I think most of us can agree on one thing: cats are basically walking comedy. We’re all eternally grateful for the laughs and happy emotions they give us. But do they actually have a sense of humor themselves? And what kind of emotions can they experience, can they be sad, disappointed, excited? If you’re a cat owner, you’d probably answer with a confident “yes.” But the truth is a lot more interesting than a one-syllable reply.
Cats are often portrayed as aloof, independent little creatures who only care about their own needs and couldn’t care less about humans. That couldn’t be further from the truth. They experience a wide range of feelings and can become genuinely attached to their owners.
According to Cats.com, cats can feel things like sadness and anxiety, and sometimes they’re just being silly.
The good news is, when they’re happy, they usually make it pretty clear. Cats have plenty of “I’m content” signals: purring, slow blinking like they’re giving you a tiny compliment, curling up close, or settling in so comfortably you start wondering if you’re the guest in their home.
That said, purring isn’t always a guaranteed sign everything is purr-rfect. In rarer cases, a cat might purr when they’re stressed or in pain, almost like they’re trying to calm themselves down.
Kneading is another common sign they’re happy. And then there’s one that catches a lot of people off guard: drooling. That one genuinely surprised me the first time I saw it.
I used to think it was strictly a dog thing, so when a cat started drooling on me, I panicked like something was seriously wrong. Turns out, some cats drool when they’re extremely relaxed and content. Love that for them. My sleeve… not so much.
We can also influence their emotions more than we realize. Research from a 2020 study indicates that cats may become more anxious when their trusted humans show signs of anger rather than happiness, suggesting they can get upset when their human family members are.
Signs a cat may be experiencing negative emotions include hiding more, sleeping more, playing less, grooming less, or becoming more aggressive.
And here’s the funny part: cats also seem to find us entertaining. So maybe we can argue they have a sense of humor, just one that mostly involves silently judging our life choices. Some experts have even suggested cats may view humans as big, clumsy cats.
“They obviously know we’re bigger than them, but they don’t seem to have adapted their social behavior much. Putting their tails up in the air, rubbing around our legs, and sitting beside us and grooming us are exactly what cats do to each other… cats behave toward us in a way that’s indistinguishable from [how] they would act toward other cats,” Author and cat behaviorist John Bradshaw shared with National Geographic. “They do think we’re clumsy: Not many cats trip over people, but we trip over cats.”
Of course, cats are also famous for doing things that look… mischievous. Is it because they find it amusing? Maybe. But it also depends on what we label as “naughty.” What looks like bad behavior to us might just be normal cat logic to them.
Take the universal feline pastime: knocking things off tables and shelves. Keys, toys, pens, glasses—nothing is safe. It might be the bane of your existence, yet it starts to feel a little less personal once you understand why cats get so hypnotized by a single object perched near the edge.
