student asking question

What does the word "own" mean in this sentence? Is it ok to omit "own" here and say "in our cat's eyes"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Here, "own" means something that belongs to someone or something mentioned. And, yes! The sentence would make sense and sound natural without "own." Here, "own" functions to emphasize that one's cat belongs to oneself, which is already implied in context as well as with the use of "our" since it indicates possession or association. Ex: The restaurant's own manager quit yesterday! => dramatic tone = The restaurant's manager quit yesterday! Ex: My own brother insulted me. = My brother insulted me.

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