Researchers have discovered an interesting bond between the cat and its owner. In fact, cats are closer to humans than dogs. Check it out below!

The bond between cats and its owner

A study in the Scientific Journal of “Current Biology” has shown that cats are very attached to those who take care of them, even loving humans more than dogs. They then classify them into four types of attachment similar to humans: safety, conflict, avoidance, or disorganization. Therefore, evidence shows that cats, dogs, and humans share a common social identity – not just attributed to dogs alone.

This result is probably a surprise to those who often think that cats do not care about their owners. According to statistics, up to 64% of cats are identified as safe. About 30% is unclear and the rest are mostly kind of dodges. Additionally, researchers also show that cats have more flexibility and depth in relationships than humans think. “As can be seen, many cats stick with us when we are their caregivers,” said Monique Udell.

The criteria have been used when studying human infants and dogs. The researchers found that, because cats are like most domesticated animals, they retain some minor traits as they age and so their attachment to their caregivers can stay the same at adulthood. When performing similar dog-like tests to kittens and children, the researchers found cats that looked like humans. Like cats, 65 percent of children have a secure attachment and 35 percent have an insecure attachment to their caregivers. Dogs are 58 percent secure and 42 percent insecure, researchers found.

Sticking style is difficult to change

Some psychologists have shown that, for humans, parenting and life experiences can affect a child’s attachment style. To find out if kittens’ bonding style could change when trained, researchers put 39 kittens into a socializing class. As a result, up to 31 cats remained unchanged. During 6 weeks in the classroom, kittens interact with other cats and people they are not familiar with. They also learn to adapt to sitting and walking with leashes. However, when doing the initial experiment with his owner, very few cats have a change in the style of attachment.