A question on happiness and quality of life

We've all come across stray animals that used to have an owner and clearly enjoyed contact with humans. Hours ago I had the pleasure of petting a cat, an adolescent to my eyes, that got scared by me coming out of my building but came back after a few ks ks ks. I had to leave eventually, but the cat was purring and showing no signs of getting bored. It wasn't meowing either, so I'm assuming it was just enjoying the affection rather than asking for food or help.

The animals we keep as pets don't get this kind of sustained affection in the wild, do they? They might when they're babies, but after that it's just the occasional grooming lick. Dogs that we own love us more than they would ever love other dogs. We have the luxury of showing pets lots of affection, while animals really don't have the time nor the purpose to do that to each other.

These animals that seek human attention obviously see something in us that isn't present in their kin, and it goes beyond just us feeding them. If a dog or a cat is willing to spend hours with you petting them, then clearly the affection that only humans can give is something they cherish but they don't usually encounter naturally. This cat I was talking about, which I assume used to have an owner, was clearly happy that I was petting it. A wild cat would not know such things. It would not feel insecure because of a lack of affection because it would not really know affection in the first place -- it would only feel secure as long as it was healthy and there was enough food to eat.

So even if it's not "natural" in the evolutionary process that a cat should live a better life because of humans, they do seem to enjoy it. I'm thinking that being owned by humans does make an animal's life better generally speaking, but perhaps it doesn't help the species as a whole. I know I sort of answered my own question, but I wrote this wanting to hear what other people think.

submitted by /u/bigelcid
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/hifs4i/a_question_on_happiness_and_quality_of_life/