Of course they’re hot when raw. In fact, I’ve very rarely eaten them cooked. But perhaps you aren’t eating the seeds, where most of the capsaicin is.
coffeecat, what kind of peppers are you talking about? Chiles are hot when raw. Then again, there are lots of different peppers and different degrees of “heat”; there’s even a kind of European paprika (aka sweet pepper) which looks pretty much like a red chile.
For an interesting experience, try cutting open a chile and brush the insides against your fingers then stick your finger in your eye. You’ll remember this experiment for a while. That stuff is hell to your mucous membranes, including your mouth. (I, a frequent chili chopper, always rinse my hands with detergent and lemon juice afterwards, or any other source of citric acid, which seems to work against the “heat” chemicals.)
I would also like to point to Gernot Katzer’s spice encyclopedia, which has a large page on chiles.
To say chillis are not hot when raw is nonsense. Believe me, I speak as runner-up ( 
) in a chilli-eating contest…
Yup, it’s the seeds. Before, I’d eaten a little slice off the end. I just took a big bite out of one in an attempt to prove you guys wrong. Please (gasp) ignore (gasp) previous (gasp) post.
Got milk?
I know it’s wrong to laugh, but if it matters, I’m laughing with you, remembering all the times I’ve done something stupid in order to prove myself right… 
Or even better, yogurt or sour cream. It’s been my experience that acids and dairy products both help, and acidic dairy products help most of all.
By coincidence, I bought some fresh habanero peppers this morning. I usually use pickled habanero strips from a jar in a particular recipe, and I tried it today with a full fresh habanero. With seeds. I figured I should include the seeds, because I usually use more strips that what a full pepper looks like (they are quite small).
MISTAKE. It was barely edible. Next time, I’m losing the seeds.
I have read that it is actually the ribs of the pepper, not the seeds, that contain the most heat.
The Scoville Scale
http://www.chemsoc.org/exemplarchem/entries/mbellringer/scoville.htm
check through the science & medical pages on this site
Mike’s Pepper Garden
or have a browse through the sites on Ring of Fire
I think cats may be somewhat immune to the heat. Several years ago, I was watching TV and eating a burrito that was smothered with some nice, hot salsa. Upon finishing the burrito, I set the plate on the floor. The plate still had a good bit of salsa on it.
Here came my cat, who proceeded to lick the plate clean. He didn’t bat an eye.
Well, speaking from experience, there are chile dishes that are “one burners” and those that are “two burners.” The one burners burn only on the way in…
I used to never have a problem with anything being a two-burner. Thought it was a myth.
Then the Jack-in-the-Box Jalepeno Popper incident happened.
Rather than retell the story once again, I’ll just refer you to my original usenet post.
Ever since this experience, any chile preparation that uses any seeds whatsoever will cause me intestinal pain and burning upon evacuation. Leave the seeds out, and I can eat endless amounts with no ill effects.
Go figure.
Dogs and rats have a known capacity to develop a fondness for chiles and spicy food, through association with humans, so cats don’t surprise me. I’ve seen dogs become averse to pepper after getting nausea or other aftereffects, even if they ate it (too) eagerly at first.