Does my cat think I'm a cat too?

Kimia

My gorgeous little cat has begun to get so affectionate and loving that she ends up play biting me. It never hurts and always happens when i'm giving her kisses and rubbing her - it's like a little nip so I don't mind at all.

It got bizarre yesterday though when she nipped me, and then as i got up to leave jumped up with her paws out, let out a giant purr/meow (you know the affectionate combination) and tried to 'take me down' by attacking one of my legs. It didn't hurt but I scared her off by literally roaring with laughter. It looked like what kittens look like when they play together.

Does she think i'm a cat that she can play with? She rocks.

TouchingVirus

I think your car knows you're not a cat, but thinks "Hey, look what we've got together" and doesn't care. I can only see the benefits tbh

Manach

Wait till it uses the back of your hand as a stratching post .... still a small price to pay.

Kimia

I don't mind it at all - i was actualy slightly flattered in a weird way

So she just thinks i'm a giant human that she wants to play with?

Heroditas

Kimia wrote: »

My gorgeous little cat has begun to get so affectionate and loving that she ends up play biting me. It never hurts and always happens when i'm giving her kisses and rubbing her - it's like a little nip so I don't mind at all.

It got bizarre yesterday though when she nipped me, and then as i got up to leave jumped up with her paws out, let out a giant purr/meow (you know the affectionate combination) and tried to 'take me down' by attacking one of my legs. It didn't hurt but I scared her off by literally roaring with laughter. It looked like what kittens look like when they play together.

Does she think i'm a cat that she can play with? She rocks.

Both of our cats often give us little playful nips whe we're petting them.

Also, the female often "ambushes" me by jumping out and wrestling with my leg and then falling to the ground to grab my foot and wrestle/kick/bite it.

It's just a bit of fun.

Mink

I think my cats think I'm just an oversized weird looking cat & somehow am their mother.

I especially feel like this when wearing my leopard print dressing gown (which my kitten insists on dry nursing to death & covering me in spit - eww)

Nearly all cats I've had or seen play fight with their owners a bit. You get the hang of avoiding the scratches & telling them off gently when it gets a bit too much

MrStuffins

Kimia wrote: »

It never hurts and always happens when i'm giving her kisses .......

... erm...... the question should be "Do you think my cat is a person?"

Stop kissing your cat?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Our Cats always think we are Cats and our Dogs think we are Dogs. This is a fact. People often say their Dog or Cat thinks it's human but that is a fallacy, as any Vet or animal trainer will tell you.

kylith

Lillianna Teeny Foreigner wrote: »

Our Cats always think we are Cats and our Dogs think we are Dogs. This is a fact. People often say their Dog or Cat thinks it's human but that is a fallacy, as any Vet or animal trainer will tell you.

Cats and dogs know that we're not cats or dogs; they know we're human. We're fun to play with though, and that's all that matters to them.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

kylith wrote: »

Cats and dogs know that we're not cats or dogs; they know we're human. We're fun to play with though, and that's all that matters to them.

Incorrect! Dogs and Cats do not know we're Humans. Ask anybody involved in animal behaviour.

peasant

Lillianna Teeny Foreigner wrote: »

Incorrect! Dogs and Cats do not know we're Humans. Ask anybody involved in animal behaviour.

I haven't asked my pets lately for their current definition of me, so I don't know if they file me under "human" or as something else.:D
They certainly don't perceive (and react to) me as one of their own or like the cow or horse in the next field or the birds in the trees.

They do know that me is me and my wife is my wife

biko

I am the guy who puts food in the cats' bowl, lets him in or out when he meows and cleans his poo box.
I think the cat thinks of me like a butler.

Sid_Justice

peasant wrote: »

I haven't asked my pets lately for their current definition of me, so I don't know if they file me under "human" or as something else.:D
They certainly don't perceive (and react to) me as one of their own or like the cow or horse in the next field or the birds in the trees.

They do know that me is me and my wife is my wife

Well that's really quite different. Firstly, I don't think anyone can say for sure if dogs or cats (or animals in general) have a very strong concept of self, that is to say, they recognise their own uniqueness and consciousness e.g. mirror tests. Cats and dogs, have a concept of hierarchy (more so in dogs).

Like, lots of people have the experience that they get kittens and puppies together and they grow up very well together.

A pet will obviously recognise you as the primary care giver (food,water,affection). If you trained a horse to feed, water and cuddle a cat i'm pretty sure the cat would be happy playing with it too.

peasant

The dogs cummunicating with each other do it differently than if they're communicating with us.
The same applies to the cats. They have different signals for us and for each other.

It gets really interesting though when you watch a dog trying to communicate with a cat and vice versa ...talk about mixed signals.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

peasant wrote: »

The dogs cummunicating with each other do it differently than if they're communicating with us...

I don't agree fully with this. The signals a Dog gives to its owner are exactly the same as it gives to the pack leader (assuming the Dog is properly trained to know it's place ). Tail movements, ear movments, paw raising, rolling, etc are not designed as any signal to us in any capacity other than that of Dog to Dog.

peasant

Lillianna Teeny Foreigner wrote: »

I don't agree fully with this. The signals a Dog gives to its owner are exactly the same as it gives to the pack leader (assuming the Dog is properly trained to know it's place ). Tail movements, ear movments, paw raising, rolling, etc are not designed as any signal to us in any capacity other than that of Dog to Dog.

I don't quite agree with this either
"That look" only ever gets used towards humans.

IvySlayer

Off course Dogs don't think we're Dogs! Just walk your dog down the street, they not interested in other people, as soon as they see another Dog though...

peasant

And as far as cats are concerned, our three have several different noises that they only make towards us and not to each other

StormWarrior

I have always wondered if animals wonder why giant monkeys are holding them hostage.

fishfoodie

IvySlayer wrote: »

Off course Dogs don't think we're Dogs! Just walk your dog down the street, they not interested in other people, as soon as they see another Dog though...

That one's interesting.

I wonder how much is due to non-verbal communication from the person walking the dog ? Are they tensing up, or pulling in the lead ?

The other factor no one has mentioned is that Dogs & Cats have much, much, more information available to them, in that their sense of smell is massively more developed than ours & the appearance of another dog or cat isn't news by the time they actually catch sight of them !