Do you rbrt describe your cat as behaving badly, being a jerk, or doing something because of spite? Do you feel like your cat cat is seeking revenge for something you did, perhaps by peeing on your carpet? Worst of all, does your cat not seem guilty for it?
That’s because your cat doesn’t feel guilty for whatever it is they did. That also doesn’t mean your cat is a psychopath, evil, or a bad cat. There’s a much less sinister explanation.
Cats Don’t Think Like Us
Cats are a completely different species from us. I know, I know: not a profound statement, but a lot of people forget that when they’re talking about their cats’ behavior. Cats have different cognitive capabilities and don’t see the world the same way we do (sometimes literally). That isn’t a good or bad thing. Cats are still delightful creatures that can form deep bonds with us.
What it does mean is we need to approach any explanation to a cat’s behavior from the perspective of a cat, not from the perspective of a human. Human relationships, behavior, and ethics are really complicated. Other species don’t look at things from the same lens we do.
Cats Don’t Have A Sense Of Morality
Actually, cats don’t even look at things from a moral perspective at all because they don’t have a sense of morality. That’s not the same as a human that doesn’t have a sense of morality or is behaving immorally. Rather, cats are amoral: they exist outside of morality and don’t think of things in terms of right or wrong, good or bad. That is not the same thing as being immoral or behaving immorally by ignoring morality. The difference is extremely important.
Rather, cats are more focused on the consequences of their actions. In other cases, cats just behave like cats. Many behaviors that people don’t like, such as scratching a couch, are normal behaviors for cats to do. Your cat doesn’t see it as being “bad.” They don’t understand the concept of bad. They’re just being a cat. It’s actually confusing to them when you become upset at them for scratching because it’s something that they just do as cats.
Cats don’t feel guilty because there is no right or wrong to them. They’re just being cats.
Anthropomorphism Rears Its Ugly Head
Why is this problematic? When we try to apply human reasoning to cats or even inanimate objects, we’re engaging in something called anthropomorphism. It isn’t always harmful, but it can be harmful. For example, if you think your have a gay cat, there’s nothing wrong with that. Your cat likely doesn’t assign a label to their sexual behavior, but it’s not hurting your cat for you to think that.
What does hurt cats is when you label a cat’s behavior as being due to your cat doing it out of spite or because your cat is actively choosing to be bad. In some cases, people use this to justify being cruel to cats, negligent, or using devices like shock collars on them.
Unfortunately for humans who do these things, we do understand ethics and we do have a sense of morality so we don’t have the excuse of being amoral beings to justify our behavior when we behave immorally. If you’re choosing to intentionally ignore the wellbeing of your cat, it isn’t your cat that’s in the wrong.
Assigning Morality To Cat Behavior Hurts You, Too
Even if you don’t care about the wellbeing of cats or your cat, it ultimately benefits you to not think of their behaviors in terms of good or bad. If you think your cat is doing something because they’re being bad or that they “know better,” you’re both objectively wrong and not going to come up with a solution to the problem.
Some examples I’ve heard over the years from clients where assigning morality to their cat’s behavior prevented them from solving a behavior problem:
- Rather than getting a cat an acceptable location to climb or a tall cat tree, the cat climbing on the counter gets written off as being something the cat should know better because it was explained to the cat they should stay off the counters. Cats don’t understand human speech the way we do so this isn’t likely to work.
- A litter box problem continues for longer than needed because the humans decide the cat is mad at them. Really, the cat doesn’t like the pelleted litter that’s uncomfortable to walk on so they just go on the floor. The cat doesn’t think this is a bad thing to do; they’re just doing what meets their needs. Really, their humans prioritized their own wants over the needs of the cat.
- A cat scratches furniture; occasionally nips lightly and in a playful way; and sometimes lays on their human. The human interprets this as the cat attempting to dominate them so they use a spray bottle, pin the cat down to “be the alpha,” and gives the cat an “authoritative no.” The idea of dominance in cats is a topic that needs its own deep dive, but TL;DR everything about this is inaccurate. The cat is expressing normal cat behavior, isn’t being played with enough, and is trying to bond with their human. If anyone is trying to dominate anyone here, the human is attempting to dominate the cat.
Can Cats Feel Something Similar To Guilt?
If you’ve spent time online, you may have seen people say their cat looks guilty or seen photos of cats near the scene of their “crime” where they appear to be looking ashamed. I’m intentionally not sharing an example as I don’t want to amplify this type of content. While the cats might look guilty, in many cases their body language suggests fear. The cat likely has picked up on cues from your behavior and notices you acting differently. They’re afraid something scary is going to happen.
If they’re not afraid, they may be confused because they don’t understand why you’re acting differently. Because your cat doesn’t understand what bad (in the moral sense) means, they don’t understand why you’d be unhappy with them. If you tend to act unpredictably from their standpoint, this fear can be even stronger.
A lot of their body language such as ears pulled back, making themselves smaller, or averting their gaze aren’t signs of guilt. They’re signs of stress or the cat attempting to diffuse the situation.
Your Cat Isn’t A Bad Cat Even If They Don’t Feel Guilty
Your cat may not feel guilty about their “bad” behavior, but it’s really not something sinister. Your cat is just amoral. We’re the ones who are capable of behaving badly toward our cats so we are the ones whose behavior should be held to higher standards.
Even if our cats don’t feel guilt, it doesn’t make them a bad cat. Your cat is capable of experiencing a lot of other very positive emotions. They can be affectionate, happy, and probably experience some form of love. Cat behavior is fascinating and once you stop trying to think of cats as tiny humans (even though sometimes our behavior isn’t that different from cats), they become even more interesting.
If you’re interested in learning more about cat behavior from a scientific standpoint, check out Purr by Zazie Todd. It’s both interesting and practical. It will help you come up with better explanations for your cat’s behavior than your cat being naughty.
