
Do our pets ever love us – or do they just stick around for the food? - timthorn
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/16/do-our-pets-ever-really-love-us-or-do-they-just-stick-around-for-the-food
======
romwell
This looks like yet one of another silly articles along the lines of "do
animals feel emotions".

The interactions between humans and cats/dogs are complex, we've evolved
together. We don't have a chemical definition of _love_ in _humans_ , the
species we understand best, so why bother with measuring serotonin levels an
other such nonsense in cats?

All I know is that when my aunt and uncle left the country, their cat waited
at the door for their return each day, every day for _months_. And when they
were finally reunited, the first thing the cat did was sit on my uncle's lap.

Nearly every cat/dog owner can tell you a story of a deep personal attachment
their cat/dog showed towards them, a story of how these animals depend so much
on very specific humans they bond with. (There's one in the article!)

Why then seek for more "proof" in chemistry? You aren't going to measure
vasopressin and oxytocin levels in your partner to know whether they love you.
And it's not them telling you the three words that makes you know for sure
anyway.

So stop doubting love. That works great with humans, too, after all.

------
bill_from_tampa
The behavior the author described has been called 'milk treading', and is
thought to be originally the way that kittens coax milk out of their mother
cats, but later in life can be a regression to a trusting kitten-mother like
relationship between a human and a cat who trusts that human.

If your cat milk-treads you, your cat likes and trusts you, at some level, at
some times.

~~~
tdeck
I always heard it called kneading in the US. Perhaps a regional difference?

