Do cats get hurt feelings

[marko]

I was reading an older thread before http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=73608 where someone was concerned about hurting a cat's feelings.

Although cats can obviously feel pain, discomfort and fear - I do not think they get hurt feelings when we push them aside for example when we are too busy to pet them, or remove them from our shoulders when they have climbed on our backs. (It just seems to me that 'hurt feelings' are a human thing, possibly a primate thing as well, but not a cat thing.

Curious to know if people agree?

[kaytiecat]

I 100% believe cats can have hurt feelings! They express their emotions in their body language. There has been a couple times that I have gone into a room and my kitty has snuck in behind me and hid someplace, and I unknowingly left the room and closed the door.. and when I couldn't find her I'd search frantically around the house to make sure she's okay, only to find her in that room and the look in her eyes looks like "How could you forget about me?" (the longest this has ever been for is like 15 minutes, my cats are very social so they are with me 99% of the time I am home) But its for that reason, that I'm afraid of hurting their feelings, that if I go into a room where there door is normally closed, I make an extra effort to check and make sure nobody followed me in.

[Lynne&Co.]

I agree with Katiecat. Cats have so many other emotions that I believe they feel hurt feelings too they just are so stoic we can't always recognize it. They don't show pain when they are hurt or ill. They can get aggressive but never hold a grudge. They surely are self centered They show a ton of affection to their families. We all know they are extremely playful, my cat hides behind the entrance to rooms waiting to smack anyone who walks by.....esp if that someone is one of the dogs he never uses his claws on people or dogs so we know he just wants to have fun. He does use his claws on toys or carpet. Sorry I could go on and on here.......so many stories I could tell .

[Longblades]

Absolutely, I believe it too. Yesterday I was playing with one cat and the dog butted in. Perhaps disappointed and then angry was how the cat felt at being pushed aside but I believe she felt some kind of slight. She's more the type to get angry and retaliate (against the dog, YELP) but I'm sure cats have more than just basic survival emotions, just as I believe my dog does.