Can rabbits understand emotions? My pet rabbit, Ed, hops up and sits quietly beside me when I'm feeling sad, and jumps around enthusiastically when I'm in a good mood. Yes, I do think that Ed may well be sensitive to your emotional state. There's increasing evidence to suggest that most mammals feel similar emotions to humans. Medical imaging studies have shown that emotions are associated with neural activity in the primitive parts of the brain that animals share with humans.
Research has shown that rats, mice and even chickens display empathy: in one study, untrained laboratory rats prioritised setting trapped companions free over eating a stash of chocolate. It seems that social helping behaviour happens earlier in the evolutionary tree than scientists previously believed. Of course there is a danger of wishful thinking causing pet owners to anthropomorphise – projecting human thoughts and intentions onto their pets' behaviour – but there's also the opposite risk, of humans arrogantly ignoring their pets' emotions out of convenience or laziness.
Are there any games/puzzles that will help to keep my 11-year-old labrador's brain active? The games that he used to play involve too much movement for a dog with arthritic hips. I bought a puzzle game but it needs treats to make it work and I don't want him to gain weight. In the light of the recent scandal about the source of meat in human food products, is there a possibility that the food we give our cat and dog may be contaminated with horsemeat or harmful drugs? Is there a standards agency for animal food?
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