Jason and I always mention how other people’s cats just seem like cats… but our cats seem different, more human. I think that this post at Lawrence’s helps explain that a little bit. Each cat has so many unique things they do that you can only see if you spend 24hours a day with them… the way they sleep when they are really tired… as opposed to how they sleep when they nap…. the reactions of their tail when they see a bird… or in Tigger’s case, when he gets an idea. When I say that Feeny talks to walls it doesn’t mean the same thing to someone who hasn’t seen or heard it… and when we tell someone about how Tigger is an alarm clock in the morning…
Its hard to explain but I think in the end it is the justification us animal lovers have for spending way too much time and money on our pets… they aren’t pets to us… they are more… 
My cat and my dog are my babies. I would protect them just as fiercely as any Mother protects her young.