even if her basic needs are still being fulfilled and her habits being retained by another human.
So ultimately it's not really love but I don't think it matters, because it's similar enough and results in behaviors that we interpret as love and still encourage bond formation. Applies to dogs too, they're just more naturally inclined to form those attachments because of their more social and dependent natures.
>>2017761
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGf2b1H91JA
>>2017748
I agree that anons explanation was stupid, but you bashing on people trying to figure out how this shit works only makes you look like an asshole.
My cat is consistently affectionate even though im a dick to him. He actually makes a conscious choice to cuddle up to me instead of my gf, who spoils him.
>pic related
Caring for their young ones is an important trait in mammals, sometimes it goes across species, sometimes it goes beyond just the young ones. A lot of mammals are social creatures and creates bonds with others. So I would say that yes cats we keep as pets do care about their owners.
>>2017690
There isn't even solid proof that humans feel love for each other.
>>2017690
You are a colossal dick OP go fuk yourself.
my cat loves me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlFEJQs1g5Y
>>2017797
your probably just warmer than you're gf even though your a cunt.
>>2017797
>a conscious choice
>done by a cat
top banter
>>2017690
>I'm beginning to wonder if cats can feel legitimate unconditional love
We may never know for sure, OP, but we do know that cats can show legitimate, unconditional hate. So that should help you sleep at night.
>>2017690
If she's stretching out her body when she's laying next to you, get rid of it.
She's sizing you up to see if you'll fit in her belly.
>>2017805
I love my dog more than any human
If my anecdotal evidence is worth anything, my cat sure seems to show love when I come home for breaks.
I remember when my indoor cat fell out of my apartment window and landed three floors down. I didn't notice at first, but after a few minutes I realized the window was open and I couldn't find him indoors. So I rushed out.
He was hiding in the bushes, and when I called out for him he meowed back at me. Even though he was terrified of being outdoor he meowed at me. Who knows if I would have found him if he hadn't.
My old cat would always stick around me even when it was inconvenient/uncomfortable for him to do so, he would always come to me over other people and somewhat had loyalty.
Whether or not it counts as "love", I wouldn't know, but it seemed to be close enough.
>>2019874
My brother's cat had the habit of climbing to the other side of the fence on our second floor balcony which consisted of literally an inch or so of floor and then a fall to the ground. She'd like to walk along the brick which was like 2 inches wide and then reach his window and meow at him from the outside. One time she fell doing this and I just happened to be going upstairs from my car, nobody had noticed, and she was running downstairs hysterically not knowing where to go. Meowed like crazy and ran into my arms. Fucking weirdo.
>>2019953
>>2019874
pic related, kitty on the right.
>>2017690
>Just wondering what motivates this.
Cats are just highly complex, biological, heat-seeking devices.
>>2019955
2kawaii4me
Here is mine when he was kitten
>>2017700
But love is chemicals. Which is related to science, which is related to math.
>>2018686
That a person would plan this course of action, execute it, reflect on it, and still want to expose it is beyond my understanding.
>>2020126
no, love is the conscious experience of chemicals and consciousness is chemicals experiencing themselves. This is an internal feedback loop which also - awkwardly enough - contains science within it. Science is of course just chemicals conducting math on things.
the sum of internal math is invariably zero, chemicals have no external metric for measuring their experience of themselves.
>>2017690
My cat loves using my arm as a chew toy.
Let me put it this way:
If you suddenly had to give your cat to a new owner, after a year or even less it would act the same way to that new owner given the new owner takes care of it.
Unconditional love is for mothers and idiots. You need conditions. To be honest, I think a dog's willingness to give affection despite mistreatment is its biggest flaw. Have some self-respect, dog.
>>2022480
literally wrong.
>>2022492
Because dogs were conditioned to be obedient slaves over thousands and thousands of years; it's expected.
no, cats are instinctive.
emotions require subjectivity which they lack because they do not have consciousness.
>>2017700
There's quite a lot of excellent research done on love these days. In some ways, it's really easy to study.
We know a lot about different stages and types of romantic love as well as various forms of familial love.
>>2022480
Same applies to the vast majority of dogs. I work at an animal shelter, niggers;; the pups don't die from sorrow when they're abandoned any more than the cats do.
