Are different breeds more sensitive

sabbyjake

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The other day I was watching a tv show and a baby started to cry, my 1 cat siva in her daughter came running in the living Room looking around like "I hear crying.....what's wrong? My other cats which are a different breed had no reaction at all, Are certain breeds more sensitive to human emotions?
 

susanm9006

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I don’t know if it is certain breeds since most cats are mixed non specific breeds, but some cats are more sensitive to noise than others. It could be a ringing phone, a loud TV, raised angry voices or a baby crying. One of my cats who was sensitive to noise used to pull the phone off the hook when it rang and if my teen and I were arguing she would climb up us and pull at our mouths until we stopped.
 

sargon

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As mentioned most cats aren't a spesific breed, and most specific breeds aren't old enough to be more than visual. With that said, some older breeds like Siamese and maine coons are known for certain personality traits, and some are considered to be more social/human oriented.
 

Caspers Human

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Some people think that certain kinds of dogs are more or less sensitive or emotional. Consider the way a small dog like a Shih Tsu or a Chihuahua might act as compared to a German Shepherd or a Collie.

Some people consider these traits to be genetic or hereditary. Others consider them to be a result of upbringing.

When I was a kid, our family dog was a Miniature Schnauzer. Many people think that Schnauzers are "prissy" dogs but our dog was anything but. He was a running, jumping, wrestling dog who gave as much as he got from us kids.

I say that cats are very similar in this regard. Yes, some cats might have a predisposition to be gentler or more sensitive while some cats might be the opposite but I think that the way a cat is brought up has at least as much to do with how sensitive a cat is.

Our cat, Casper, was rescued off the streets. He, obviously, had a family before we adopted him. He is the most mild mannered, well behaved cat I have ever known.

When Casper is around me, he's fairly cool. He likes a few pets and he'll play with me for a few minutes at a time but, besides that, it's a red letter day when he jumps in bed with me or anything like that.

When Casper is around his main, Girl-Human, he's like the proverbial "Velcro Kitty." He sits on her lap, snuggles beside her on the sofa, sleeps in bed with her and even does sit-ups when he wants to be petted.

We assume that, before Casper came to live with us, Girl-Humans were nice to him and Man-Humans were mean to him and he learned to be wary of men. That's why he acts so cool to my presence.

So, as I said, I think it's all about the way a cat is raised.

Yes, Casper will come to his Girl-Human when she feels sad. It seems weird, almost supernatural, the way he just seems to "know" when his main human needs a little bit of "Kitty Comfort."

Some people say that cats don't have the same "mirroring" abilities as dogs and humans.
(e.g. - If you smile at a newborn baby, they'll smile back... If you say "Guud-Booy!" to a dog it will come a'running and want to be petted.)

I wouldn't say that cats "mirror" the way people and dogs can but I think they mirror differently and, yes, I DO think that comes more from the "Nature" side than it does from the "Nurture" of the equation.
 

WillowMarie

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Not sure if certain breeds, but both my long haired cats seem to be. My Isabelle is extremely empathetic. She crawls onto my lap, purrs loudly, and licks and rubs against my face if I'm crying or feeling sad. She cannot stand when myself or other cats are in distress. When I still lived with my mom and there was another cat, Sunnie, I accidentally stepped on Sunnie's tail, and he meowed loudly in distress. Isabelle came running from another room, almost straight up in his face to see if he was okay. They were not best friends and tended to keep away from each other, but in that moment she was really worried about him.

Over the summer when I lived with roommates, one was in the living room talking on speaker with someone who had a cat that was meowing loudly in distress. Isabelle and I were in the bedroom with the door closed. Isabelle jumped off the bed and frantically paced in front of the door, meowing, because she needed to see if the kittie was okay. I had to open the door and held her while showing her no kitties were in distress in the next room for her to calm down.

She also reacted when I brought the adopted kitties home as Katrina was very vocal. She had been laying on my bed, but instantly woke up and was scanning her head around the room trying to figure out where it was coming from looking very concerned in a frantic but not aggressive way. When she realized it was something in the carrier, she tried to investigate.

She is a long hair, and one of my new adoptees, Persia, is also a long hair. Something about Persia makes me wonder if she is empathetic, too. Something about the way she is curious about Isabelle, especially when Isabelle is grouchy. She stalks after Isabelle sometimes seeming to want to walk up to her to say, hey there, you okay? Persia seems to be an observer. Katrina on the other hand is just a bundle of energy that doesn't quite know what is going on, she just is like whatever, and I get no empathetic vibe from her. She is very loving, but not in response to my emotions. Persia though was very cuddly one morning when I felt sad and like I might start crying for the first few hours after waking up. She was more flopping around and wanted to be pet than normal. Not sure if it had to do with my mood, but time will tell if that was just a fluke or if she was intune with me. Isabelle also came to cuddle me that morning, and I wondered if she felt it, too. I could tell she was really conflicted and wanted to jump up, but since Persia was on me, Isabelle gave up irritated and did not jump on the couch despite me encouraging her to jump up.

Someone also mentioned upbringing. My Isabelle was abused before I took her in. My boyfriend-at-the-time's sister was looking to rehome her. She was maybe 6 months or younger. I didn't know why she was being rehomed, but I was interested in her. I went to go clip her nails before bringing her home because we had another cat (didn't know about cat introductions then, opps!). She growled the whole time to let me know she didn't like it, but never tried to scratch or bite. When she was set down after that she peed on the floor. The girl grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, yelled at her, and tossed her in a small closet in the bathroom. I was horrified. And I was so happy I was taking her home with me. Isabelle has never ever peed on the floor with me, and I believe she must have been really unhappy in that home. I've always wondered if this had something to do with her emotional sensitivity to me and others. With my two kittens, Katrina was given up by a family, but Persia was found outside. I wondered if Persia is more empathetic if it could have resulted from a scarier life outside influencing her.

On a note about dogs, my college allows pets in classes, and there is an awesome dog that's been in at least 1 class each semester so far. She loves going around and getting pets. Normally, I can get her to stay by me during class this semester and pet her while taking notes, haha. <3 But there's been a few days recently when my mood has been low, and the dog won't stay with me during those days or even really approach me. Guess only positive energy for this dog, haha! Although, last semester another dog was in a class, and on a really bad morning, the dog ran up to me to get pet when I walked in, but had never been that enthusiastic or approached me when walking in before. It's like the dog knew.
 
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sabbyjake

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Siva is long haired too, I'm thinking ragdoll or Maine coon breed in her, her and her daughter seemed the most concerned.
 
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