> Does anyone know where this idea [...] comes from? I think they are just projecting their own urge to see all animal intelligence in the same light. That urg

> Does anyone know where this idea [...] comes from? I think they are just projecting their own urge to see all animal intelligence in the same light. That urge isn't all wrong, as there's some commonality between "man & beast", but it does often veer into ridiculousness, with people interpreting complex thoughts and emotions from fairly ambiguous behaviors. If you search youtube for "cat speaks with buttons" you'll find some people pretending their cats have a lot to say as opposed to just enjoying the buttons as toys, or e.g. noticing they get attention/food from pressing them.