Cats actually do bond with humans, study finds

Fox News ^ | 09/23/2019 | Christopher Carbone

[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. …

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

They do like to walk on the keyboards.

We use PawSense to keep them from doing any major harm.

[DannyTN]

[Chickensoup]

It is very disconcerting when you are in the shower and a little head pops in.

____________________

Don’t tell me about your sex life.

[Jamestown1630]

We gave up trying to keep them out of the bathroom. They need to watch; and play with spigot drips. They will only run if we turn on the shower.

But I once had a cat who seemed terrorized when I got into the bathtub. He would grab my arm in his mouth and try and pull me out of the water.

[fhayek]

The only way that I would bond with a cat would be with super glue. Should that happen, I truly believe that we would be able to find out exactly how many ways there are to skin a cat...

[Jamestown1630]

I had to look up PawSense. I was hoping it was some sort of chemical that would keep them from pawing things - like woodwork...

[Viking2002]

I can attest to this, up to a point. Given that I'm the only other male in the house, our male cat tends to hang out with me in the den, especially if there's something happening here that is disturbing what he perceives as 'the usual routine'. A couple of the females are like that as well. They want a place that's quiet and secure, and sense that with me, because I'm really turning into a mean old crank when my 'routine' is disturbed. Birds of a feather.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You know once I hit post I just knew someone would make that kind of comment. :)

[SkyDancer]

Just like: If 1 is a number and 2 is a number then 1=2

[Jamestown1630]

I was actually trying to figure it out because my first instinct is to read what the straight grammar is saying.

(I’m also one of those people who can’t tell a joke - I always flub the punch line or forget the essential thing that makes it funny :-)

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Try tea tree oil. Littlest cat decided that the corner carpet was a great place to pee. After cleaning it up a couple time I sprinkled some tea tree oil over there and he has avoided the area every since.

[leaning conservative]

Thought the same thing.

[WellyP]

Maine Coon Cats and Norwegian Forest Cats bond very well.

[Jamestown1630]

I’ll try it. We don’t declaw, and these guys are making a mess of doorjambs. Is it safe, if they get it on their paws and lick?

[SkyDancer]

I kind of like stuff like that. It's fun. Sort of like:

Gratitude is riches.

Complaint is poverty.

And the worst I ever had was wonderful.

[Vigilanteman]

Of course they do. Our cat adores my wife and follows her everywhere. She likes me but I am clearly second best.

Anybody who is invited into our living rooms gets checked out and then the cat goes back to my wife.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

As soon as they hear the can opener!

[PAR35]

She is starting to get hinky around other people, and I am needing to get people in to break her of that.

The cat probably decided that you needed more human interaction, and is manipulating you (apparently, successfully).

[Right Wing Assault]

A lot of my various neighbors have 'outdoor cats' they to claim to 'own'. They are always claiming in our neighborhood website that these cats are lost. No they aren't. They are at our house. They have bonded to it. They like to howl and mate on my porch and piss their. They also use my mulched areas and the attic of my workshop for their crapper . They catch the cardinals that visit my yard, chew their skulls open, eat their brains, and leave the rest. They don't catch enough chipmunks to make me want them alive. My dog loves them since they give him running exercise.

If I every get my hands on their necks, they will bond tightly there for several minutes. They will scratch the hell out of my arms, but it will be worth it unless I catch one or more of the various diseases they carry.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There is some debate on that. I would not put it on them certainly. Let them sniff the bottle and if they retreat then it should work as a repellent. Don’t use it if they try to lick it.