Why Do Some People Believe That It Isn't Possible For Cats To Be Spiteful?

[treschanna]

Recently I got a new cat so I've been perusing various forums and discussion groups regarding how to manage unwanted cat behaviors and I've seen some mixed feedback about whether or not it's possible for cats to engage in spiteful behavior. Some people say that because cats are able to make basic connections between cause and effect, experience emotions, and have long term memory that they have the means to engage in spiteful behavior. In contrast, others seem to believe..that cats dont experience any of those things and because of that they can't engage in spiteful behavior..what are your thoughts??Do you believe it's possible for cats to be spiteful??

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! It seems to me that I've seen a video of one cat pushing his feline buddy's head into the toilet water, and that pretty much says it for me LOL

 

[danteshuman]

LOL I'm going to look for that video. I think they can be jerks to each other (or dislike a certain human.) However I don't think they pee out of their litter box out of spite ... or wake you up at 4 am out of spite..... or scratch your couch out of spite. I know they can be possessive and jealous.

 

[duckpond]

cats can be mischievous little devils sometimes, and as danteshuman said they can be possessive and jealous. But i dont think they are spiteful. I think cats run more on instinct, whats mine is mine, all territorial, what i love is mine, but i dont think they have the ability to plot out revenge, or spite. Emotions, yes, spite, not.

As humans i think we like to Humanize our cats, our dogs, and their behavior. Its how we try to understand them and connect.

 

[Furballsmom]

danteshuman and duckpond those are really good points to clarify the difference, I agree with you

 

[susanm9006]

I am little torn on this. Two examples: Our four year old Siamese who only really liked my son. Every weekend though he went to stay at his dads. We are waiting for the pickup and as we stand nearby the cat climbs on top of the sleeping bag my son always takes with him and pees all over it. The one and only time in all fifteen years of her life that she ever peed anywhere but her litterbox.

Second one is one of my rescue cats who came with a nasty case of ear mites. Every night I sat in the chair with her, medicated and cleaned her ears. Every morning she came and peed at the base of the chair. As soon as the ear cleaning was done, so was the peeing.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Recently I got a new cat so I've been perusing various forums and discussion groups regarding how to manage unwanted cat behaviors and I've seen some mixed feedback about whether or not it's possible for cats to engage in spiteful behavior. Some people say that because cats are able to make basic connections between cause and effect, experience emotions, and have long term memory that they have the means to engage in spiteful behavior. In contrast, others seem to believe..that cats dont experience any of those things and because of that they can't engage in spiteful behavior..what are your thoughts??Do you believe it's possible for cats to be spiteful??

I think they're more than capable, but I think some individuals are more inclined to carry out spiteful stuff than others.
I also think cats are way more spiteful than dogs.

 

[1 bruce 1]

LOL I'm going to look for that video. I think they can be jerks to each other (or dislike a certain human.) However I don't think they pee out of their litter box out of spite ... or wake you up at 4 am out of spite..... or scratch your couch out of spite. I know they can be possessive and jealous.

Agreed!

 

[Kat0121]

I am little torn on this. Two examples: Our four year old Siamese who only really like my son. Every weekend though he went to stay at his dad. We are waiting for the pickup and as we stand nearby the cat climbs on top of the sleeping bag my son always takes with him and pees all over it. The one and only time all fifteen years of her life that she ever peed anywhere but her litterbox.

Second one is one of my rescue cats who came with a nasty case of ear mites. Every night I sat in the chair with her, medicated and cleaned her ears. Every morning she came and peed at the base on the chair. As soon as the ear cleaning was done, so was the peeing.

I wouldn't all this spite. I'd call it, "I don't want you to leave me so if I pee on your sleeping bag, you will have to just stay here. Let's go cuddle in your room now. Mom can clean up the pee".

and

"I don't want you cleaning my ears so if I pee on your chair, you will have to abandon the ear cleaning stuff and clean up the pee instead. If you need me, my buddy and I will be cuddling in his room. Bring snacks when you're done cleaning up the pee."

 

[Kat0121]

I think they're more than capable, but I think some individuals are more inclined to carry out spiteful stuff than others.
I also think cats are way more spiteful than dogs.

Can you tell my dog that? She missed the memo for sure.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Can you tell my dog that? She missed the memo for sure.

Notice I said "more spiteful", not "Not spiteful at all" =D
Some dogs are spiteful little turds for sure.

 

[Furballsmom]

It took me a few minutes to find it again, I apologise it's a photo not a vid, on amazing creatures, funny cats part 167, dated August 12, 2015

 

[Kat0121]

Notice I said "more spiteful", not "Not spiteful at all" =D
Some dogs are spiteful little turds for sure.

My dog is more spiteful than both cats combined and then some. I can't recall either of them doing anything out of spite. Her? The list of infractions is very, very long and goes back many years. It's not as bad now due to her advanced age but she'll pull a fast one now and then. If she were an older human, she'd be swinging a cane or walker like Babe Ruth swung a bat. Then she'd be yelling at children out the window to get off her lawn.

 

[treschanna]

think cats are a bit more intelligent than people tend to give them credit for and can in fact have motives and engage in certain actions to demonstrate them. I know this story might sound a bit crazy but last night after finding out that my kittens were rough housing and playing on the counter, which resulted in some items being damaged, I explained that they would no longer be sleeping in the same room and that one of them would be sleeping in the bathroom. One of my kittens who's extremeley intelligent and...i mean i guess communicative for a cat..(i was in shock when this happened) but he started meowing incessantly and came up to me . This particular kitten has actually demonstrated signs of understanding certain words like "food" , "no" "Spray bottle" and "bathroom". At first i dismissed what happened and let an hour pass before i was about to follow through by picking his playmate up to put her in the bathroom when it was bedtime ...but then he darted to the bathroom and sat in front of it and pacing in the doorway. After i put his playmate in the bathroom he sat by me wouldnt stop howling and when i attwmpted to pet him to reassure him he looked me dead in the eyes, and believe it or not...gave me the cold shoulder and walked off....so yes....cats can have motives and feelings

 

[Kieka]

Cats definitely are intelligent, do understand cause and effect, do things just to communicate with people, and will do something to avoid outcomes they dislike. Like peeing on a sleeping bag to prevent someone from leaving like Kat0121 said. I don't think they are truly "spiteful" though like humans think of it.

The definition of spiteful is, "full of spite or malice; showing spite; malicious; malevolent; venomous" and I don't think cats have that particular capacity.

My Moms cat, Nightfury, can be a complete brat at times. For example, I was tossing out treats for them this morning and I usually toss his in the opposite direction. This morning, a treat landed between Link and Rocket and they were both looking at it and each other. I can practically hear them saying "no its yours" "you first" "its closer to you" in my head. Before one of them decided whose it was, Fury ran between them and snatched it up. It wasn't spiteful, he just wanted the treat and they were taking too long to eat it themselves.

Other cats do things that may seem spiteful in our capacity but I think in the cat capacity it is more basic, like survival when they steal food from another. Peeing on things to claim it. Knocking stuff of shelves because it doesn't belong in their opinion. I can't think of a single thing that my cat or any cat I've heard of that was truly spiteful and not just a miscommunication between species or different perspective on the world.

 

[sabrinah]

If my dog sticks his nose in my cat's butt then goes to take a nap under the blankets, my cat will climb on top of him with her claws out, flex them until he jumps, and then wander away. It really seems like its her way of saying "F you". Its the only time she voluntarily has contact with him.

 

[Gizmobius]

When Gizmo starts playing too rough with Stevie, I pick him up and bring him upstairs to separate them. Just yesterday when I did this, as soon as I set him down upstairs he turned and "attacked" my leg almost as if to say "if I can't rough play with the cat then I'll rough play with you." I don't know if I'd call it spiteful but he definitely knows what he's doing. I've got a nice scratch there now.

 

[Desertmouse]

Hmm...I think it is possible for cats to be spiteful, but I also think we humans tend to think about why a human would do the behavior in question before thinking “like a cat”. For example, if a cat pees on the bed it’s very easy to think “why is my cat mad at me?” Rather then “why is my cat feeling insecure/threatened?”.

 

[Starlakitty]

My ex-husband yanked a blanket out from under my cat. I asked if he apologized he looked at me like i was crazy. I don't know if it was spite or revenge but she puked in his shoe that night and he got a surprise the next morning. (Married to Crazy Cat Man now)

 

[Caspers Human]

My former cat, "K.C.," did some things that were obviously spiteful.

My roommate, at the time, wasn't friendly toward cats and used to chase K.C. and do mean things to him. It was obvious that there was mutual enmity between my roommate and the cat.

One day, I saw K.C. come into the room and sniff my laundry basket. Then he went to the other side of the room and sniff my roommate's laundry basket. Next, he hopped up on top of the basket, squatted down and took a big, stinky pi$$ all over my roommate's clothes. K.C. hopped down, scratched his feet on the floor in the same way he would scratch in his litter box. With one more sniff, as if to admire his handywork, he turned and walked away.

You tell me...
Did K.C. sniff each laundry basket in order to tell which one belonged to which human?
Did K.C. decide which laundry basket to pee in, based on the scent of the human who wore those clothes?
Did K.C. pee on the clothes belonging to the person who was mean to him?

It seems obvious to me that the cat did it to get back at somebody he didn't like!