# What do domestic animals "see" humans as? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142 "2002-12-07T16:49:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142/21 "2002-12-07T23:35:09Z")
After we die don’t both see us as food? I thought The Master touched on that in his “Which is smarter, cats or dogs” thread. It said (in cases where someone has died but not found right away) something about dogs respectfully waiting a few days before gnawing on you, but cats rarely made it 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142/22 "2002-12-07T23:35:51Z")
Ding ding ding! Thanks, **Larry Mudd**. That was it. ---
**Author:** ![cdhostage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@cdhostage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdhostage)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142/23 "2002-12-07T23:40:32Z")
I’m the guy who opens the door so my Kitty can go hunting. She is now 19, and I have to follow behind to make sure she doesn’t go get beat up by squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142/24 "2002-12-08T01:30:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by J String \* > \*\*Dogs see you as “family.” > Cats see you as “the help.” 😉 \*\* That’s funny. Does it ever seem like dogs recognize dogs in a way that seems qualitatively different from the way they recognize humans? I’m not a “dog person” but from casual observation, it seems like they behave differently to the arrival of a dog vs. the arrival of a human–as thought they know that one is different from the other, as opposed to seeing humans as dominant members of their dog pack. p.s. An interesting book on animal cognition that I really enjoyed was [_If a Lion Could Talk_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684837102/qid=1039311122/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-0225561-6524661?v=glance&s=books) by Stephen Budiansky. Doesn’t answer the OP, that’s why I made it a p.s. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142/25 "2002-12-08T02:15:25Z")
My cats refer to me, in private, as “the tall cat.” They still, however, haven’t quite gotten the concept that my hands and feet are not separate creatures… -David ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142/26 "2002-12-08T21:00:27Z")
…apparently sees me as a combination pack leader and friend. he will respectfully submit tome (he will lie on the floor and put his legs up (he wants me to scratch his stomach). He will also try to sleep on the bed (if I let him), and always wants to accompany me on trips (he gets extremely sad if I leave him). At times, he seems to be almost human! When we play together on the floor(wrestling and tug-of-war), he will sometimes grab my wrist in his jaws, and ever so lightly, bite down-he never exerts enough force to hurt me. It is as if he is saying…“ok , human, we are playing, but remember, I could really hurt you if I wanted to”. Allin all, I think dogs are amazing animals-they fit in well with humans, in a way monkeys and apes never could. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-domestic-animals-see-humans-as/141142.md?page=1)