Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes. Once I had an unusual pet water bug who use to put his/her little front legs on the edge of a plate to eat at the same time everyday, followed me in every room I went, crawled up and sat on the couch next to me when I watched TV, and even sat nice on my shoulder. I think s/he loved me lol!
Last edited by glenninindy; 07-10-2020 at 09:45 AM..
One of our three cats, 9-year-old "Muffy", gets indignant when I go away for long periods of time (which I frequently do during the summer). The first time, she peed on my overnight tote bag (luckily it was washable). Another time, after a trip, she peed right in my lap while I was holding her! Thereafter, I make sure my luggage is out of her reach.
Is this "love" she's showing?
I spent over two months away during the lockdown, caring for my grandsons at DD's and son in law's house. When I came back, the cats (especially my own boy, "Woody") were very aloof and wouldn't come near me. They just sat from a distance staring at me. Then during that night, the first I was back in my own bed, Woody came to me and started frantically kneading, purring,rubbing, head butting, the whole affectionate bit. During those two months when I was away, I talked to Woody over the phone. DH said he listened to my voice, confused, and after the calls, he'd frantically search for me through the house.
If you ever doubt animals love us watch Hatchi - A Dog's Tale. It was a movie with Richard Gere based on a true story. Hatchi was found as a puppy by Richard Gere's character. Hatchi adored his owner. He used to wait at the train station for owner to come home. Owner died at work and naturally Hatchi didn't know the owner had died. Hatchi waited at the train station for owner for years, refusing to even live at owner's daughter house.
Saddest movie I ever saw. Hatchi truly loved his owner.
Yep. The real dog's name is Hachikō. Japan built a statue of Hachikō. Hachikō spent 9 years coming to the train station waiting for his owner to return.
AS a surrogate "Mom" pet caretaker, it became obvious that it goes way beyond just "Love".. It's a trust and connections of the souls. It becomes quite apparent when things become stressful, because they always sense it and seek comfort from those they love and trust.
I lost my surrogate buddy (female Boston Terrier) who I had been empowered to taken responsibility of her for over 8 years! Between eye contact, seeking closeness and always minded directions given.
However, I happen to be the one who dealt with her final issues, tho I treated, kept her safe BUT knew she wasn't going to survive to care for her again !
I miss this "Dear Pup" like crazy.. and her owner has now purchased a new pup (12 week Boston Terrier) and of course he (Wally) will be again trusted to my care whenever owner has to go away!
I so look forward to building that relationship like I did with "Spanky" (female). As I said, it's not just love..but that trust that builds as they grow up. I'm looking forward to this new adventure with my new "Surrogate Fur-Baby"
As to Cats.. they are another story, some are like velcro to you, other's are like tolerate you and observe ya. But IF they don't take off and hide away, and just watch ya from the distance is always a good sign they accept you! I believe it depends on the nurturing by the mother of them and when raised with siblings that somehow create their mentalities. That's strictly my view, Not a definitive diagnosis!
Several years ago I moved two long blocks from where I lived. Despite my best efforts my former feral Fifi got out. 17 days she was missing. I finally caught up with her at my old house. 3AM. I stayed up and stalked the house in my car. When I saw the motion detector light go on I got out with a bowl of food, called to her and sat down. She was confused and scared after 17 days so I pushed the food bowl away from me. She looked at me, looked at the food, looked at me again and then the food.
And then she made her move, she ran to me and jumped into my arms. Even starving and pounds lighter she chose me over the food. Never doubted her love after that.
I certainly believe pets have the capability to LOVE us...just like other emotions: Missing us if they haven't seen us in a while, excitement when they haven't seen us in a while, etc.
Most non-animal lovers will joke that a cat only pretends to love us because we the owners are feeding/taking care of it. They will say dogs were just bred to be loyal so they don't love us either. Its just "bred loyal" that a dog displays. However, all of us real animal lovers who own pets know that there is a true bond/love that our pets feel for us.
So my question to my fellow pet owners is the following: Have you ever had a personal experience which if you shared with a "non-animal lover" like the type above, would even make that person question if animals might be capable of love? I would love to hear any story someone has.
Here is mine:
Our cat (Mew Mew) had developed cancer of the stomach and was on deaths bed. She did not show a single sign of anything being wrong with her until about 1 week before she passed away (put to sleep). When I took her to the vet, her cancer was at a stage where the only humane thing to do was to put her to sleep. I was willing to spend any amount of money if it meant she had a chance but the vet told me her cancer was too advanced to treat. As you know abdominal cancer is the most painful type of cancer and one of the most painful experiences for humans. So its the same for animals. We set up an appointment with a home vet so Mew Mew could be put to sleep in peace in her favorite spot instead of in an unknown environment at the vet office.
She was in so much pain that she stopped eating completely and wouldn't move from one spot in the house after she got comfortable there. I was always Mew Mew's favorite person but she had a very strong reaction whenever my wife was upset. Mew Mew would get sad and try to comfort my wife whenever she was upset. Knowing this, my wife was trying to act happy around Mew Mew. However, eventually it was too much for her to see Mew Mew so weak/in pain that she could barely move. So my wife went upstairs to the master bedroom away from Mew Mew, cried into the bed and made as little noise as possible so Mew Mew couldn't hear her being upset.
Even though Mew Mew was downstairs and we have a big house; somehow she sensed or heard that my wife was upset. Even though she could barely move from the pain, somehow she walked to the stairs in pain and hobbled her way slowly up the stairs just to comfort my wife!! We heard her make the "Meow" she always did when my wife was upset, walk into the bedroom and try to snuggle into my wife to comfort her!!! Here is a cat that's in the most extreme pain imaginable and at deaths door. Yet, she chose to cause herself even more pain by walking up stairs just to comfort my wife because she heard her crying. If that's not evidence that animals can truly selflessly love us, I don't know what is.
OMG. What a bittersweet story. Nearly brought tears to my eyes. I'm sorry to hear of your cat's suffering and yours.
Even the humble chicken expresses love. The neighbors little Banty hen decided to adopt us and would follow us everywhere. Food was irrelevant. She jump up on the bed to sit with us, sit on the arm of the couch while watching TV with us.
She would cry if I walked away. So we ended up taking her with us on trips everywhere. From Utah to CA and overnighting in Vegas. We snuck her in a cat carrier. She loved to ride in the car. I miss her more than any pet in my life!
We took previous pet chickens horse camping with us, so they rode horses too, lol.
If there is a more loving, more gentle breed on the planet than a Golden, I have yet to see one. They are simply wonderful dogs.
I'm sure most are, but certainly not all.
When I was in my mid-20s, I was walking into a drug store, and outside was someone's gorgeous Golden Retriever, wearing a bandana around its neck (which I always think looks so cute) and its leash tied to a post. Its human was obviously in the drugstore or adjacent store and it patiently waited.
I love dogs, so I slowly approached it to pat it, but it suddenly growled fiercely, baring its teeth, and lunged at me. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, so I was shocked. And ever since then, I never, ever, go near a strange dog.
Then, a number of years ago, my mom, then in her late 60s, was walking her dog one night when she came across another person walking their dog, a Golden Retriever. The two dogs sniffed each other while my mom and the other dog owner watched, and then the Golden suddenly grabbed hold of my mom's leg, biting her, and wouldn't let go. It continued to bite her for about a minute while my mom screamed in pain. My mom was bleeding profusely and had to go to the ER for stitches. To this day, she has a scar on that leg.
I wouldn't be opposed to adopting a Golden, necessarily, but I'm more careful around them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do pets really love us?
