Nonetheless, opinions about dogs and cats really are homogeneous. Maybe this means our ideas about those animals have been constructed over time. We wouldn't be so eager to call an eagle "loyal" or "smart". Our relationship with dogs and cats is so long that we've had enough time to carefully craft their images.
A lot of that has to do with a cat's expression, which we assign human significance to. If a human looks at you through half-closed eyes, it can be a sign of suspicion; whereas if a cat looks at you through half-closed eyes, it usually means the cat likes you and trusts you, and feels comfortable around you.
Just because we know what a human's intentions would be if it did what a cat did, does not mean we ascribed the same quality or depth of intention to a cat.
But this one takes the cake - they've even assigned similar (aeluromorphous) intent on the part of cats. Which is extra cute.
Dogs' motivations are well understood, while cats are less scrutable, and so we pretend they're complex, and therefore like ourselves.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Coloring-Book-Dover-Nature/dp/0486...
Enjoy the happiness happening onto you right now.
"Given that he believes cats are semi-feral and that they think we are cats too, we must surely consider that cats aren't all that stupid -- because they must realize that we are, in fact, quite that stupid."