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they are herd animals, they most likely sense the absence of some members but going about "feelings" is a bit stretch imho... :-)
Maybe if you saw what I did, you might feel differently. Why would they not feel things? Do you think dogs have feelings and can grieve?
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Was once skeptical too like Jesse, but now having seen them cry after their newborn calf is taken, have to agree 100% with you Dave.
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Thinking that animals do not have emotions and quite advanced capabilities in their field of expertise is... Oh well, the materialistic West is failing rapidly anyway, so I'll just say nothing more ;-)
Anyway, the interesting thing with animals is that its so much easier to deal with them when you engage on all levels, and once you do you get fascinating reactions!
Couple of days ago we had our three legged, young and powerful male cat get a cut at the base of his tail, so we took him to the vet through heavy traffic.
Cage him? No way! He trusts me, so I won't break that trust. Kept him on my lap all the time, now and then getting him to relax, and when he tried to flee at least he trusted me enough to not use his claws or panic outright :-)
Eventually the bandage fell off, we tried to pin him down to attach another, but had to give up in the end. Since he had resisted hard I finished it off by pinning him to the floor while growling a bit, whenever he is unruly for whatever reason its important that he knows I'm the ultimate boss.
The next day? Instead of meowing until I answer and open the door he only let out 3 doubtful meows, then walked away... Normally I'll answer with a high pitch meow before opening, and he'll get really happy & enthusiastic on the other end!
When he finally understood that maybe something bad happened the last night but now he was totally accepted again, anyone seeing the reaction would know that animals are full of emotions, and all the good qualities we'd like to see in people...
I respect him far more than most bipeds I've met, he is fearless, super loyal to the kitten and protecting them all, and the best cat friend I could get :-)
Also he is annoying as hell sometimes, but I would not expect anything else from a healthy male haha!
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I love this story. And I completely agree. I spend tons of time with our animals. The dogs usually go with us to town. And our cat is amazing. I love animals so much. And it completely blows my mind that many people don't consider them just as important as humans. Even though I love people also, they are my least favorite. We can be quite arrogant. And we have forgotten how to live with the flow of nature. My animals help me remember. Thanks for the share. 💚
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I've got so many stories after these dozens of cats ended up with us...
Had a couple die while I tried to rescue them too, when they realized that their bodies were wrecked they just kind left...
We've got 13 now, 4 small kittens, 2 medium and 1 survivor where all her other family is dead, they all started taking care of her once her siblings disappeared.
Oh well, I guess the monitor lizards here are well fed at least... Hard to do anything about that
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Wow. That is a ton of cats. There is only so much we can do up against nature. Maybe nothing at all. Maybe trying to go against nature is futile.
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After Onion (probably) was eaten all the others finally started getting real careful outside...
So they know, and adjust :-)
I could go on for hours describing them all, they're real individuals, and when I put some effort into keeping them all happy it all works out well hehe
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I'm curious. Do you eat meat? You obviously are very connected to animals.
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I get seriously sick without that, so yes.
When there is time and opportunity for it I find it easy to understand them, of course meditation and cutting off thinking also really helps :-)
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Interesting. How do you get sick? Is it possible that you just would need time to adjust. I am not against eating meat. I just don't like the way we do it here in the west. I like the idea of hunting and honoring the animal before consuming it. Putting in the actual work to appreciate the gift.