Many cat owners claim their feline friends look “guilty” after engaging in perceived misbehavior, like knocking over a vase or scratching furniture. The cat’s body language often includes flattened ears, dilated pupils, and averted eyes when receiving a scolding from their human. This leads owners to anthropomorphize the cat’s response as feeling “guilty” for breaking rules. However, the scientific community debates whether cats actually experience guilt and remorse like humans do. Cats lack higher reasoning abilities that connect actions to consequences down the road. Their reactions in the moment likely stem from fear of punishment rather than internal guilt. Separating natural cat behaviors from human perceptions poses an interesting question for animal behavior research to investigate.
Anecdotal Evidence
Many cat owners have stories of times when their cat seemed to act “guilty” after getting into something they shouldn’t have or misbehaving in some way. These anecdotes often involve the cat slinking away or acting skittish when confronted by their owner about the mess or misbehavior. Some examples of these stories include:
One person on Reddit shared a story of how their cat shredded an entire roll of toilet paper while they were out and then hid under the bed acting scared when they got home (https://blog.catbandit.com/a-captivating-cat-story-about-guilt/). Another cat owner wrote about how their cat knocked over a vase, ran and hid, and then seemed to avoid eye contact with the owner afterwards as if feeling ashamed (https://www.wayofcats.com/blog/do-cats-feel-guilt/1775). A post on Facebook described how a cat who had scratched furniture acted startled and ran away when their owner discovered the damage later (https://m.facebook.com/lucyhoilefelinebehaviourist/photos/-if-your-cat-acts-guilty-when-theyre-caught-doing-something-they-shouldnt-it-is-/4919586271437836/).
These kinds of stories point to cats seemingly understanding cause and effect – that their destructive or unacceptable behavior leads to owner disapproval or punishment. The guilt-like reactions suggest the cat may know it did something “wrong” in the owner’s eyes. However, whether cats actually experience complex emotions like guilt remains up for debate.
Scientific Research
Scientific studies investigating cat behavior and cognition related to guilt have yielded mixed results.
Cat owners’ disenfranchised guilt and its predictive value …
One 2023 study analyzed cat owner perceptions and found that while owners do attribute guilt to their cats, it may not reflect the cat’s internal state. The researchers suggest cat ‘guilty looks’ could be a response to owner cues rather than an expression of a conscience.
However, other studies suggest cats may have some capacity for emotion recognition and empathy.
Emotion Recognition in Cats – PMC
A 2020 study found cats integrate visual and auditory signals to recognize human emotion. This implies advanced social cognition that could contribute to guilt-like responses after misbehaving.
While the scientific jury is still out, it’s clear cat behavior and social bonding with humans is quite complex. More research is needed to fully understand cats’ cognitive abilities related to conscience and guilt.
Interpreting Cat Behavior
Many cat owners interpret certain behaviors, like avoiding eye contact or slinking low to the ground, as signs of “guilt” after a cat has done something it shouldn’t, like scratching furniture or knocking things over. However, experts say these behaviors often have alternative explanations unrelated to remorse or guilt.
Some common “guilty” behaviors displayed by cats include:
- Avoiding eye contact
- Pinning ears back
- Crouching down or slinking close to the floor
- Excessive grooming
- Suddenly leaving the room
According to cat behavior specialists, these actions are more likely tied to fear or appeasement, not guilt. Cats display appeasement behaviors like ear pinning and crouching when they feel threatened, not because they feel morally responsible for a perceived wrongdoing. As prey animals, cats are evolutionarily wired to exhibit fearful body language in response to unpredictable stimuli.
Rather than attributing human emotions like guilt to cat behaviors, experts advise interpreting these actions within the proper context. If a cat cowers after an owner yells, it is responding to the anger, not showing remorse over the initial incident. Understanding this distinction allows owners to respond in constructive ways that build trust.
Owner Perception
Owner perception and projection play a significant role in interpreting guilt in cats. Many owners anthropomorphize their pets, attributing complex human emotions and thought processes to relatively simple animal behaviors. This leads some owners to perceive “guilty” behaviors in their cats when no guilt exists. For example, a cat eliminating outside its litter box may prompt an owner to scold the cat upon returning home. The cat’s subsequent averted gaze, crouched posture, or avoidance of the owner gets interpreted as a “guilty look.” In reality, the cat associates the owner’s angry tone and actions with a unpleasant situation, but does not feel remorse over its elimination behavior [1].
Surveys reveal many owners perceive guilt in their cats. In one study, over 56% of cat owners reported seeing guilty behaviors after scolding their cat over unwanted behaviors like scratching furniture or eliminating outside the litter box [2]. However, their cats likely exhibited fearful or appeasing responses rather than true guilt. Owners should be aware of this tendency to anthropomorphize and recognize that guilt requires complex cognition beyond most cats’ capabilities.
Evolutionary Perspectives
From an evolutionary standpoint, it is unlikely that cats have developed the cognitive capacity for complex emotions like guilt or remorse. As primarily solitary hunters, cats did not evolve in highly social groups where complex social behaviors like guilt would be advantageous.[1] Research suggests their emotions developed mainly to aid basic survival functions like avoiding danger, seeking resources, and reproduction.[2]
Cats diverged from a common ancestor with humans over 90 million years ago. Their brains are much smaller and have different structures. The area of the human brain believed integral for guilt is the prefrontal cortex, which cats lack.[1] Studies show cats have intelligence levels closer to a 2-3 year old child in areas like object permanence, short-term memory, and physical reasoning. But they lag in social intelligence, self-awareness, and theory of mind.[2]
While cats can certainly feel basic emotions like fear, anxiety, pleasure and attachment, they likely do not possess the neural wiring required for more complex social emotions that emerged later in human evolution. When cats engage in “guilty” behaviors like avoiding eye contact, it is likely merely responding to its owner’s behavior, not experiencing internal guilt itself.[1]
Training Considerations
When a cat owner scolds their cat for perceived “guilty” behaviors like scratching furniture or knocking things over, it can reinforce those behaviors in the cat’s mind. Even though the cat does not feel guilty, the scolding creates an association between the unwanted behavior and the owner’s attention.
As experts from ASPCA explain, “Reacting strongly to unwanted behaviors can inadvertently reinforce them. If your cat is reinforced for doing something inappropriate, they are likely to do it again. It’s best to ignore mildly undesirable behaviors.” (source)
Rather than scolding for perceived guilt, it is better to focus on redirecting and rewarding positive behaviors. With patience and consistency, owners can shape their cat’s behavior using positive reinforcement techniques.
Practical Implications
One of the best recommendations for cat owners struggling with feelings of guilt over their pet’s unwanted behaviors is to reframe their perspective. As the Psychology Today article suggests, instead of viewing guilt as a negative emotion, reframe it as an expression of love and care for your cat [1]. This allows owners to set healthy boundaries and respond appropriately to the behavior, rather than blaming themselves.
Additionally, the CAB Animal Behavior study advises cat owners not to anthropomorphize their pet’s actions [2]. Cats do not experience complex emotions like guilt, so reacting as though they do can lead to ineffective training strategies. It’s better to objectively analyze the antecedent, behavior, and consequence, then make practical changes like more enrichment activities for the cat.
Finally, feelings of guilt often arise from unrealistic expectations about pet ownership. The National Post article suggests being kind to yourself and recognizing that being a perfect pet owner is impossible [3]. Focus on creating a loving home for your cat within your realistic limitations.
Conclusion
There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence from owners assuming their cats act “guilty” for misbehavior. It makes for humorous videos and stories of cats appearing to show remorse. However, scientific studies have shown that this “guilty look” is likely not a true expression of guilt or shame.
Cats display certain behaviors like avoiding eye contact, slinking away, or hiding that humans may interpret as a display of guilt. But researchers found these behaviors are exhibited whether or not the cat actually did something, and are likely just a reaction to their owner’s mood and tone of voice. So cats are simply responding to their owners in the moment, not reflecting on past actions.
While cats do have advanced cognitive abilities, they likely do not possess the same sense of morality and complex emotions like guilt and shame. Their behaviors are driven more by instinct, conditioning, and adaptable learning. So the “guilty cat” is mostly just a perception of indulgent owners rather than an accurate reflection of the cat’s state of mind.
References
[1] Horowitz, Alexandra. “Disambiguating the “guilty look”: Salient prompts to a familiar dog behaviour.” Behavioural processes 81.3 (2009): 447-452.
[2] Hecht, Julie, et al. “Behavioral assessment and owner perceptions of behaviors associated with guilt in dogs.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 139.1-2 (2012): 134-142.
[3] Vollmer, Peggy. “Do dogs feel guilt?.” Modern dog magazine 2 (2017).
[4] Coren, Stanley. “How guilty do dogs, cats, and other pets look in photos?.” Psychology Today 18 (2018).
[5] Miklósi, Ádám. Dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition. Oxford university press, 2015.
[6] Bradshaw, John WS. “Not by accident: How I discovered that many animals (including humans) can think.” The Guardian 21 (2015).