Question:
I am writing about cats showing empathy toward sick people. Every time I was sick, feeling poorly, crying or in pain after surgery, my cats knew I was hurting. They would show their sympathy in various ways -- rubbing their little faces against my teary cheeks, sitting outside my bedroom after I returned from surgery, looking at me with concern and sympathy, etc. They instinctively know we are in pain. How do they know that? Because they love us, and love is a knowing thing, meaning you love someone when they are happy and when they are sad. Since they cannot speak or mail sympathy cards, they show their concern by being physically near us. I have also seen cats show the same sympathy for another cat when the cat was sick. There are many recorded stories of companion animals mourning the loss of their master.
Y.H., Arlington, Va Mar 21, 2010
Answer:
I absolutely agree with you. Many readers will appreciate your confirmation of cats' abilities to empathize and to express loving concern. I wish more members of our species were like that.
Many cats in households with a new human baby become very upset when the infant cries. The distress calls of a human baby are not unlike their own, and such cats should be reassured and allowed to be close when the baby is being attended to, in order to help alleviate their empathic concern.
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