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09 September 2006
Why do we pet animals?→[More:]Sorry if this sounds naive, but I'm genuinely curious.
And drunk.
We pet animals because it makes them and us happy, cats and dogs associate it with the grooming behavior of their mothers.
Animals look us in the eyes to discern intent and mood, it's not just cultural. Dogs are smart, cats are perverse. I need ramen. Happy wedding Hellbient.
My cats are mother and daughter. The mother still grooms her daughter, washes her head and face, etc. Consequently the daughter isn't keen on me petting her and will only let me if she hasn't had any attention from her mom for a while. The mother loves to be petted though, because she has no mommy to do it to her, except me.
Rabbits spend a lot of their resting time in physical contact with other rabbits and lower status rabbits will groom higher status rabbits. As a result they enjoy gentle petting and snuggling and can be very demanding if they want it now. Beides, they're soft and pretty much irresistable, so it works for everyone.
(hellbient, you're getting MARRIED today? Congrats! We want pictures, OF COURSE).
And I pet my dog because she begs for it. Seriously. Standas on top of me, uses her paw to move my arm under her to rub her stomach, pushes her face into my hand so I'll pat her head. The little devil. (Although the little devil killed a cockroach this morning, so she's in my good graces today).
Petting is grooming. Humans clearly have atavastic mild social grooming instincts. Our two favorite pets have social grooming instincts, too. I'm sure there's domesticated animals that don't like to be petted or are indifferent to it.
Petting - dunno. But, here's a fun fact about eye contact in the canine kingdom for you: Dogs consider it RUDE to look them in the eye, and will do almost anything to not do so with you. They will look away, etc. to appear polite.
Cats don't like eye contact, either. For both cats and dogs it's a challenge. But for dogs it's an expected challenge from an owner, as the pack alpha will regularly do aggressive things to which submissive behavior is expected. In other words, dogs don't hold it against us and they avert their eyes as a submissive gesture. Cats do dislike it, to a degree, but slow, deliberate eye blinks change the message to one of trust where such a relationship already exists.
At the time, I was thinking it was because we appreciate animals, and it's human to appreciate. And empathy, because we know what feels good and we like to make others feel good. Also, there's probably something there that keeps us attached to nature and our furry friends.