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 University’s 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 ...
My experience has been that when there are both a man and a woman in the house, a dog will look to the man as the ‘leader’. Cats can do the same - when my husband goes away, my cats get very unhappy and rowdy. But generally, cats are differently particular about the one they choose as their ‘main human’ regardless of sex.
They honestly NEEDED a study for this, GIVE ME A DAMN BREAK!!! Why in the hell would people have cats for pets if they didn’t bond with their owners!!! Our society has gone COMPLETELY insane, when in the hell did we get to a point where we NEEDED a study for such idiotic things like this!!!
No duh.
The cats would tell you that we do not own them.
No pool declawing is wrong.
This study brought to you by the Captain Obvious Science Trust, PLUS division. COSTPLUS
“I think the kind of relationship a cat his with you is totally dependent on your personality.”
That’s true. Size is also a very important factor. I often think the relationship might be very different if one was suddenly shrunk down to three inches tall.
FReegards
In my experience, some cats do, but most do not.
All cats I have met are quick to learn which human will give them the most attention (or food), and which people usually don’t want to be bothered.
Proof:
One cat has one more tail than no cat. No cat has two tails. Therefore, one cat has three tails.
Quod erat demonstrandum
That’s just tricky.
Siamese are famous for bonding with a small handful of humans and then pretty much disliking everybody else. It was certainly true with my 2.
CC
Our two new kittens follow us around the house. If we are in the office, they are in the office. If we go into the living room they follow.
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And, when in your office, they have learned to engage in prodigious acts of Creative Word Processing.
All of my cats would have aced this bonding test. I work out town for the week and my cats are lined up with my dogs the second I walk through the door.
Where do I sign up for studies like this?
per Rush:
Dogs have masters.
Cats have staff.
No bathroom buddies?
The barnyard cats I have been around seem to inevitably go to the person that ignores them the most. Normally the most allergic person present.
Freegards
As I sit here in my home office, I am surrounded by my two six-month old kittens, who sought me out during the thunder storm (monsoon season finally hit). Eustace still climbs up my pant leg and shirt to perch on my shoulder. He also gets jealous if I pet Wendy while he’s watching. They are also well-bonded with our children and my wife, preferring her lap during family rosary. Cats return the affection you give them if you raise them right from a young age.
Siamese cats love everyone in the room.
In fact those are simply the survivors.
It is very disconcerting when you are in the shower and a little head pops in.
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