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I remember Johnny Carson riffing on this subject once. It hasn't happened to me, but I think I would initially feel self conscious, but would get over it. A dog might be interested for a while, but I think would eventually get bored, since it would not be the center of attention.
That's what I said too! Cats are very nosy but even if they can communicate it would be only with other cats. Did you ever wonder if cats are actually aliens sent to Earth to collect information on this strange human species?
Getting serious now, in psychological terms, this is more about peoples' feelings re: being naked, self pleasuring, or having sex in front of their pets.
To some degree we humanize our pets, good people consider pets as part of their family. (I do.) It is by transference (bon mot) that we are projecting human characteristics onto our pets and bestowing them with some degree of being human. That said, to whatever degree we now (perhaps subconsciously) feel a connection of doing the dirty in front of our pet as somewhat equivalent to doing the dirty in front of another person.
That is my psychological evaluation of this topic. It is transference and projection that causes our discomfort.
Cat stuff from articles I've recently read:
1. Cats certainly communicate with other cats in some ways, but their vocalizations are for us. Aside from kittens and mom-cats, they don't "meow" at each other much in wild/feral situations, but they've adapted the ability to mimic certain tones (babies crying) in order to manipulate humans into taking care of them. An adored and well kept cat, is a prosperous cat. Cats also are fairly unique from one to the next, as they are likely to do more of the sounds that get them the most attention, what "works" with their particular human(s.)
2. Brain scans recently analyzed showed that a cat's brain is more similar to a human's brain, than it is to a dog's. In particular the emotional centers of their little minds, are apparently relatively similar to ours, and they might have many of the same feelings we do.
Caaannnn you feeel the lovvve tonight....
But probably one of the main reasons I'd keep my cat OUT when I'm doing anything sexual, is that he loves to distract me from well...anything. Ever. His favorite thing in the world, is to get my attention, and then run away. So he'd be creeping up and putting claws in my foot, or sticking his wet nose (while purring) in my ear, or knocking stuff off shelves...when I would really much rather be focusing on the fun I'm tryin' to have.
2. Brain scans recently analyzed showed that a cat's brain is more similar to a human's brain, than it is to a dog's. In particular the emotional centers of their little minds, are apparently relatively similar to ours, and they might have many of the same feelings we do.
Yet it is interesting that dog was the first animal that man domesticated. There is of course disagreement about this, and anybody can post anything they want on the Internet. One article proposed it was mice that were our first domestics, but I'd call them commensals. Cats appeared somewhat after, probably to eliminate the mice. And then of course there were the many prey animals that were domesticated: food.
Myself, I perceive dog social structures as more similar to man's social structures than cat social structures.
I stand on my comment above that we tend to personalize our pets, and as a result we consider them almost people (certainly family members) and subconsciously we feel we are doing the dirty in front of other people.
This has been a fun topic and I have already +repped our OP for posting the topic concept.
This fun topic serves as fine counterpoint to more controversial psychology topics. I like the mixed diet.
Nah. Me and my boyfriend regularly find the cat at the end of the bed "afterwards". He is just looking at us with this very bemused expression like, "what? What the hell was that?"
I, too, was devastated by this as a teen that the dog had one up on me. Sadly, I'm not double jointed, though if I was I wouldn't leave the house much either so maybe it's for the best.
Question: Why does a dog lick its butt and you don't? Answer: Because it can.
Cat stuff from articles I've recently read:
1. Cats certainly communicate with other cats in some ways, but their vocalizations are for us. Aside from kittens and mom-cats, they don't "meow" at each other much in wild/feral situations, but they've adapted the ability to mimic certain tones (babies crying) in order to manipulate humans into taking care of them. An adored and well kept cat, is a prosperous cat. Cats also are fairly unique from one to the next, as they are likely to do more of the sounds that get them the most attention, what "works" with their particular human(s.)
2. Brain scans recently analyzed showed that a cat's brain is more similar to a human's brain, than it is to a dog's. In particular the emotional centers of their little minds, are apparently relatively similar to ours, and they might have many of the same feelings we do.
Caaannnn you feeel the lovvve tonight....
But probably one of the main reasons I'd keep my cat OUT when I'm doing anything sexual, is that he loves to distract me from well...anything. Ever. His favorite thing in the world, is to get my attention, and then run away. So he'd be creeping up and putting claws in my foot, or sticking his wet nose (while purring) in my ear, or knocking stuff off shelves...when I would really much rather be focusing on the fun I'm tryin' to have.
But they want to be our one, and only fun.
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