Shock mews: Cats love us as much as dogs
THEY are known for aloof and haughty personalities.
But just because cats don’t jump up and lick our faces it doesn’t mean they don’t love us.
In fact, felines get as attached to their owners as dogs do – and even as much as babies do to their parents.
An experiment, asking people to leave their pet alone in a room for two minutes, found the majority of cats and kittens wanted to be close to their owner on their return.
Most cats meowed more often when their owner went away, showing they missed them.
And more than a quarter of kittens were so upset by their owner leaving that they became clingy, sitting in their lap or nudging their arm to be stroked, US researchers found.
Overall, almost two-thirds of 70 kittens and 38 older cats showed they were ‘securely attached’ to their owner, missing them and seeking comfort when they came back.
The study – published in the journal Current Biology – found that more than a third were ‘insecurely attached’, mostly showing clingy behaviour, while a minority hid or ignored their owner because of their distress at being left. These results are similar to those seen in similar experiments with dogs and babies.
Dr Kristyn Vitale, first author of the study from Oregon State University, said: ‘Cats that are insecure can seem to act aloof.
‘There’s long been a biased way of thinking that all cats behave this way. But the majority use their owner as a source of security.’