are-cats-considered-sentient

Sometimes your cat’s careless behavior surely makes you think that she is emotionless. That makes every cat owners wonder whether cats are considered sentient or not?

 

What is Sentient?

At first, you need to understand what this word means. The definition of Sentient is a creature that can experience various feelings and suffer from pain as well. Most humans and animals are considered as a sentient being. So, our cats one of them?

 

What makes a living being sentient?

As the definition clears it out, the beings that have the capability of experiencing both physical and psychological feelings and pain are termed as sentient. Although not every animal possesses these characteristics, cats have these capabilities. They have a sense that allows them to feel pain and pleasure.

 

Are Cats Sentient?

Well, it is considered that cats are surely sentient. However, cats are little different as a pet, but they express their consent towards their owner in an extraordinary way. Cats often seem to understand what their owners are going through and they are very good at sensing their moods. She would come close to comfort you when you are depressed about some things and would stay away if you need to do some other important stuff.

 

How are Cats considered sentient?

Basically, the term sentient is related to the awareness of the outside stimulus. This results in a change in the emotional state of an animal. That can be considered as strong evidence that cats are sentient.

Naturally, if an animal reacts to a drop of temperature then that is a response to the outside stimulus, it means that the being is aware of its surroundings. And as it happened automatically and the being doesn’t have any control over the stimuli, it will affect them. As a result, they will try to warm themselves up and rub their body because they feel like doing it. And the feeling is termed as sentience.

If you pop up a can of the food your cat like a lot, then she will notice it and run towards you. This is like a hardwired instinct for survival thus it is considered as sentient.

 

Does every action of the cat be due to the Sentience?

You must be wondering if the cat’s system is hardwired for every response. Looking at your cat when she jumps on the carpet, slide through the hallway, run backward and forward without any reasons, you must be interested to find out what could be the reason for such actions.

You will be amazed to find out that cats consider social interaction very significant. That’s why; playing is also one of the practices which are used to strengthen the bond between the cats and other animals. Even humans do the same for a similar purpose.

But not every reaction is hardwired in the cats. Playing can’t be considered as a predetermined action. It is more like an automatic response to the surroundings. The behavior change is very subjective and indicates that the animals also have a consciousness which determines their course of actions. The cats choose to do play because they want to, not because they had to.

And that’s how; scientists can verify the cats as a sentient being.

 

How Cats reacts to things?

As we have concluded cats are a sentient being, one other question arises in mind. Do cats think before reacting to some things?

Well, cats might be sentient, but they don’t have that much control over their behavior. Cats don’t think much about the sensations, pains, miseries, and delights, they instinctively follow them. Cats have feelings just like dogs and some other animals. They even get embarrassed. They are aware of the world around them and can also relate themselves to other things.

Although there is a big gap between zero cognitive abilities and the human’s cognitive abilities and luckily cats lie in between that huge gap. Cats are capable of reasoning and can recognize the causes and consequences of their actions, yet they still choose to act in a certain way.

 

My Story

I think that almost every animal is a sentient being. But when it comes to cats, I can be sure of this. I owned two cats who loved to sleep in their beds. But one day I fell from the stairs and broke my leg. And when I came back home, my cats rushed towards me and started licking my hand and rubbing their fur on my other leg. They knew that I was hurting and they even slept in my bed until I got my plaster removed. No one can say that they don’t feel and care about their owner.

All the cat haters who say that cats don’t love their owners as dogs my cats prove them wrong. That’s why I can state that cats have a rich emotional life and feel attached to others too and this makes them a sentient being.

Another example that can prove that cats are sentient being is the fact that they cry. My cat was pregnant 3 months ago, and she gave birth to four little kittens. All the kittens were playing in the garden, and somehow, one of them got out and was killed by a car. When the mother cat saw her baby’s body, she cried a lot and kept mourning for three days. She didn’t even eat anything. And it is not just for their own kind. Cats also feel affectionate to human beings. If there are five family members and one of them goes away for a long time, then the cat misses them and often wander around their rooms to see if they’ve returned or not.

 

Conclusion

So, we hope that you also get a feeling that Cats can feel too. They also choose to love others, comfort them and play with them. All these things are a sign that cats are affectionate and loving animals. They might be carefree most of the times, but when they care about someone; they do it with a pure heart.

 

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