To our dogs, we are packmates. We share a bond from our common lupine ancestor and are thus never far from the thoughts of our dogs. To cats, we are biological machines that serve certain useful purposes on occasion. One machine is as good as another, as Jimmy Craig expresses in They Can Talk.
That’s the stereotype.
I find, though, that when my family cat’s favorite human is away from home for a few days, he is actually angry at her when she returns. He expresses his sense of betrayal by snuggling with and then, without warning, biting her as punishment.