Do cats think they own us? The facts explained

No, cats do not think they own us. There is no science pointing to this being the case. There is, however, some evidence suggesting that they view us as other cats. This fact coupled with how they seem to think they “own the house” could lead us to believe that they think that they own us.

Do cats think they own us?

When I adopted my first cat I went through all of the emotions first-time cat owners usually experience. There were good days, and there were bad days. As time passed and the first few weeks turned into the first few months and years, I felt that I got to know and understand my cat better and better. He wasn’t just a little animal to me anymore, he slowly became my friend. One that I could always trust to cheer me up, and keep me company when I needed him.

 During this time, many questions popped into my head, and one of the ones that stuck with me the most was how our cats view us. Do they know that we actually own them as pets, at least in our minds? Or what if you flip the question, do cats think they own us? 

I wasn’t the only person searching for an answer to this question, in fact, many people seem to want an answer to this. This made me think: Why not take a look at the science regarding this and compile it into a post? Read on the see the results!

As I explained in the intro, no science seems to indicate that cats think they own us. But I’ll do my best to make a case for this anyways:

My first piece of evidence: Studies have suggested that cats believe us humans are also cats. Big, clumsy, and not-so-hairy cats, though, not quite like themselves. They seem to treat us like cats, displaying similar behavior when close to us as they do together with their own. This fact gives us some ground to build the case since it would make it all more plausible. If they believe we are the same animal as themselves, why couldn’t they rule over us?

My second argument will be that they often seem to view themselves as the bosses of the house. They come to you only if they want to, they eat only when they feel like it, and they won’t go outside unless they have the urge to do so. They make it clear that they won’t do something just because you want them to. 

Don’t these two facts together make my case for this kind of believable? Let’s accept my first assumption: that they think we are cats just like themselves. Couple this with feeling like they rule the house, and they could definitely think that they own us.

Want to know how long cats live on average? Read our post on the subject here!

Why cats don’t think that they own us – The counterargument

Even though I made a decent case above, I believe the answer to the question is no. Since there is no actual evidence saying that they view themselves as our owners, I simply cannot believe that they do. If they did, most likely, it would be pretty obvious, and we would have studied this subject thoroughly. 

What would this scenario even look like? Would they try to boss us around, giving orders and punishing us if we did not comply? It is a funny thought, but I cannot seem to remember the last time my cat tried to make me do anything more advanced than feeding him. Further, they are intelligent animals, and should know that the difference in size, strength, and intelligence, would make it very hard for them to rule over us. Strenght rules in nature, after all, and cats definitely understand this. 

I believe that cats, in the same way that they have power over a mouse, know that we have power over them. Cats understand the hierarchies of nature very well, it is most likely deeply rooted in their DNA.

Some more reading: Cats view us humans as other cats

The book I referenced above shares some really interesting views on how cats view us humans. The author, John Bradshaw argues that our feline pets see us as other cats, and not as animals of another species. He says we have not discovered anything that suggests that cats put us in a separate category of animals.

Much of the behavior we think of as stereotypically cat-like is things they do when around other cats. The fact that they behave like this around us too, can be interpreted as them not viewing us as anything other than cats like themselves. In fact, Bradshaw argues that they might view us as their cat moms. They often treat their owners in the same way they treat their actual mothers in the wild. Crazy, isn’t it?

Conclusion

If you’ve read this far, you probably know where I stand on the matter by now. Despite the evidence suggesting otherwise, I do not believe that cats think that they own us. While I do think that I made a decent and reasonable case for it the evidence simply isn’t strong enough.

Maybe I have not been attentive enough to my pet’s behavior, or maybe I do not understand their ways well enough. Perhaps there will be some breakthrough study in the future, completely proving me wrong, but I doubt that. Make up your own mind, simply by studying your cat’s behavior and drawing your own conclusions!