Sometimes? Don't you mean always?
No, some cats hold disdain for all humans.
To those clamouring for different buttons: a "like" button is all Xenforo gives us. Adding more buttons would be difficult with this software, and create a maintenance problem because the code would have to be carried forward manually with every new release.
Regarding the points: the system doesn't easily lend itself to competing, since there are limited ways to gain points. You don't get one for every "like", you get a certain amount for each milestone you achieve. They're like achievements vs your score in a game. You could race to get 1000 likes, I suppose, but that would just create a situation where people like posts just for the "like" and not for the content.