Poll Do Animals Think and Have Feelings?

[JD]

This is a topic that has been debated for decades, but as big animal person who has spent my whole life around them, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they absolutely do. I know that some people try to say they operate purely on instinct, but I don't know how anybody could spend more than 5 minutes around almost any animal and not see that they are thinking and feeling beings just like us.
I've watched our dogs get a ball stuck under a table, and actually take a step back, look at it, walk around to the other side of the table, and take another look before they finally going in to try and get it. I've also seen the, get disappointed when we tell them we're going out without them.
And just the other day I watched a horse have an internal debate over whether or not she come say to me, and seen another horse get jealous when I was petting one of her herdmates.
Now, obviously they don't think exactly the same way we do, but there is clearly something going on in their heads beyond just instinctual behaviors.
Now I will admit there are some animals, that are so simple or so different that I don't think they do think or feel. I doubt things like amoebas or jellyfish have the capacity for the kind of complex thoughts or feelings that animals like us, dogs, cats, horses, birds, ect. have.

 

[somebuddyX]

Absolutely, and I find it fascinating with my cats how different their personalities are. Freddie was a bitchy jerk like me, Jack is lovable, Sammie is aloof, Tabby is chilled out and seems contemplative, and Belle we say is a human in a cat body. Even my chickens sometimes had different personalities. Grandma Chicken would walk around like a pet dog and the chickens we raised from little would come hang out with us and eat from my hand, while the ones we got as older kinda stayed back. Some I've noticed are really investigative whilst others don't give a shit.

 

[Non Sync]

Had taken my cat Puzzle to the vet for consultation on getting him fixed and de-clawed (the latter a requirement by my ex). While I was talking with the vet, Puzzle was wandering around the countertops and went up to one of the customary glass jars with tongue depressors/cotton balls. He very deliberately bit down on the metal ball on the lid, picked up the lid, and then set it down so he could look inside. The vet was surprised and said she had never seen an animal do that before.

He was deaf and if left in a closed room, would sleep up against the door so he would know if someone was coming into the room.

I had another cat, Mikey, that adopted me. I was sharing a house with another cat owner who would leave the outside doors open so his cat could come and go. Mikey was apparently a stray that wandered into the house, would scratch at my closed bedroom door until I let him in and he would sleep beside me all night. Once I fully adopted him and converted him into an indoor only cat, he would run up to greet me when I would come home and want to be picked up.

 

[Velocity]

Many animals seem to be able to solve puzzles, mazes, etc, so that might imply that they can do some thinking.

 

[fireproof78]

I voted yes because I think many have feelings, but I am more skeptical about thinking. To a degree, probably, but not perhaps the same way as humans or at least how we perceive them

 

[JD]

Absolutely, and I find it fascinating with my cats how different their personalities are. Freddie was a bitchy jerk like me, Jack is lovable, Sammie is aloof, Tabby is chilled out and seems contemplative, and Belle we say is a human in a cat body. Even my chickens sometimes had different personalities. Grandma Chicken would walk around like a pet dog and the chickens we raised from little would come hang out with us and eat from my hand, while the ones we got as older kinda stayed back. Some I've noticed are really investigative whilst others don't give a shit.

Oh yeah, our dogs Gracie (that's her in my avatar), and Tucker have absolutely opposite personalities. Gracie doesn't really like to sit or lay on the couch with us, while Tucker is constant on the couch with me or on my mom's bed with her. Tucker barks at everything, he just won't shut up, but Gracies only barks when she's wants to after something, like if a cat walks along our back wall.
And even in the short time I spend with them, I've noticed some personalities in the horses I visit on my bike rides. There's one horse that used to want nothing to do with me, she'd come up the fence, but then ignore me, but now over the last couple weeks she's suddenly become one of the friendliest of the whole group. She also gets really jealous and will try to chase the other horses off if they come over by us while I'm petting her.
There's a new horse that's only been out a couple times so far that's even friendlier. She comes right up the fence as soon as she sees me and sticks her head over it, looking for attention.
There's also one who seems to be the most playful, I see her playing with the ball out in the corral a lot, and whenever they start biting at each other and chasing each other around, she's pretty much always involved.
And even with the wild donkeys, we noticed that there is this same one who's always the first one to walk towards, and seems to always get the closest.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Without a doubt animals can think and feel. It may be on a more basic level, but also more honestly & direct.

 

[Oddish]

They most assuredly do, in their own way.

 

[vandevere]

I was about to say of course they do!

Those of us who grew up with pets, even goldfish and little turtles, know this...

 

[JD]

I'm relieved to see that the poll is getting a vast majority of yeses, it amazes me at times to see that is it's still sometimes treated as a controversial idea. It just seems to obvious to me that I find it hard to believe there are apparently still people who think they don't.

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

YES!!!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Depends on the animal. Mammals, definitely. Other higher order animals like reptiles think but don't have feelings.

But usually the feelings pet owners imagine their pets having are very different from the ones they actually have.

 

[Timofnine]

Of course they do.

 

[Timewalker]

Had taken my cat Puzzle to the vet for consultation on getting him fixed and de-clawed (the latter a requirement by my ex). While I was talking with the vet, Puzzle was wandering around the countertops and went up to one of the customary glass jars with tongue depressors/cotton balls. He very deliberately bit down on the metal ball on the lid, picked up the lid, and then set it down so he could look inside. The vet was surprised and said she had never seen an animal do that before.

He was deaf and if left in a closed room, would sleep up against the door so he would know if someone was coming into the room.

I had another cat, Mikey, that adopted me. I was sharing a house with another cat owner who would leave the outside doors open so his cat could come and go. Mikey was apparently a stray that wandered into the house, would scratch at my closed bedroom door until I let him in and he would sleep beside me all night. Once I fully adopted him and converted him into an indoor only cat, he would run up to greet me when I would come home and want to be picked up.

Did you really have your cat declawed?

That's a barbaric practice that no ethical vet will do.

Depends on the animal. Mammals, definitely. Other higher order animals like reptiles think but don't have feelings.

But usually the feelings pet owners imagine their pets having are very different from the ones they actually have.

Birds, as well. Crows use tools, and teach other crows new things they've learned.

I've had at least one cat at all times ever since October 1977. Over the years I've had many cats, some with me from birth to death, and three of them were a three-generation family (mom, daughter, grandson). All of them had unique personalities and displayed emotion in different ways.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Cats only need claws if they are outdoor cats.

Yes, many birds clearly think, crows being the biggest example.

 

[StarMan]

Absolutely. I believe sentience is on a continuum rather than a rigid line between self-aware or not.

But, I continue to eat them on a regular basis - given half the chance I know they'd gobble me up without a second thought.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Yes.

 

[Non Sync]

Did you really have your cat declawed?

That's a barbaric practice that no ethical vet will do.

It was my ex that wanted him declawed and it was done almost 20 years ago. He was just over 1-year-old at the time. For the front claws, the vet used a pain medication patch that later was learned caused a slight fever. For the rear claws, it was oral pain meds.
Puzzle was an indoor cat and was also deaf. He was pretty small when rescued which suggests he wasn't a very good hunter.

 

[Timewalker]

It was my ex that wanted him declawed and it was done almost 20 years ago. He was just over 1-year-old at the time. For the front claws, the vet used a pain medication patch that later was learned caused a slight fever. For the rear claws, it was oral pain meds.
Puzzle was an indoor cat and was also deaf. He was pretty small when rescued which suggests he wasn't a very good hunter.

Indoor vs. outdoor doesn't matter when there's something a cat wants or needs to do what requires claws and they don't have them.

Declawing should be illegal, period.

 

[JD]

Absolutely. I believe sentience is on a continuum rather than a rigid line between self-aware or not.

But, I continue to eat them on a regular basis - given half the chance I know they'd gobble me up without a second thought.

I can't think of a single animal that we eat that would eat us, and even most predators don't usually go after humans on a regular basis.
I know you didn't mean anything by the comment, but one of my biggest pet peeves is people portraying predators like bears, and big cats as vicious monsters that are constantly attacking people, when they're really not.