page_title: Emotion in animals
section_title: Cats
hierarchical_section_title: Emotion in animals / Examples / Cats
caption_attribution_description: English: Cat terrified of a dog, from life, T. W. Wood Identifier: expressionofemot1872darw (find matches) Title: The expression of the emotions in man and animals Year: 1872 (1870s) Authors: Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 Subjects: Expression Emotions Publisher: London, John Murray View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: rhaps from the young themselves loving-each other and playing together. Another and verydifferent gesture, expressive of pleasure, has alreadybeen described, namely, the curious manner in whichyoung and even old cats, when pleased, alternately pro-trude their fore-feet, with separated toes, as if pushingagainst and sucking their mothers teats. This habit isso far analogous to that of rubbing against something,that both apparently are derived from actions performedduring the nursing period. Why cats should showaffection by rubbing so much more than do dogs, thoughthe latter delight in contact with their masters, andwhy cats only occasionally lick the hands of their 128 SPECIAL expressions: ClIAP. V. friends, whilst dogs always do so, I cannot say. Catscleanse themselves by licking their own coats moreregularly than do dogs. On the other hand, theirtongues seem less well fitted for the work than thelonger and more flexible tongues of dogs. Oats, when terrified, stand at full height, and Text Appearing After Image: Fig. 15. Cat terrified at a dog. From life, by Jlr. Wood, arch their backs in a well-known and ridiculousfashion. They tpit, hiss, or growl. The hair over the Chap. V. HORSES. 129 Avliole body, and especially on the tail, becomes erect.In the instances observed by me the basal part of thetail was held upright, the terminal part being thrownon one side; but sometimes the tail (see fig. 15) is onlya little raised, and is bent almost from the base to oneside. The ears are drawn back, and the teeth exposed.When two kittens are playing together, the one oftenthus tries to frighten the other. From what we naveseen in former chapters, all the above points of expres-sion are intelligible, except the extreme arching of tlieback. 1 am inclined to believe that, in the same manneras many birds, whilst they ruffle their feathers, spreadout their wings and tail, to make themselves look asbig as possible, so cats stand upright at their full height,arch their backs, often raise the basal part of the Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: Emotion is defined as any mental experience with high intensity and high hedonic content. The existence and nature of emotions in animals are believed to be correlated with those of humans and to have evolved from the same mechanisms. Charles Darwin was one of the first scientists to write about the subject, and his observational approach has since developed into a more robust, hypothesis-driven, scientific approach. Cognitive bias tests and learned helplessness models have shown feelings of optimism and pessimism in a wide range of species, including rats, dogs, cats, rhesus macaques, sheep, chicks, starlings, pigs, and honeybees. Jaak Panksepp played a large role in the study of animal emotion, basing his research on the neurological aspect. Mentioning seven core emotional feelings reflected through a variety of neuro-dynamic limbic emotional action systems, including seeking, fear, rage, lust, care, panic and play. Through brain stimulation and pharmacological challenges, such emotional responses can be effectively monitored.
context_section_description: It has been postulated that domestic cats can learn to manipulate their owners through vocalizations that are similar to the cries of human babies.  Some cats learn to add a purr to the vocalization, which makes it less harmonious and more dissonant to humans, and therefore harder to ignore. Individual cats learn to make these vocalizations through trial-and-error; when a particular vocalization elicits a positive response from a human, the probability increases that the cat will use that vocalization in the future.
  Growling can be an expression of annoyance or fear, similar to humans.  When annoyed or angry, a cat wriggles and thumps its tail much more vigorously than when in a contented state.  In larger felids such as  lions, what appears to be irritating to them varies between individuals. A male lion may let his cubs play with his mane or tail, or he may hiss and hit them with his paws. Domestic male cats also have variable attitudes towards their family members, for example, older male siblings tend not to go near younger or new siblings and may even show hostility toward them.
  Hissing is also a vocalization associated with either offensive or defensive aggression. They are usually accompanied by a postural display intended to have a visual effect on the perceived threat. Cats hiss when they are startled, scared, angry, or in pain, and also to scare off intruders into their territory. If the hiss and growl warning does not remove the threat, an attack by the cat may follow. Kittens as young as two to three weeks will potentially hiss when first picked up by a human.
caption: Cat's response to a fear inducing stimulus.
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