My parents got a kitten a few months ago to act as a companion to the dog they adopted. The day they brought the kitten home I came over to check it out. My mom said, “I tried to get the most outgoing one of the litter.”

At the time, Emmet, as my sister named him, was a little freaked out by his new surroundings. But as Emmet grew over the weeks and months, so too did his personality (catinality? Felinality?). He eventually became, perhaps, the boldest cat I’ve ever met. Even when my parents have loads of guests over, Emmet walks around the house like he owns it. Although Daisy the family dog is half Newfie—and therefore huge—Emmet loves to play with her, and is usually damp because Daisy is constantly dragging Emmet around by the head (it looks horrendous, but Emmet always comes back for more, and Daisy is obviously gentle).

Emmet’s behavior has made me wonder: does he have a sense of humor? He clearly does things that people find funny. For one, if I cradle him in my arms so that his belly faces up, he extends his front and back feet out completely straight, as if he’s been rigor mortified. It’s the cutest, funniest looking thing. As a result, we all laugh and rub his super long, lithe adorable little furry belly—and he loves it. My brother was holding Emmet once and gently tossed him onto a couch. The moment Emmet’s four paws hit the couch he bounced up onto the back of the couch without even bending his legs—just boing! We laughed and tried it again. Boing! Now, every time I come over I just have to toss Emmet onto the couch to watch him boing-bounce. Other times, Emmet will come flying out of nowhere, tag the dog, and keep running, as if saying, “Ha ha, surprised you—you can’t get me!” And sometimes Emmet will intentionally push things off counters or tables so that they fall onto the floor. Little brat!

So, does Emmet have a sense of humor? I looked up some online discussions to see what others had to say. Check it out; it makes for cute and interesting reading: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pets/msg1123535226667.html And here’s a short article that suggests some animals may laugh: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7348880/ This brief article examines if cats have a sense of humor: http://www.petcentric.com/article.aspx?C=1&OID=50

My view on the matter is that Emmet, and cats like him, do not have senses of humor. Rather, Emmet likes attention and he’s learned over time that certain behaviors result in the attention he craves. He’s smart enough to have picked up on that—hence his seemingly funny behavior, which gives the outward appearance of a cat with a sense of humor.

Now, if I could only train Emmet to piss on my brother’s feet—that would be hilarious!