All of us grow up with distinct childhood memories . While some of us may be able to recall and remember things better than others, we all have some parts of our past that we can inherently remember . Sometimes, there are some memories that are better than others. We can also have memories that are pretty bad—unleashing some childhood trauma on all of us.
Childhood trauma is not easy to forget.
Whenever we undergo some things in our past that are no longer with us or things that were hard to let go of, it can create emotional responses in anyone. We may feel like we need to compartmentalize and lock away these pieces of our memories in order to move on.
While humans definitely go through this, apparently, animals may, too.
We know as human beings we can access our memories and have an emotional response to them, but we’re not entirely sure if animals can, too. Apparently, TikTok users believe that animals can indeed have childhood trauma and have emotional responses to it. Especially after a new trend has taken storm.
A TikTok user shared that she unlocked the childhood trauma of her kitten in a viral video.
TikTok user Stephy W shared a video in which she took a wet toothbrush and began to slowly and gently brush her kitten’s head with it. The cat stopped abruptly and its eyes widened as its owner continued to stroke its head with the toothbrush.
The cat then appeared to be crying, emotionally responding.
The TikTok user said that apparently, the toothbrush unlocks a childhood memory as it resembles when the kitten’s mother used to stroke and lick its head as a baby. The cat in the video had very watery eyes, and many commenters said it appeared to be crying.
Many in the comments said that the owner needs to apologize to her poor kitten.
Many in the comments began to feel empathy and heartbreak towards this poor kitten who looked as though it was devastated in the video. Many demanded that the owner apologizes to her kitten for putting it through such dispair.
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Some commenters said cats and animals definitely cannot cry or have “emotional responses.”
While some thought the cat was crying, others said there is no proof that the cat is having any childhood memories or emotional reactions as no one can simply ask the cat to explain how it feels. However, one commenter said that “anecdotal evidence suggests that cats can cry tears when they are upset or grieving.”
Experts, however, say it is unlikely that the cat is remembering much.
Cats Protection told Metro.co.uk that the cat may enjoy the feeling and sensation of the toothbrush and they could enjoy it, but there’s not much proof that they are having some insane remembrance of childhood memories and their past.
Experts also say cats know it’s a toothbrush, not their mother.
“Despite the latest craze to brush cats with a wet toothbrush—in the hopes that it will soothe them by reminding them of being groomed by their mother—cats will be aware that it is actually a toothbrush,” they said .
Many cats just enjoy being groomed.
“All cats can benefit from being groomed if it is introduced carefully and gradually at their own pace. A toothbrush could be useful as part of this process as it’s smaller than a normal cat brush and therefore less imposing,” they continued .
In addition, the way in which a cat responds depends on its personality.
“How a cat responds to this will depend on their personality, level of socialization as a young kitten and whether they’ve had positive experiences of being groomed,” the experts concluded.
While we may think we unlocked some crazy childhood memories on our furry friends, I guess it’s just enjoying the luxury.
While we may think we have unlocked a new level of trauma and memories on our furry friends, it turns out that they are really just sitting back and enjoying the luxury of being groomed!
