Do Cats Really Love Us?

How do we, as caretakers of a being with no human words to express themselves, with no clearly human element to reflect their needs, truly know what they are feeling about us?
My husband was sitting on the bed this morning with my Poppet in his arms. I was asleep with a pillow over my head because Poppet often meows in my face until I get up, regardless of anyone else being awake. As soon as I pushed away the pillow, opened my eyes, and saw them there staring at me, my husband said, "Now she's purring. As soon as you opened your eyes and looked at her." I was all happy inside. Oh, she loves me, I thought.

Studies have shown definite positive reactions to being left in a room with their owner versus by themselves or with a stranger. Alone or with a stranger, the cat will sit alert at the door, seemingly unrelaxed, possibly vocalizing. When the owner is there, the cat rubs the leg, grooms themselves, and walks through the room in a relaxed, almost confident state.

They do miss us when we’re gone and will vocalize excessively when left alone. My Poppet whines if I close the bathroom door on her (but not for my husband). Most of us know you never close a door when you have cats around. Oh, the abandonment!

But is that love? Is it security? We don’t want to think about words like “security” or “safety” when it comes to the love from our cats. We want to think only about how much that fluffy ball of purrs and blinky eyes wants us to be with them.

When I was in school, my science-based professors often corrected my use of human words to describe behaviors a particular animal was showing. Of course, they were correct, but yet... We all have experiences where we feel, without a doubt, our pet is having a good feeling from something they associate with us. How can we learn to interpret those experiences and grow into a deeper understanding of the internal world our animals inhabit? Any thoughts?