This is a very interesting thread!!

Animal self-awareness is a quite a topic when some people argue that as animals are not capable of self-awereness they are not eligible for basic rights (of course, these people havenīt ever been to PT!!).

The mirror experiment is an interesting one, but when I see my cats dreaming, demanding affection and asking for playing time (with me - they want to play with me, not just on their own) I canīt doubt that is somehow related to self-awareness. I mean, they donīt ask for basic things only (food, water) or out of instincts - playing "hide and seek" with a human is not what I would call "survival instinct". I donīt know if that is enough to determine there is what we call self-awareness, but there is obviously a living being with needs of their own - and these needs are not only food and shelter!

Iīm sure that all of us treat our furkids as if they had self-awareness, with our without the scientific facts!! So many people canīt be wrong!!

Nita