HOW PETS LOVE

From offered paws to little bites, animals find their own ways to express their love languages and communicate with their owners

- BY LAKSHANA N PALAT

Dubai-based Rana Wagih Afifi can barely keep the joy out of her voice as she talks about her cat, aptly named Kitty. "Her love language is biting. When I would pet her, she would do a little eye gesture and eventually, when she is licking you, she bites, an aggressive little bite. That's how she shows me.

On the other hand, Jaysree Arun, a Dubai-based pharmacist, loves her two dogs, Ichika and Tippers. “I know they love me because they start lining up at the door the moment they hear my car drive up. They start whining, scratching the door and don't let me rest till I enter the house. It’s as if I've been gone for years.”

Each dog's personality is distinct, however. One doesn’t like being cuddled much, and yet sleeps by Arun’s side whenever she is unwell, while the other keeps putting up a paw, asking for more scratches.

"I don’t think we can classify love languages in animals," explains Dubai-based vet Katrin Jahn. "There are certainly different ways in which our pets engage with us and this can be individually different. For instance, some dogs prefer pets and cuddles, others just engage through play or going on adventures together. Others just want to play for food rewards.”

Dogs, cats and birds