Do animals have consciousness? Can animals love?

Of course animals can love. Remember that mother orca who carried her dead calf for 17 days as she grieved for her baby? And when I was a kid, we had a barn cat who gave birth and some other animal came along and killed her whole litter and she lay for a couple days, pulling her dead kittens close and trying to nurse them. That only ended when another cat had a litter and we took a couple of hers and gave them to the grieving mother. They grieved because they love.

And I'm sure we've all seen videos of some animal like a goose or a donkey who comes running when they hear a particular person's voice and they just can't get close enough as they are held and cuddled by their person.
 
OregonGuy said:
Yup cats are not domesticated like dogs
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I think cats are closer to their wild natures, but that doesn't mean they don't love us deeply. I have a cat and I have a dog too. Unlike my dog, my cat wants to make eye contact with me, and loves to be held close and babied at every opportunity. If we go downstairs, he runs down after us just so that we will pick him up and carry him back upstairs, because it means one more cuddle. Give a cat a reason to trust you and they'll give you their heart.
 
When you trim a dogs nails it gets visibly upset. They wish they could dig everyday.

If you train a cat with hand signals it doesn't always sit and think about whether it wants to
Do what ya want it to do.

Same with your Mut. ... Cats like it if you kind of get down to its level on the floor.
 
OregonGuy said:
Except for the sexual aspect (YUCK) I say my kitty and I are in love.
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🤣 I'm happy for you and your kitty. How precious! I don't have pets but my sister has had 2 cats at a time that I visit and cat-sit. I've also known other people's pets and I've known strays. I also regularly watch nature shows about many different types of animals. I watch YT/FB animal clips. They may not love like us but they have their own type of feelings and love which seems to be highly compatible with ours.
 
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I don't think it's a question of either/or, but a question of degree. The hallmarks of "consciousness" just become more noticeable in various forms of life. Rudimentary consciousness is even displayed in plants and trees (response to stimulus, defensive action, and even memory).

As you move up the ladder to fish, birds, cats, dogs, horses, and primates, it just becomes more evident. Even elephants are known to grieve over the loss of a family member. So, my answer would be yes to some degree of consciousness.

As for love, good luck finding a universal definition that everyone agrees on. Nevertheless, animals are certainly capable of forming a very strong bond and attachment. Their actions clearly provide that evidence. JMO
 
As usual, for me it is very complex to have conclusions about an animals ability to love, or whether they have "consciousness."?
My first thought is that humans anthropomorphize. Definition :

What is Anthropomorphism​

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities, such as animals, objects, or abstract concepts. This tendency is considered an innate aspect of human psychology and often manifests in storytelling, art, and interactions with pets. It involves seeing human-like attributes in non-human entities, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings about the true nature of these entities.

This a big problem, and many a human has made the mistake of believing their pet ( or creature in nature ) has friendly attributes, and then are injured or killed by the animal. How many children are bitten by our loving dog, or severely cut by our cat?

I think we need to take responsibility and be truthful, knowing we are projecting our feelings onto the animal in human ways. Animals have their own behavior with us to show that bonding with us is very important, and we all love that.
Let's just keep it real. :)
 
I don't know if it's love, but it's better than what you get from most people. I'm pretty sure my dog likes me, but love? There's a fine line between like and love. Whatever he's thinking, we seem to be a good fit.
 
OregonGuy said:
There seems to be general consensus they have consciousness,

Animal consciousness - Wikipedia

This article says its not known whether they can love:

can animals love - Bing

But this article says they can IF “love” is defined as a bond or attachment”.

can animals love humans - Search

This begs the question “what is love?”/

Love is a set of emotions and behaviors characterized by intimacy, passion, and commitment12. It involves care, closeness, protectiveness, attraction, affection, and trust1. Love can vary in intensity and can change over time1. Being "in love" includes all of the above but also involves feelings of sexual arousal and attraction3. Cross-cultural research provides evidence that the components of love are universal

Except for the sexual aspect (YUCK) I say my kitty and I are in love.
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I love my dog. If anything happens to him, I'm going to be gutted.

Dos he understand? No, I don't think so.

Today I had to cut his nails. On one nail, I got it wrong, and it bled. I felt terrible. He was upset, and I don't believe he knows that I didn't mean it, and that ultimately he was better for having his nails cut.

Meaning: I give my love and commitment to my dog. He cannot reciprocate. He doesn't know I'm doing this stuff for love. He just knows his nail hurts. He's a dumb animal. An animal I care for. I often pretend he understands my communication, but the most endearing thing about him is that he's a dog.
 
Paco Dennis said:
What is Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities, such as animals, objects, or abstract concepts. This tendency is considered an innate aspect of human psychology and often manifests in storytelling, art, and interactions with pets. It involves seeing human-like attributes in non-human entities, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings about the true nature of these entities.

:)
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This is exactly the mistake of the so-called scientists. But man is only an animal as a cat or dog or whatever. René Descartes even thought that animals have no soul and are like a mechanic instrument. If a cat cries because of pain he compared it with the mainspring of a clock, which gives a screeching sound if it is broken.
 
Debrah N. said:
I think cats are closer to their wild natures, but that doesn't mean they don't love us deeply. I have a cat and I have a dog too. Unlike my dog, my cat wants to make eye contact with me, and loves to be held close and babied at every opportunity. If we go downstairs, he runs down after us just so that we will pick him up and carry him back upstairs, because it means one more cuddle. Give a cat a reason to trust you and they'll give you their heart.
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cat10.jpg
 
I think mammals can love - any animal that has a small number of young and cares for them closely (as opposed to just laying thousands of eggs) probably has a protective and loving instinct. Our dog was definitely a bundle of love with a wet nose.
 
I've had pet cats most of my life. They all did cat things, but all of them had distinctive personalities, like people. Call it genetics or what, they weren't total copies of one another.
 

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