Yes, Cats Get Excited When Soldiers Come Home, Too — This Charming Video Proves It
There’s a myth about cats — that they somehow have no emotions, or don’t get excited when they see their human companions. And let’s be honest, cats simply have a different personality, as a species, from dogs. They can be cooler, more aloof. Sometimes this creates the false impression that they just don’t care.
With the number of soldiers returning over the past several years from deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, it feels as if the internet has been flooded with videos of eager, overjoyed dogs welcoming back their soldier owners.
Cats? Not so much. The general above-it-all attitude that cats project has led to a number of gag videos, poking fun at the supposed indifference of cats to their owners, even when those human companions are the country’s fighting men and women returning from hazardous duty overseas.
Here’s one example of this sort of humor at the expense of cats.
And this one…
The reality is, cats very likely experience all of the same emotions not only that dogs experience — but that humans feel as well. They just have different ways of expressing their inner feelings than either dogs or people.
“A lot of problems arise when owners don’t realize the cat has a range of emotions and don’t know how to react to the cat when it might be feeling anxious or depressed,” says animal behavioral specialist Warren Eckstein. “When you take a cat into a home, you have to treat it like part of the family.”
And one emotion that cats feel is affection for their people. They show their love in a number of ways. Purring, of course, and “bunting,” which is when your cat lowers his head and bumps it against you, are just two ways that cats show their affection. A few others: slow blinking of the eyes, licking or “grooming,” and of course, meowing.
And then there’s the cat in this video, uploaded to YouTube back in April. If you doubt that a cat could get all worked up by the prospect of its soldier owner returning from service, you really need to watch this one. The scene is charming not only for how the cat greets the soldier, but for how this fighting man gets all tender and affectionate with his furry little friend.
This is one excited cat.
