Do animals have feelings?
By veejay19
@veejay19 (3589)
India
January 30, 2009 12:48am CST
I am an avid watcher of Discovery and Animal Planet channels on TV. In certain episodes i saw that when a monkey, it could be a chimp or even a Rhesus monkey, loses its baby it still holds on to it for quite a few days and refuses to abandon it. It looks after the dead baby as though it were alive, caressing it,stroking it and carrying it everywhere. In another episode i saw Meercats surround one of their dead brethren and sit down looking at it for quite sometime as though in mourning.Another episode showed a group of elephants come across the dead carcass of another elephant in their wanderings. Each elephant walked turn by turn to the carcass and felt it and stroked the bones with their trunks as though trying to see who this body belonged to. We all know how dogs show their feelings for their owners. do you think animals also have the same depth of feelings and emotions as we humans do or do they show them in some other way? Your comments please?
7 people like this
37 responses
@candymarie (1368)
• Canada
2 Feb 09
Heck YES! At my house we have 2 cats, one is mine, the other is my roommates. Well this past Christmas, I took my cat with me to my sisters for a few days (first Christmas away from home for myself, AND my sister, so trying to make it family orientated, so not Christmas without the "kids"!) Anywho, my roommate txted me one day saying that her cat missed his buddies (Myself and my cat) said he was moping around the house and visibly sighing around the house, well all I could say was "AWWWWW! We miss him too!" So yeah, needless to say he was in great spirits when we came home....well, when I came home, he thinks my cat is a little sh!t, which he is lol. But I caught them cuddling before! hehe
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Animals absolutely have feelings and I would have to say that their feelings do run as deep and are as wide ranged as ours are its just that TO US they express it seemingly differently..the only reason though IMO that they seem to express it differently is because we can't fully clearly communicate with them therefore we can't understand them the way we do each other...just like they can't fully understand us
1 person likes this
@rsk721 (41)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I totally agree with you. After owning cats for a long time I have learned that I can be sworn at in kitty language, ignored, teased, loved, and punished. I even had them tell on my husband when I went on vacation and he didnt follow the schedule they were used to. The animals in my home definitly add a different dynamic emotionally to us all.
@quinnkl (1667)
• United States
1 Feb 09
Absolutely they do. They feel emotions though probably nothing like what we do. Why else would dogs be sad and depressed after losing another dog/roommate that has been in the same house for years? Or be upset when you leave and happy when you come home (not just dogs, I have cats that actually do this too). So I absolutely believe that animals have feelings.
1 person likes this
@nayanimuralidhar (93)
• India
30 Jan 09
yes.the animals exactly having the feeling.if they are happy they mome freely with us .oherwise they dont...
@thecow54312 (100)
• Hong Kong
30 Jan 09
Even though aniamls cannot communicate the way humans can, they still have feelings and ways of showing affection for each other. I love animals even though i eat meat.
1 person likes this
@saffrondallas (290)
• South Africa
1 Feb 09
This is an interesing topic as some animals such as monkeys/apes etc. are supposed to be pretty close to humans. But then there is instinct supplied by Mother Nature. Most animals cry in some form when they are hurt so they mus feel something.
1 person likes this
@bombshell (11256)
• Germany
30 Mar 09
animals has brain and heart no differecne to human.infact some animals are smarter than human
@bombshell (11256)
• Germany
19 Mar 09
animals is just like human there is heart and brain,infact some animals are smarter than human
@reckon21 (3479)
• Philippines
5 Mar 09
I do believe that animals has feelings too, just like us.
All living things in fact has a life on their own. They can feel,
because they are alive.
@sweetyethot (1737)
• China
30 Jan 09
I dont fancy animal programs .But I insist that animals have feelings,not as complicate as us humans, but as strong as ours.
1 person likes this
@Jenaisle (14078)
• Philippines
30 Jan 09
They do form some attachments with their human handlers, but they're not rational. experiments have been done and some discoveries were made that conditioning an animal could make him behave the handler wants it too. They have feelings but these are instinctive and are part of their reflex system, unlike us-humans- we feel from our brains and we have the ability to feel because we can think. Cheers and happy mylotting.
@23uday (2997)
• India
22 Mar 09
Hi friend,
I am a animal lover and i will watching discovery and animal planet they shows
different animals how about their feelings.Once i watched in discovery channel
i seen a program of dolphin they showed and helping and training how to talk
to people.
Animals are in friendly with people are
dolphins
elephants
monkey
dog
cat.
have a nice day.
@Lilyqinn (15)
• China
20 Mar 09
I believe animals do have feeling - happy,sad...
When i was young, i saw a horse crying. The horse fell down from cliff. One of his leg was broken. He must be very painful and he didn't cry. But when his master was discussing to sell and butcher him, I saw tears droped down from his eyes.
That day, I cried, too. i will never forget the moment.
Animals,like us,have feeling. I hope all of us can treat them well.
@veejay19 (3589)
• India
21 Mar 09
Yes, animals also react when distressed only thing is we humans aren`t observant enough. Animals cannot expresse themselves which is why they are referred to as "dumb".However if we keenly observe them we will be able to see and understand their emotions and then perhaps we will treat them more kindly.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
31 Jan 09
Yes they do and IMO animals have more feelings than many humans.
@Bethany1202 (3431)
• United States
28 Feb 09
I agree with some of the others responses. I surely believe animals have feelings, personalities, and many other things like humans do. They can be scared, happy, sad, excited, etc. They can certainly feel pain and pleasure as we can.
I have had pets all my life and think they are innocent and need to be taken care of just like children. I will always love animals!
@savypat (20216)
• United States
31 Jan 09
If you had ever lived with pets you would know that all animals have feelings, even a snake or turtle learns that your presents means food and love. When you first get a snake as a pet it is nervous but if you treat it with kindness i will relax in your hands and respond to your attention. Birds are very responsive, they love to be scratched and will wait all day for you to come and do that for them. They also mourn the loss of a beloved owner and sometimes loose all their feathers. If we do not notice how animals respond it is our fault for not seeing. Just watch a Mama cow lick her yearling calf to see the love.
@TenmaMetsuki (452)
• Bahrain
1 Feb 09
All god's creatures have feelings, and honestly, most have more than 'some' humans do. When it comes to emotions, animals are much more sincere than us humans, and aren't afraid to show how they truely feel like some humans are.
