r/AskBiology • u/OkNobody2391 • 9h ago
Zoology/marine biology Why can cats bond/feel love?
So, it is commonly said that reptiles (most of them, anyway) cannot form social bonds/feel love because they do not live in groups so therefore didn’t evolve that ability. But cats, specifically house cats, are commonly accepted to feel love and seem to display affectionate behavior. But cats evolved from the African Wild cat, which is a solitary predator, so why did they evolve to feel love? I know female cats care for their kittens, so maybe that’s why they feel love, but that’s only for a few months, and so do crocodiles. And if that were the reason, why can male cats also feel love if they don’t care for kittens?