The war between cats vs dogs being the best pets has been going around since ages, with dogs being declared as the angels on earth for their humble and loving nature, while cats are known to be selfish and conspiring.
However, a new study reveals that cats form healthy bonds with humans, just like dogs.
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According to Kristyn Vitale, a researcher at the Human-Animal Interaction Lab at Oregon State University and lead author of this study, (in a conversation with Gizmodo), their approach isn't as apparent or evident as dogs or humans (The study was published in Current Biology).
Cats have two basic attachment traits when bonding with humans-- The first is a secured attachment when they feel comforted and happy with the presence of their two-legged partner and the second is an insecure attachment, where they're scared to lose their human.
Representative Image: Pixabay
The insecure attachment is split into two sub-sets -- insecure ambivalent and insecure-avoidant. The former behaviour trait makes the cat feel fearful that they'll lose their human, and they try to compensate that feeling by being extra clingy to keep them closer. The latter is the cat's instincts purposely trying not to get close to the human to not feel bad when he/she isn't around.
They conducted a basic attachment test on a batch of 80 kittens (the kittens were below the age of 8 months). They played with their owners in a room they've never been in for two minutes. After this, the owners left the kittens in the room and came back after two minutes.
Representative Image: Pixabay
The two minutes of separation resulted in some kittens stressing out without their humans. Some of them were making mournful sounds as well as other common stressed behaviours that they usually do when alone.?
When the kittens were reunited with their humans, the researchers saw three different reactions. Some cats became relaxed and started to play. These were secure cats and the result is termed as Secure Base Effect. The insecure cats, on the other hand, became rather clingy (also referred to as insecure-ambivalent). A separate batch of the cats completely avoided their owner (insecure-avoidant).
Even after six-weeks, most cats exuded similar behaviour. This was also seen in a new group of year-old cats. According to Vitale, "Cats bond to us, too, just in their own, not always apparent way." She further stated, that these tests were done with a small group of cats and larger studies need to be conducted to reveal stronger results.?
So even if your cat is shrewd and self-centred, they feel the same way about you as you feel about them.