I’m feeling a little under the weather today and my two dogs have rarely left my side. It’s beautiful spring weather today and I’ve left the door open so they can wander in and out of the backyard and enjoy the weather. Instead they’re going out when they need to and spending the rest of their time snuggled against me.
They are not always the brightest but I’ve never doubted that they love me 
Just bronze. For silver, I’d have had to mention the rival wizard Lythande killed by calling him a despoiler of virgin goats; and for gold, somebody else would have had to get the reference.
As I said, gold star.
I voted “Other” because you left out a choice for “they possess the capacity, I’m sure, but they generally hate me.”
They’re guinea pigs. When I come around, they run away from me. If I lure them out with food, they’ll take it and run away. According to them, under absolutely NO circumstances is the big predator allowed to touch them.
But that doesn’t stop me from trying!
I think the cat that lives with us now makes a distinction among the people that live in the house. She was my husband’s cat before we were married, and it took a while before she would climb on me. She doesn’t allow anyone to pick her up, but will climb onto a lap when she feels in need of scratching.
She still mostly avoids my 12yo son but he’s been feeding her more often and I think that I’m seeing a softening in that relationship.
We would never abandon an animal so I don’t know what the circumstances would be but if we were to leave the house forever without her I don’t think she’d pine for us as long as someone else showed up and fed her.
The cat that I had previously (and they were together until 2 years ago. He died in August of '08) I think would’ve pined. He was more cuddly, and always wanted to be where the people were. Izzie’s more interested in being where the warmest spot is.
It’s somewhat beyond love, into what would be co-dependency and stalking for people. Seriously, Tikva is obsessed with me. She waits on the stairs until I come home, follows me around (if I’m inside her comfort zone), meows to wake the dead when I’m out of reach, and sleeps in bed with me.
My cat Marco does this too, he is deeply deeply fixated on me. I can’t leave the room without him following. He sits at my feet everywhere I go, blinking, purring, gazing at me with his big blue eyes. He is a one-man cat and barely acknowledges poor Mr. Sali and our daughter, who try in vain to engage his attention. I am loved to death by my cat. Well, that’s something, anyway.
Sometimes, my dog will be curled up sleeping on the sofa, and he won’t look up when I leave the room. When I come back in, he’ll open his eyes and see me - and his little tail will go wild! wagwagwagwagwag He won’t move a muscle but his tail just can’t stop wagging with happiness, just from looking at me.
His heart leaps up when he looks at me. It’s enough.
I have to wonder if us cat-owners have some kind of deep-seated psychological issues about attachment or something. Like people who date emotionally unavailable partners.
ETA: My cat follows me everywhere, too–very clingy for a cat, and very vocal if he doesn’t get attention. But I don’t operate under the delusion that he loves me. He is completely apathetic to my needs, fails to even understand when I am hurt or sick. It’s not love.
ETA: I think dog owners may have a leg to stand on here. Dogs, though not my favorite, seem very emotionally receptive to me.
It’s obvious that animals don’t have the capacity to love in a human sense . . . hell, even many humans don’t have that capacity. But I’m certain that my cats love me in whatever sense their little brains will allow. I have never had a pet (cats, dogs, birds) that I didn’t think loved me.
Yeah, I’d probably balk at using the word “love” - I don’t think it is entirely analogous. But I do think my cats have an emotional attachment, probably similar to the one they had to their mothers as kittens.
My cat is nice to every freakin’ person she meets.
I’m never sure if she realizes that I am her mom, and not the cable guy or the landlady. But she’s so cute when she cuddles with me under the blankets that I forgive her loose tendencies.
My cats would at least wait for my body to cool and they no longer had my warmth to sleep on before they started feasting on me. My cat Jasmine likes to sit on my hip while I sleep, watching me. Sometimes she’ll watch from a piece of furniture. It’s adorably creepy.
Actually I do think Jasmine loves me. She always finds me when I come home from work and demands attention. Sometimes she’ll demand to sit in my lap when my lap is not for sitting in at the moment.
The chickens, however, make no bones about I’m just their gatekeeper and hander-outer of treats. They do let me pet them though.
I’m pretty sure that my cats at least think of me fondly, in their little cat-brained way; for them, I’m probably a hybrid between caring parent and amusing stooge.
Tiny brains ? Tiny brains ? My ass. My ass in gravy. My kitties’ hearts span wider than a hooman’s could ever do.
Cats are empty vessels for demons to inhabit.
Dogs are a different story. If I’ve been gone for a while, **Attackdog ** is all happy and waggy, but most curiously emitts a deep rolling RRrrowowowRRRowwwrrrrrRR sound that is not a growl, but is obviously some expression of deep satisfaction. It may only be joy that the pack remains intact, but it certainly signifies a meaningful event to him.
Of course they love us as much as their tiny brains allow. it’s obvious to anyone but a sociopath that animals are capable of experiencing basic emotional states like fear, aggression, boredom, contentment, and happiness. Even snakes and lizards demonstrate some emotive states; fear and curiosity being foremost. Animals with more complex brains display more complex and varied behaviour. Dogs in particular demonstrate a wide range of behaviour that has no direct correlation to the reception of a physical reward. Many of the same behaviours are seen in wild animals as bonding rituals. I don’t think that it’s out of line to call this displacement into a human pack “love”. Certainly my animals often come by for hugs or to be in physical contact with me when all their other needs are met. I see no difference between this and human love, but it is less complex.
My older cat seems quite attached to me, and I would say she loves me (but in a different capacity than a human would).
However, the younger one mostly looks upon me as bringer of food (though sometimes he is affectionate).
He did have a disrupted development though. Not sure if that’s why he’s a lot more standoffish.
Admittedly, given a dearth of options I’d do the same to them.
My cat doesn’t love anyone. He sees us as providers of food and of all his other needs. He is not grateful for that; it is our proper place in the universe.