Stop laughing! People actually want to know, do cats apologize? Even though we cats really have nothing to apologize for. So I figure that maybe I should explain why apologies aren’t something cats do… and what they do instead (that may look like an apology to some).
A sincere apology comes from someone feeling remorseful for something they have done. Because cats live in the moment and we only see the world in relation to ourselves, things like regret and remorse are foreign to us. Even guilt is something we don’t understand. Guilt involves knowing something you did is wrong ethically or morally. And while we have lots of other amazing qualities, cats don’t have ethics or morals.
What we do see when we have done something wrong (in the eyes of a human, of course) is that something happened to cause a lot of unpleasant drama. And of course we want that drama to stop! What we do next depends on the situation.
If we feel threatened by the drama, we will run off and hide somewhere until we feel it is safe to come out again. If the drama comes from someone we love being hurt, either physically or emotionally, and we don’t feel threatened ourselves, we might try to do something to make that friend or family member feel better. It’s not an apology, because chances are we don’t understand what just happened. We just see them in pain and we care.
But more often than not, when drama occurs because of something we’ve done, we’re just confused. Because we don’t understand that we’ve done something “wrong.” And we don’t understand why the human is making such a big deal out of it. For example, the cause and effect of a broken vase is beyond us. We don’t understand money and how much this thing cost. We don’t understand why cleaning up the broken pieces is so upsetting. In fact, we don’t even understand the whole concept of picking up the broken pieces. So yeah, we totally don’t get it.
Humans, on the other hand, totally have morals and ethics and do things all the time that require apologies. Sometimes you need to apologize to your cat. So how do you apologize to a creature who doesn’t understand apologies?
Easy. You just do better in the future. The same way any other sincere apology works. Just don’t be so dramatic about it.
Other posts you’ll enjoy:
- 5 Reasons Why You Should Always Praise Your Cat
- 7 Things Humans Do That Confuse Cats
- The One Big Secret to Understanding Cats
Very thought provoking Summer. We Anthropomorphize our pets. They’re not human. They’re felines
*I* have ethics (whatever they are) and morals! The rest of this post is telling it like it is. I like when the human apologize to me altho I don’t like when they almost step on me or trip over me first. While I’ve never broken a vase, I have broken a LOT of human skin.
That’s perfectly explained, Summer. Humans just need to strive to do better every day. Cats should just continue being amazing!
That does make good sense sweet Summer! Hey, can you recommend a good shampoo for kitties? Eventually Kiki will need a bath, she still has some red clay coloring in her white furs.
I love this, Summer! Especially the last paragraph. You are so smart.
I love when I read something so accurate about cats. Too many humans think cats think the same way humans do. That brings drama in itself with false expectations, and silly disappointments, and anger at the poor cat who did nothing to feel apologetic for. That’s your issue as a human, not the cats.I dread reading social media stories etc. about dogs or cats acting whichever way because of whatever reason the himan writing it made up. That means the animal will likely be punished, screamed at, other horrible things for nothing they can control. Poor cats and dogs.
Why would a cat ever need to apologise even if it was in their make up!
I had never thought of this particular question. I would have said no they
don’t. But I think they might feel empathy if they are your close companion
and note you are upset.
Great post. Cats are perfect and never need to apologize. 🙂 XO
Cats are so much smarter than humans!
Yup! So very true Summer. We cats do live in the moment. Anything that happens along the way(broken vase)
is just another event. We do not try to be naughty, we are just being cats. That’s all we know 😉
Purrs, Julie
Interesting and all so very true! Thanks for reminding us.