October 3 - Monday's Question of the Day

Today's question is a little whimsical. It is one of those questions that just randomly popped in my head.

[COLOR=#green]What would you do if we discovered that our cats really only love us because of Stockholm Syndrome?[/COLOR]

FhiCat said:

Today's question is a little whimsical. It is one of those questions that just randomly popped in my head.

What would you do if we discovered that our cats really only love us because of Stockholm Syndrome?

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   I'm going to have to think about this one....  

I'd feel awful for a minute then I'd remember that they live better than a lot of people in the world do and are spoiled and adored. They could also still be in a shelter (Henry) who was there for 8 years before he came to live with us or living in an abandoned house with 20 of their family members (Lily and Sophie) eating God knows what.  They have it quite good being "hostages". 

What does Stockholm Syndrome mean?

Kat0121 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

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Jeez, what took you so long? :lol3:

To answer the question, no, my cats do not have that syndrome.

Primula said:

Jeez, what took you so long?

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It's Monday. I'm a little slow today.. 

To answer the original question, I'd love them anyway. I give them love, and they love me back. That's all I care about. 

DreamerRose said:

 
To answer the original question, I'd love them anyway. I give them love, and they love me back. That's all I care about. 

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I would feel bad about it for a bit but nothing would change.  Where would they go?  They have been pampered pets since they were kittens.  I don't think they would survive any other way.  They can blame their ancestors, from what I understand cats are the one animal that domesticated themselves.  They in essence made a deal with people, provide pest control in exchange for shelter.

I'm fairly certain that Hekitty assumes that I love her because of Stockholm Syndrome, and has no issue with taking full advantage of the situation.

I guess I'm the only one who would be wrecked by guilt and can never ever see a pet cat the same way again. :lol3:

I'm probably overly cynical in that I kind of think most KIDS only love their parents due to traumatic bonding/Stockholm Syndrome. Which is probably worse than cats :tongue2:. But if any kind of traumatic punishment is used, on humans, dogs, or cats, that's probably not far from the truth.

But enough cats freely choose to live with humans that I think their affection is offered without any complicated psychological reasons. Not just cats who are free to come and go---part of Stockholm Sydrome is coming back when freed---but cats who just randomly decide to live with you.

FhiCat said:

I guess I'm the only one who would be wrecked by guilt and can never ever see a pet cat the same way again.

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I can't feel guilty because I know my kitties own me, not the other way around.  Murphy is all "Get over here and let me love you!" and Connor is like "I'm gonna try to act indifferent but I'm going to be very interested in something right next to you at all times" and every few hours he gives up on the indifferent act and climbs all over me purring and demanding pets.

Honestly, I think Stockholm can only occur in situations where fear is the original emotion and my boys were never afraid.  Feral cats might feel afraid at first, but a lot of them still live outside when they start becoming trusting of a certain person so I don't think that fits the bill either.  I'm pretty sure no kittens who were born in a home with humans ever felt afraid of people.  "If mama isn't scared, I don't need to be scared" kind of thing.

I know I totally didn't answer the question.  The problem is, I can't really wrap my mind around the possibility cuz my brain immediately starts cycling through logical thoughts.  My brain never shuts up.  Sometimes I wish I could gag it or something cuz its really hard to sleep when your brain jumps from one thought to the next like a hyperactive toddler.  It's annoying.