Promoting 'Humane' treatment of 2D animals

[Monica]

I'm not sure if dogs/cats have emotions. I mean sometimes I'm not certain that my wife has them.
Feelings, yes for sure, but emotions?
That would infer the ability to self reflect.

From the wiki defintion:
"emotion is the generic term for subjective, conscious experience.... "

I've had many dogs and cats over the years and yes, they most definitely have emotions. They feel fear, anger, jealousy, love and joy. Those are all emotions! They can be clever, they can intentionally trick their humans, and they can be devious. They can know when they've done something they aren't supposed to, and plan how to do it anyway when their humans aren't looking, and then feel guilt when they get caught.

Emotions don't necessarily require the ability to self-reflect. No one would argue that human babies have emotions. They can feel joy, fear, anger, etc. Even a newborn. But do they self-reflect? Probably not. I don't think animals self-reflect because they live in the present, and a bit in the future, but not the past, just like human babies. But, just like human babies, they definitely feel emotions!

e·mo·tion
noun
1.an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.
2.any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.
3.any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking.
4.an instance of this.
5.something that causes such a reaction: the powerful emotion of a great symphony.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emotions?s=t