The history of cats around humans is far from the relationship between dogs and man. Therefore, it could not be said that felines were properly domesticated, since they were the ones who approached humanity because they considered us as a safe provider of food. Its stealthy behavior seems to hold mysteries that we will never be able to fully reveal, because to do so we would have to become a feline. But we can outline a limited version of what humans think and what the dynamic is like between felines and their owners.
An ancient history
To understand the relationship between cats and humans, we must go back to ancient times. In Quanhucun province, evidence has been found that cats have been living with humans for 5 thousand years. However, unlike dogs, cats were not domesticated by humanity. Their nature is so untamed that it could be said that they domesticated themselves by considering us a safe food provider.
But there was no early selection of calmer and less aggressive specimens, as with dogs. But humans simply let the cats get close, as they helped them with rodent infestations. Humans had little to do with feline domestication, this occurred organically and by mere decision of the cats.
What do cats think about humans?
Under the previous context, we can now better understand how the relationship between felines and humans arose. A bond that is based more on the decision of cats than of man. Unlike dogs, which have become man’s best friend and whose history at our side goes back 23,000 years longer than felines have been around us, cats do not observe us as a superior being.
In reality, communication between humans is more similar to that between two feline specimens. That is to say, they look at us as equals, only much larger in size. In other words, cats think that humans are a species of cat, although much larger and clumsier, but harmless.
Which explains why although they show signs of affection before us, they tend to disobey and move away when they need their space. Felines are untamed creatures by nature and when they require their space, they tend to shy away from contact. Although later they approach again and make visible their displays of affection such as kneading or kneading, which are behaviors that evoke the maternal relationship. For this reason, they meow to ask for food and purr to indicate that they want to be petted, just as they would do with their mother in the case of food and with their peers, to ask for petting.
The equal relationship also explains why cats do not celebrate the arrival of their humans. They don’t care if you come or go, so they don’t have parties like dogs do when they watch their humans arrive. In short, it is a relationship that is far from the dependency that has developed with dogs, for example. However, it has its own magic by showing us the mysteries of felines, these untamed beings of unparalleled beauty that enchant us with their independence and a touch of power. But they have developed their own way of showing love towards their humans.