How do you know that your cat knows it exists?

Answer 1

Hi Jeff...they don't. They are not existential beings. It is us that anthropomorphisize cats (animals).

Answer 2

Hey! cats don't know they exist other than to survive--eat, sleep, sh**, etc. It's the law of nature and why they are low-level brain beings. The only live in the present. So I'm joining the minority on this. Good questions though!

Answer 3

I don't believe that cats are self aware.

If a chimpanzee sees its reflection, it understands that it is looking at itself.

Cats don't.

But at the same time, cats react to other cats in a particular way compared to how they react to humans and dogs for example. So maybe the cat knows its a fellow cat?

But just for fun...the philosopher Rene Descartes uttered the famous words "cogito ergo sum" or..."I think, therefore I am" proving that he exists.

Does a cat think? Certainly cats have feelings and instincts...but do they truly think? If not, does the cat exist?

So maybe the cat doesn't know it exists...but at the same time maybe the cat itself doesn't exist. :)

Answer 4

it? How does a cat know if what exists? Man i think i just lost 5 IQ points just reading that .. im sooo confused but yea make ur question more clearer and uh maybe it knows by smelling it or seeing it or hearing it i dont even know what your talking about but thx 4 the points

Answer 5

They don't know they exist because they "only" react to outside stimuli. It's instinct not self awareness. this is philosophy/psychology. Learned this back in the good ole days when studying animal psychology. Humans tend to project what they think their animals are feeling but in fact it's the animals basic instincts for survival that appears to make them self aware. I know, it's a lot of philosophical malarky, but I remember this from the course. Hope that sheds light. Everyone's answer here is incorrect based on the years of scientific research. Animals are intelligent...yes, but not self aware. They can think, but it's for the moment not past or future, etc.

Answer 6

Well, this could all be one great big dream for all of us, couldn't it? But, I know that my cats know what they like and don't like. They demonstrate a whole range of emotions. If they didn't feel like they existed, how could they feel like they were entitled to rule the roost. Most cats have a very high degree of self-esteem. I would say that they know they exist. If they didn't, then why would they waste the energy on showing a preference?

Now I'll sit and wait for my 2 thumbs down, like the rest of you who thought the way I do and got punished for it. LOL ROFL

Answer 7

lol....Come on Jeff B..... if your cat has a bald spot, because it thinks enough to shave, the cat knows it exists.

Answer 8

It thinks, therefor it exists.

It observed itself by opening the little black box it was in. There was a 50% chance that it would be there, and a 50% chance that it would not be in existence. Since it opened the box, it determined the outcome, and became Schrodinger's cat.

Answer 9

I have one smart cat. He knows what time to wake me up 24/7, he knows how to talk to me verbalize, he can discern when you are sick are something is wrong....he knows he exists, he has more heart than some people I know. Animals aren't as dumb as everyone thinks.

Answer 10

Haven't you ever seen a cat lick itself? Yeah. Proof. It knows.

Answer 11

If it can meow for food, try to scratch someone who is annoying it, spit at something it doesn't like, wash itself because it wants to be clean, then it is taking care of itself so it knows what it wants, what it likes, and what it needs. That is self-aware.

Now, how do you know your exist?