Posted on 09/23/2019 5:07:21 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Although cats have a reputation for being aloof, a new study says they bond with humans much like dogs do.
Researchers at Oregon State University discovered that cats just like dogs and young children can form secure or insecure bonds with their humans.
Like dogs, cats display social flexibility in regard to their attachments with humans, Kristyn Vitale, study author and researcher at Oregon State Universitys Human-Animal Interaction Lab, said in a statement. The majority of cats are securely attached to their owner and use them as a source of security in a novel environment.
Vitale and her team wanted to study the level of attachment cats have to their owners, so they used a simple attachment test, which has been conducted before on dogs, with cats. The first group of tests was performed with the owners of nearly 80 kittens, all under the age of eight months. They spent time with their owners for two minutes in an unfamiliar room, then the owners left for two minutes, and then the owners returned for another two minutes. According to attachment theory, the different setting would make some cats stressed out without their humans present.
Upon being reunited with their owners, the scientists then watched how the cats behaved upon seeing their owner again. About 65 percent of the cats and kittens were found to be securely bonded to their owners, according to the study.
The bonding finding gives the researchers hope for how many cats could be placed in homes in the future, especially given how many cats and kittens are present in animal shelters.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“Did someone actually pay for that studying?”
The researchers disclosed that their study was supported by a Nestle Purina sponsorship for research about the emotional well-being of cats and dogs. Good thing the cats didn’t know it and screw up their results for fun. Cats have a wicked sense of humor and generally play with the things they are going to kill.
rwood
I have a perfect relationship with my cat. She pretends to love me and I do anything she wants.
She only bites me if I do wrong.
I do not understand why I love that cat.
Bijou, my Maine Coon, loves to lay on my keyboard when I'm at my computer, purring contentedly. She rubs her head against the palms of my hands, hint, hint, wonder what she wants? The minute I turn on Amazon Prime videos, she settles into my lap for some quality time. When the video is over, she just curls up next to me. Her natural habitat is certainly my lap!
I had to be away from my home today for several hours. When I came home, I was jumped on, rubbed against, purred on, had cats on my shoulders, cats on my lap---you would have thought I'd been away a year instead of a few hours. My cats do not take kindly to me being out of the house for long periods.
I disagree. Declawing a cat is cruel. A cat should be able to defend itself, especially if it spends time outdoors. If you are worried about the furniture, get a cat scratching post.
My cat knows juat what protein I’d supply if dead.
All he propbablly cares to know.
Are you aware that tea tree oil is extremely poisonous to cats?
Even getting it on their skin can kill them.
Made me chuckle out loud
Woke up my rib...
Shes that way about our Rotts
They are hers emotionally but snap to attention to my six five 240 pounds gruff demeanor
Shes jelly and has little control over all 280 pounds of the two of them...uncut male
Anyone who has ever owned a cat knew this already...
That outdoor cat I talked about, he found some canned cat food in our car leftover from our house cat that we take with us.
Three weeks later when the car door was opened, he headed straight for where that cat food was and started looking for it. Their short term memory is also outstanding.
These nut jobs that do animal studies are merely showing to any of us that have been around any animal, whether it be a cat, dog, deer, coyote bear, etc that they are really stupid as they do not have the basic knowledge that comes with simple everyday experience.
For these phd’s or whatever to announce that cats bond is really showing how ignorant these people really are. The sad part is they think they are so smart they want to run our lives for us. I’D RATHER HAVE A CAT RUN MY LIFE, than one of those POS’s.
Three instances of cat people not getting the bad attempt at a joke. Sheesh dog people aren’t so sensitive. Oh but you can’t joke about pussies anymore especially if you grab one. Cats be mighty sensitive these days. Never eat at Panda Express as side note.
I’ve never eaten at Panda Express. Why should we not eat there? Is their pork really cat meat?
Seem to recall one downtown (LA) got busted early 2000s - Now I’m looking for it an can’t find it. But yeah thats the thing that made it stick out was they were serving cat (not openly) and I was thinking that whole them was just a mean joke. Maybe it was a spoof and I’m remembering incorrectly. It wasn’t all of them it was one particular store and downtown Los Angeles (where ever that is - the city without a center - Salman Rushie observed in Shalimar the Clown)
‘Siamese cats I think do more than other cats.’
We know of 3 women, whose husbands died early or they were divorced, and their various Siamese cats that lived about 20 years each.
They are on their 3rd or 4th cat. 2 of the women still live in the first home of their marriage. One has moved up and down the east coast with various jobs, and she still works in her 80’s. She works out of her home most of the time, and her cat goes to work or shopping with her. The cat has a leash, and it acts like a dog on her lease.
Could be.
I’m so sick of this “cats are aloof,” “dogs have owners, cats have staff” nonsense. I’ve had a number of cats in my life and not one of them was “aloof.” They were some of the best friends I have ever had.
I'm glad it was a joke, but my cat narrowly avoided declawing by a woman who believes what you wrote as a joke. I think you quoted her exactly.
but its because i took the trouble to listen
A very valuable skill. Also a very rare one. Most humans don't know how to listen to other humans.
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