Understanding animal emotions is essential for ensuring proper care and welfare, yet decoding what dogs and cats feel remains complex. A study by Pickersgill et al. (2023) surveyed 438 pet owners about their beliefs on their animals’ ability to express 22 different primary and secondary emotions. The findings offer insight into how humans perceive companion animal emotions and which cues they use for interpretation.
Owners generally believed dogs could express more emotions than cats. This perception held true across participants who owned either species exclusively or both. Emotional recognition in pets was attributed to cues such as body posture, facial expressions, and head movement. While these indicators were shared between species, the specific behavioral combinations used to identify each emotion differed.
The data also revealed that personal experience with dogs was positively correlated with a higher number of reported dog emotions. Interestingly, the number of emotions reported decreased with increased professional experience, possibly indicating that professionals apply stricter scientific criteria when interpreting animal emotions. In contrast, cat-only owners attributed more emotional capacities to their cats than owners of both species.
This study emphasizes the importance of owner perceptions as a valuable starting point for scientific validation of animal emotions. These insights help bridge the gap between subjective interpretations and objective behavioral science, paving the way for better welfare strategies tailored to individual animals.
Source: Olivia Pickersgill, Daniel Mills, Kun Guo. “Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats.” Animals, Volume 13, 2023-02-24. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13040607
