Are CATS man’s best friend? Study finds pet felines are not as aloof as we think and are ‘just as emotionally attached to us as dogs and infants’
- Scientists have observed cats displaying attachment towards humans
- They recorded the pet felines behaving in a similar way to dogs and children
- A majority of cats showed a ‘secure attachment’ to their humans, study found
The old adage states that dogs are man’s best friend, but new research now disputes that long-held title as experts claim cats get just as attached to us as canines do.
The study, from Oregon State University, looked for signs of attachment in both cats and kittens when reunited with their owner in a strange place.
It is the first time scientists have shown that cats display the same sort of behaviour witnessed in dogs and human babies.
Most cats (65.8 per cent) and kittens (64.3 per cent) showed a ‘secure attachment’ with humans and were just as interested in their owners as their surroundings.
Human babies, for example, are ‘securely attached’ to their caregivers in 65 per cent of occasions.
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A three-phase test saw cats and owners reunited in a strange room and the behaviour of the pet was assessed (pictured). The majority exhibited behaviour classed as ‘secure attachment’
Only a minority of felines lived up to their reputations by avoiding their owners and showing signs of stress, such as twitching their tails and licking their lips.
Study lead author Dr Kristyn Vitale, of Oregon State University in the United States, said: ‘Cats that are insecure can be likely to run and hide or seem to act aloof.
‘There’s long been a biased way of thinking that all cats behave this way.
‘But the majority of cats use their owner as a source of security. Your cat is depending on you to feel secure when they are stressed out.’
For the study, researchers had cats participate in a ‘secure base test’ – similar to those used to study baby and dog attachment behaviours.
The test is broken down into three two-minute phases. In the first, the cat is placed in a new room with their owner, followed by a stint alone, before being reunited.
After the caregiver returns from a two-minute absence, cats with secure attachment to the person are noticeably less stressed.
So-called ‘attached’ animals continue to explore the room but still pay attention to the owner.
But cats with an insecure attachment show signs of stress and either avoid their caregiver or cling to them ‘ambivalently’ by sitting motionlessly in their lap.
Behavioural experts watched recordings of the tests and classified the feline actions with similar criteria used to assess infants and dogs.
Of the 70 kittens tested, almost two-thirds (64.3 per cent) were ‘securely attached’ with the remainder (35.7 per cent) categorised as ‘insecurely attached.’
Of 38 cats that were one year old or older the percentages nearly mirrored the kitten population – 65.8 per cent secure and 34.2 per cent insecure.
HOW DOES CAT BEHAVIOUR CHANGE WHEN THEY ARE ALONE?
The reseacher’s cat, named Treacle, ‘vocalised less outside than she did in the house, and the pitch of the vocalisations was different’.
The researcher said that when she was outside with Treacle, she groomed herself more, probably because she felt protected around her.
But, when she was not there, Treacle did a lot more hunting and interacting with other cats.
They also found that when cats are outside, they become super alert, scanning their surroundings for more than a half hour.
The researchers then enrolled the felines in a six-week ‘socialisation’ training course to see they could be taught attachment.
The proportion of securely and insecurely attached cats did not budge.
Dr Vitale said: ‘Once an attachment style has been established between the cat and its caregiver, it appears to remain relatively stable over time, even after a training and socialisation intervention.’
Cats, like most domesticated animals, retain several juvenile traits into maturity and remain dependent on humans for care, according to Dr Vitale.
Dr Vitale added: ‘In both dogs and cats, attachment to humans may represent an adaptation of the offspring-caretaker bond
‘Attachment is a biologically relevant behaviour. Our study indicates that when cats live in a state of dependency with a human, that attachment behaviour is flexible and the majority of cats use humans as a source of comfort..’
The research team were also surprised to find how closely cats’ attachment to their caregivers matched human babies, 65 per cent of whom were shown to be ‘securely attached’ to their caregiver.
The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
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