This made me cry

fair enough, that doesn't really square with what i personally believe about love, but it's certainly a valid proposition :2thumbsup:

 

Yes...



Cheers Glen.

 

I would say yes. I also would say, I believe it is easier for animals to show unconditional love, because the conditions that a lot of humans place on love, are simply of no importance to animals. Humans can withhold love for other humans for any number of frivilous reasons, such as physical appearance, disability, sexuality, gender identity, being of a different race/colour, and other reasons. An animal does not care about any of those things. They see all humans as simply humans, they do not discriminate. They only know the difference between those who treat them well, and those who do not. You can give a person your heart and soul, and still have them chewed out and spat back at you.

 

Been There, Done That, Bought The T-Shirt Aswell...



Cheers Glen.

 

Ditto here.

:love:

@Mamapeace: Agreed on everything in your above post. :2thumbsup:

 

i can't agree that love is fostered by a reliance on instinct, but this is more due to personal belief than to anything else. if there is a Cartesian split between mind and body (if you can make such a distinction) then i believe that, in the case of love, the mind leads and the body follows. (I'm talking about specifically love, not physical attraction.) so, i don't think it can be founded on ignorance, but recognition and identification, a bond based on empathy that grows over time, based on intellect, not instinct.

its certainly true that our minds put barriers between us and each other, but how could i love someone if i saw everyone as the same, if not by falsely convincing myself that one person was unique? i don't think that only being able to discern who is who on the grounds that some people treat you well and some don't is enough. In fact, i think instinct is selfish. it allows you to see the world in a way which relates only to your own well-being. empathy allows you to see the world through other people's eyes, and that's the start of love.

 

I am not entirely sold on the empathy bit. I remember from Stephen King's Rose Red television miniseries that one particular girl responded depending upon how others treated her. To quote, She responds to love with love and to hate with hate.

 

FFS Guys, This Thread Started Out Showing A Mans Grief At The Loss

Of His Beloved Companion, So Would Somebody Enlighten Me As To

Why The Hell We Have Run Off The Rails...



Cheers Glen.

 

all 3 of my cats just finished a 2 week stint of stalking a 2 yr old in my house and stealing the poor kids toast right out of her hand....all cats care about is food...there affection is directly tied to the food we feed them

and ftr...when a cat cuddles he isnt doing it out of love...he is doing it out of a desire to be comfortable

and its not fair to demonize me because i know my cats place in my home....

and really?...you had your heart broken by a human and managed to fit that into a cat thread in support of non-unconditional love?....

 

There are naughty cats and good cats - just like people.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xITL62e2u-4"]Cats Can Be Jerks - YouTube

Though I'd inject some much needed humor into the discussion...Don't ya just love 'em!

 

That isn't true. A cat can curl up and be comfortable in seconds on a chair, in a basket, on a bed, wherever. When a cat comes and curls up on your lap they are showing you affection, threading their paws, nudging their head against your hands, sometimes they even groom you. All signs of affection. Even the squinty eyes is a sign of affection and a very strong one too.

Of course cats love food. They arent like us in that sense, they do not know if the meal they are eating is their last, we know that at any time we could get up and go to the fridge. They love you for food, yes, but there are many other things they love too. They are hunters remember, so sniffing out food is a natural instinct to them, whether it be a 2 year olds toast or not.

 

Hilarious discussion. Of course it is fine to be in tears when your pet dies. Wtf. Is that really worth such ramblings like this And yeah, I hate whiny kids too but of course a sane person does not let them die in a car crash in favor of a cat. Duh.

 

There is well documented, proven evidence of cats showing affection in the wild to other cats. Much of this behaviour is replicated in a lot of domestic cat's behaviour with their human companions. My cat is well fed, so the vast majority of the time he is affectionate with me, he is not looking for food. If a cat showing affection was always directly related to the food we give them, they would only show such affection when they are wanting food. Most of the time my cat shows me affection, he is not looking for food. It also doesn't explain my cat's behaviour when I'm minutes away from leaving the flat, as he always has plenty of fresh food and water before I leave. So he has food, yet displays sadness at me leaving the flat. Again, not behaviour attributable to a being whose care for their human companions is exclusively food related.

It is a myth that cat's either can't show affection, or that any affection they do show is always directly related to food.

And, if the worst thing that humans ever did was steal someone's toast, I'd see them in a much more favourable light! lol

 

:2thumbsup:

 

I just don't like cats at all. I think they're obnoxious, sneaky, and as demanding as any non-human can get. I don't hate them, but I would never want one as a pet.

Dogs, on the other hand, are truly amazing pets... if they're properly raised and trained.

 

I have also had stronger connections with dogs than with cats. I don't blame it on the cats that were in my life though I just happened to have had great dogs. They can obviously be just as demanding as cats by the way. But I guess I know what you mean yeah, cats have that certain obnoxious vibe to feel entitled to something undoubtly. I kinda dig that too though

 

Yeah I think dogs can be just as demanding as cats. My dog is a bossy bitch. She come up to me in the morning and nudges me until I let her outside, she stands by her food and barks if I don't feed her by the time she is accustomed to, she growls when she wants shotguns on the joint Lol. And cats just meow and won't shut the fuck up until they get what they want. The difference for me is that I think my dog is cute as hell when she gets bossy whereas a bossy cat just drives me crazy.

I used to have a cat that took over the Christmas tree and clawed the shit out of my arms when I tried to take it down. That tree stayed up until February and I haven't liked cats since

 

i completely agree with this. all i was really disagreeing with back there was the assertion that humans are incapable of unconditional love.

i don't know, this seems kind of borderline to me. yes, hurting someone intentionally is a greater betrayal of trust than hurting someone unintentionally, but i still would have a hard time completely trusting someone who repeatedly hurts me accidentally. i guess you could say that while i trust their character, i can't trust their judgment.

you'll be happy to know i've never thumbed down a post. :2thumbsup:

i'm sure that some people are hypocritical about it.

if it's a pet cow, sure. i doubt any of these people would cry over a cat they've never met that was raised for food either.

by definition, unconditional love would have to be without conditions. so even the condition of "They only know the difference between those who treat them well, and those who do not" is still a condition. if a pet owner has a breakdown and stops feeding his pet and starts beating the shit out of it, then it's only unconditional love if the pet ignores these changes and continues to love its owner as it had before.

if a person chews out your heart and soul and spits them back at you, that person obviously doesn't love you with or without condition. just because some people don't show love does not mean that people can't show love. if you're giving such a person your heart and soul, knowing how they react to it, that sounds about as close to unconditional love as any example i've seen in this thread.