Caitlin O’Kane reports Cats actually do get attached to their owners, study says:
“Dog people” and “cat people” have long debated which pet is better. A new study is putting one preconceived notion about stand-offish felines to bed. The study published in Current Biology dug deep into cats’ sometimes misunderstood relationships with humans, and found the felines actually do bond with their owners.
The authors of the study acknowledge dogs have received a considerable amount of scientific attention over the years – perhaps because they form obvious attachment bonds with humans. “Despite fewer studies, research suggests we may be underestimating cats’ socio-cognitive abilities,” the study’s authors write.
The researchers found “cats display distinct attachment styles toward human caregivers,” and evidence shows cats, dogs and humans share social traits – suggesting these traits should not only be attributed to dogs alone.
The study used a Secure Base Test (SBT), conducted on 70 kittens aged 3 to 8 months. At the end of the study, almost all of the kittens were classified into attachment styles, with 64.3% being “securely attached.”