As much as we want to spend time with our pets, we can't devote every moment to them. Yes, they're huge parts of our lives, but there's work, shopping, and other nonsense we need to take care of. So every once in a while, we have to lift our hands from their furry tummies and focus our attention elsewhere.
However, the little rascals aren't always understanding. To showcase that, we at Bored Panda put together a list of pictures where cats, dogs, and other companion animals appear to be refusing to share their owners. Whether it's their threatening eyes or passive-aggressive paw placements, these goofballs seem to want everyone to know that their humans are theirs and no one else's.
This post may include affiliate links.
My Cat Cat Disapproves Of Human/Dog Love. I Didn't Even Know She Could Do That Face
This Is Roger. He Gets Jealous Of His Human Baby Brother. Acts Out By Stealing Pacifiers And Demanding To Be Held
Despite these pictures and other anecdotal evidence, scientists have long struggled to identify emotions in animals, especially because of the difficulty in separating out biases and anthropomorphisms.
That being said, research is starting to suggest that jealousy, at least, is a "primordial" emotion that both people and some animals (particularly dogs and primates) share.
GF And I Were Holding Hands. Then This Happened
My Dane Is Jealous Of A Hamster Eating His Kibble
Jealous Of The New Member Of The Home
Before we dive in deeper, it's important to understand that while the terms jealousy and envy are sometimes used interchangeably, psychologists see them as two very different emotions.
Envy is thought to be a two-entity emotion that occurs when we lack something — whether it's a specific personal attribute or an object — that someone else has. Jealousy, on the other hand, requires a social triangle and emerges when someone or something threatens a special relationship.
This Is Athena, She Is A 9-Year-Old Labrador. As You Can See She's A Chunker But She Gets Jealous When She Sees Our Smaller Dogs On Our Laps And Throws A Fit
So of course I have succumbed to her commands.
My In-Law's Dogs Posed So Well With My Wife For A Picture, But Our Dog Got Jealous And Wanted To Be In The Shot Too
This Is What Stages Of Jealousy Look Like
That picture on the bottom left... Three other dog's expression never changes tho.
Taking Photos Of My 5-Month-Old Baby And Sammy Got Jealous
I was squatting down to take pictures and my dog jumped up onto my leg and leaned in. I kept taking pictures. This was a later picture when he wasn't getting the attention he wanted so he got that hilarious desperate look in his eye.
For someone to feel jealousy, they need to have the cognitive ability to recognize, at least on some level, the importance of a relationship and gauge potential threats to it — a tall order, no doubt.
In humans, research shows that infants as young as 6 months demonstrated it when their mothers interacted with another infant (which was, in reality, a realistic-looking doll). This suggests that jealousy can be an inborn (not learned) emotion that evolved to protect any type of social relationship from interlopers, and one that may exist in other social animals.
4 Day Old Baby + A Jealous Cat = Cutest Snuggles
My Dog Got Way Too Jealous When I Was Cuddling With My Cat. Walked Over, Nudged Him Off Me, Then Just Laid On Top Of Him
He Gets Jealous When We Try To Play With His Buddy
“Only I am gorgeous enough to play with the pretty white floofball with the amazing eyes!”
I Was Already Cuddling Joni, Then Nico Got Jealous And Plonked Himself On Top Of Her
In 2014, researchers at the University of California, San Diego modified human infant experiments, adapting them to man's best friend.
They found that dogs acted far more jealous when their owners interacted with a fake dog (petting it and treating it as if it were real) than with jack-o'-lanterns or books. In fact, one-third of the dogs tried to get in between their owners and the fake dog, and one-fourth of them even snapped at the fake dog.
Missing Out On The Kisses
Someone Was Jealous
My Niece Picked Her Name, So Meet Kiwi! That's Cruz Down There Jealous He Can't Also Be Carried Around
I Think My Dog Is Jealous Of The Baby
Scientists have also documented jealousy in coppery titi monkeys, a monogamous primate species.
In response to romantic rivals, male titi monkeys are known to become aggressive, place themselves between their mates and potential rivals, and occasionally physically restrain their mates to keep them from moving toward intruder males.
Update On My Parents' Cat That Was Jealous Of The Grandbaby's Birthday Present. He Now Has His Own $30 Children's Chair, Just To Settle Things
Someone Is Jealous
My Pup Gets Jealous When I'm Photographing People And Feels The Need To Get Involved
Someone Was Jealous She Wasn't Getting Pats
The scientists had male titi monkeys watch their mates interact with stranger males for 30 minutes as well as watch stranger females interact with stranger males for the same amount of time.
When observing their mates, the monkeys experienced increased levels of the hormones testosterone (associated with mate-related aggression and competition) and cortisol (an indication of social stress).
Someone Is Jealous
My Brother-In-Law’s Dog Gets Jealous When They Take Monthly Pictures Of Their New Baby. So They Found A Solution
Someone Is Jealous Of The Attention My Baby Brother Was Getting
The Cat Went For A Belly Rub. The Dog Got Jealous. Now This Is Happening
Brain scans also revealed the primates had heightened activity in an area associated with social exclusion in humans (the cingulate cortex) and another area associated with aggressive behavior (the lateral septum).
Reached Over To Hold My Wife's Hand And Someone Immediately Got Jealous
Someone Was Jealous Of His Much Smaller Brother’s Bed. Yes, He Has His Own Perfectly Good Bed
Sophie To The Right Was A Little Jealous Meeting Her New Baby Sister Coco
Uh-Oh, Looks Like Some Calf Is A Little Jealous Of Emmett Playing With The Rabbit
Complementing these pictures, a large percentage of pet owners report consistent signs of jealousy in other domestic pets, including horses, birds, and cats.
For more "evidence", check out Bored Panda's earlier piece 50 Shameless Pets That Stole Their Owners’ Partners And Didn’t Even Feel Sorry About It.
Tried To Take A Picture Of My Orchid. He Gets Jealous When I Give Anything Else Attention. See How He Lay Right Under The Flowers?
Quick Sticks Feeling Very Zen In Her Special Whippet Coat. Please Ignore The Jealous Stares Of The Sausage In The Background
Went To Take A Picture Of My Puppy, And Captured My Jealous Cat In The Background
My Husband Trying To Watch TV Last Night. Wimpy And Buddy Competing For The #1 Spot In The Bed. Guess Who Won
Sums Up Their Relationship Pretty Well
My Uncle Found A Bird. His Cat Is Jealous
Pretty Sure Somebody Is Jealous Of Our New Kitty
My Husky Is Jealous Of My Fake Husky
I Think My Cats Are A Little Jealous That I Am Outside With The Dog And Not Them
When The Two Friends You Introduced To Each Other Start Hanging Out Without You
We Got A New Cat. Let's Just Say That The Other One Was Very Jealous
My Husband Telling Ferdinand, Our Senior Rescue Kitty, That He’s Now A Star After Over 115k Likes On His First-Ever Post. And The Dog, Well, The Dog Is Jealous
Every Morning My Stepdad's Cat, Shiba, Sits On His Lap And Reads The Paper With Him. Back At Christmas, My Stepdad Met His Granddaughter For The First Time
And Shiba got a little jealous.
My Doggo, Willow, Got Jealous That I Was Taking A Pic Of My Swans And Not Her
The Dog Was Jealous Of The Baby, So
My Wife's Dog, Koda, Jealously Guarding Her While She Sleeps. Best Pup
I Think Someone’s Jealous
The husky/melamine head lurking in the background is a regular theme in this post.. Could start a thread of its own!
Serious Jealousy Over The Snuggles, Apparently
I Am Such A Jealous Cat When It Comes To Time With My Dad Lately
It took me way too long to realize it was a rabbit and not a heavily deformed cat in his lap
Why Are You Petting Him And Not Me?
Why Is He Getting All The Attention?
I Think He’s A Little Jealous
My Cousin Just Had A Baby And I Think Her Cat Is Jealous
Rhoda Is Really Making A Play For Being A House Pet. My Favorite Part Is All The Jealous Laser Beams In The Background
Asuka Is Jealous Of Posh's "Tucked In" Status
Howard Was Always Jealous Of Our Parrots When I Was A Kid
Parker’s Jealous Genie Stole The Picture With Her Smile
My Hound Getting Jealous Of My Mom’s New Dog. That’s Your Uncle Bro, Calm Down
My Puppy Always Gets Jealous When My Laptop Is On My Lap And Not Him. Then He Found Out It Was Warm And They Became Friends
Big Sister Is Definitely Not Jealous
The Kitty Is Very Jealous And Doesn't Want To Share Her Owner
The Dog Is Jealous
So I Took This Picture Of My New Kitten And Didn't Notice My Jealous Cat In The Background Until Hours Later
Someone Got Jealous That Her Sister Was Laying In My Lap Then Proceeded To Physically Push Her Out Of The Spot
Petunia (grey) isn’t into sharing my affection but Violet could care less if you couldn’t tell by the look on her face.
Was Babysitting My Niece This Weekend. Dog Didn't Care. Cat Was Jealous
Cat : heheheh plotting revenge dog : i dont care going to sleep cat : nooo help me dog : fine
This Is The Look We Get When We Give The Dog A Cuddle
Here’s Leia At Almost A Year Old. She Was Jealous I Was Playing With Another Dog. She’s Living Her Best Life
Grandpa, Baby, And A Very Jealous Dog
She's Jealous Of My Phone So She Snuggles Up To My Hand When I'm Browsing
I Got My Cat Simba Some Crocs, And Of Course, Bootsy In The Back Is Being Jealous
My Dog Gets Jealous When I Try To Take Pictures Of My Cat
I Think Someone's A Little Jealous
Our Dog Gets Jealous When Our Cat Sits With My Husband
I would be jealous too honestly. I’m kind of jealous of both of them rn.
Someone Might Be A Little Jealous Of The New Roommate
I’m Dog-Sitting For My Neighbor This Weekend. My Pup Is Jealous That He’s Not Getting His Usual Spot In My Lap
Someone Was Jealously Watching Me While I Ate Cereal
If Looks Could Destroy
My Fiancee Just Graduated With Her Master's Degree With Honors Today. We Had A Photoshoot But Rowdy Was A Bit Jealous
Do Cats Get Jealous?
My Husband Tried To Read His Comic Until Our Black Cat Krue Got Jealous Then Our Orange Cat Tigg Got Jealous Of Krue. That’s How You Get A Cat Comic Book Sandwich
Someone Is Jealous
Our Sphynx Cat When We First Got Him And Our Dog Looked So Jealous Outside
Jealousy
My Cat Gets Jealous Of The Xbox Controller
Girlfriend Made My Pupper Pumpkin (On The Left) A Little Room With A Bed Beside Our Couch. His Sister Holly (On The Right) Was Jealous Of The Attention He Was Getting
It’s Been Over A Year But I’m Still Jealous Of How They Look At Each Other
One Is Getting Belly Rubs, The Other Is Clearly Not Jealous Of The Attention His Sister Is Getting
I Was Taking Christmas Photos Of My Cat, And My Dog Got Jealous And Decided To Join In! They Usually Will Avoid Each Other, So This Was A Christmas Miracle
The cat doesn't think it's a miracle, he s ready to give the dog a lobotomy
I Think Peter Is A Little Jealous That The Dog Gets To Be Outside
My Dog, Jealous Of A Kitten We Rescued
We Got A New Puppy (The One Cuddling With My Husband). I Don’t Think Max (The One Staring Jealous Daggers) Has Forgiven Us Yet
Pupper Is Jealous Of The Cats
I Think Someone Might Be Jealous
She's Jealous
Every Time I Pet Garylasereyes, Keo Gets Mad Jelly And Paws Him In The Face To Destroy His Experience
Look At Rem Being Jealous Of Me Holding Another Cat
Found A Rabbit In The Backyard, And My Cat Seems To Be Jealous Of The Extra Attention He’s Getting
Came Here To Share A Picture Of Our Cat Being Jealous Because She Feels Too Classy To Go And Beg For Treats
My Dog Gets Very Jealous Whenever I Give My Cat Any Attention
That is not a blep, that’s him actually sticking his tongue out at the cat
Goose Gets So Jealous When Our Dog Is On My Lap
My Dog Is Jealous Of How Much Attention The TV Gets
Someone's Jealous I Have Cat Purrs In My Palm This Morning
Somebody Is A Little Jealous
My Baby Corn Snake Just Had A Growth Spurt. Apparently, Some Other Pets Are Jealous Of His Attention
She's Jealous Because I Petted Another Cat
"Why Is He Allowed On The Table And I'm Not?" - Jealous Cat
I Think She Was A Little Jealous
Jealousy
Jasper Is Trying To Figure Out How To Get Close To Me Without Triggering Matilda's Mittens
Make The Dog Jealous. Gain Their Trust
Suspicious eyes, the dog doesn’t trust that birds motives at all
When You're A Cat And Realize The Birthday Cake Is For The Dog, Not You
Someone Is A Little Jealous
My Friends' Dog Got Pretty Jealous When I Asked Her To Send Me A Picture
Momma Was Trying To Brush Roxie And I Got Jealous... So I Went Under Roxie To Make Sure Momma Saw Me. Poor Roxie
Someone's A Little Jealous
My Rescue Dog Is Jealous Of The New Dog
My Dog Heard A Dog In The Game I Was Playing And Got Jealous
He was just making sure everything was ok, you have no idea what that other dog was saying tbf
This Stray Dog Followed Me For 2 Kilometers Today. Behind Him Is My Own Dog Getting Jealous Of The Stray Jumping On Me
He Was Jealous Because I Was Giving My Snake Attention And Not Him
Kind of looks like he might have noticed the snake a moment too late
Jealousy Is When You're Trying To Take A Picture Of Your Puppy And Get A Face Full Of Cat
My Majestic New Pup, Cali (Feat. Her Jealous Older Sister Lurking In The Back)
My Dog Is Either Jealous Of My Baby Boy Or Has Worked Out This Is Where You Get Fed
Not Our Cat Being Jealous Of Our Guest's Feeding Time
He Heard Us Playing With The New Puppy From The Other Room. He's Still A Little Jealous
Spot The Jealous Pig. Peanut Is Not A Cuddly Pig So This Sleepy Croissant Moment On Pigmum's Knee Is Rare. And Muffin Watches Bitterly From The Cage
Poor Dave Looks Totally Put Out By Me Having Cuddles With My Number One
Jealous Boy On The Roof. Drogon Is Very Offended That I Would Dare Try And Spend Time With The Girls In The Aviary Without Letting Him Come In Too
Blueberry Is So Jealous. He Doesn’t Let Me Touch Anything Besides Him
I Told Annie She Was Pretty, Bonnie’s Jealous
I personally believe that all animals who are dependent on their parents when young can feel jalousy. It comes from, when they are afraid of not getting enough attention to make it to adulthood. It is a bit silly that it often follows into adulthood, but we are all a bit childish aren't we?
My 7 year old lab is great with our kitten. She will give her kisses etc. but if i tell her good dog etc .. she will then try to play attack the cat in protest .. pretty funny.
Not necessarily. "This is my human, I was here first" is an expression of jealousy not envy.
Load More Replies...I think there is a big misunderstanding here. Jealous dogs and cats are an invention of their owners, who in some way try to compensate for their guilty conscience, because they secretly know that, referring to a "baby moving in" situation, it is the animal whose live has been most upset. Then the look of the dachshund is interpreted melancholic and already the person feels confirmed. Of course, the look of a dog sometimes seems sad, but our brain, if present or functioning flawlessly, makes us see this emotion falsely.
I once bought a book called something like "The Mind of a Dog" and the first sentence said "You must first forget all the anthropomorphic characteristics you've given your dog to fully understand them." I threw the book away. I know my dog, and my cats, don't have feelings the same way I do, they don't think the same way a person does, but I'd rather believe they do and live in a fantasy than see them as just animals. I get what you're saying that we falsely see these emotions, but it makes me happy when people give these personalities to their pets and share them with everyone else. :)
Load More Replies...I personally believe that all animals who are dependent on their parents when young can feel jalousy. It comes from, when they are afraid of not getting enough attention to make it to adulthood. It is a bit silly that it often follows into adulthood, but we are all a bit childish aren't we?
My 7 year old lab is great with our kitten. She will give her kisses etc. but if i tell her good dog etc .. she will then try to play attack the cat in protest .. pretty funny.
Not necessarily. "This is my human, I was here first" is an expression of jealousy not envy.
Load More Replies...I think there is a big misunderstanding here. Jealous dogs and cats are an invention of their owners, who in some way try to compensate for their guilty conscience, because they secretly know that, referring to a "baby moving in" situation, it is the animal whose live has been most upset. Then the look of the dachshund is interpreted melancholic and already the person feels confirmed. Of course, the look of a dog sometimes seems sad, but our brain, if present or functioning flawlessly, makes us see this emotion falsely.
I once bought a book called something like "The Mind of a Dog" and the first sentence said "You must first forget all the anthropomorphic characteristics you've given your dog to fully understand them." I threw the book away. I know my dog, and my cats, don't have feelings the same way I do, they don't think the same way a person does, but I'd rather believe they do and live in a fantasy than see them as just animals. I get what you're saying that we falsely see these emotions, but it makes me happy when people give these personalities to their pets and share them with everyone else. :)
Load More Replies...