This thesis concerns itself with the problem of animal consciousness and a special topic within it – animal emotions. The first part of the paper focuses on philosophical problems which surface when one try to study consciousness: the importance of making sure that one doesn't mix different concepts of consciousness, the problem of other minds, the easy and hard problems of consciousness and concerns regarding the use of antropomorphisms to explain animal behaviour. All of these problems are intertwined. The second part of the paper focuses on animal emotions and the role they play in lives of the animals. It also focuses on the relationship between cognitive processes and emotions and considers the possibility that different animals exhibit prosocial behaviour, which would mean that they are capable of emphaty. This paper mostly deals with questions that occur within philosopy, but it also includes opinions of scientists and studies that belong to different disciplines. This was inevitable considering that studying animal consciousness and emotions is an interdisciplinary matter.