Fluffy might not ♥ you as much as you think
For #caturday and #ScienceEveryday , here’s a video showing research from Prof Daniel S. Mills at University of Lincoln in the UK. He’s working on research to determine if cats are securely attached to their owners like dogs are. So far, his research has shown that dogs behave similar to infants with respect to a parent. Conversely, his research so far, shows that cats could care less. I mean, cats don’t behave in the same manner.
December 15, 2013
I have no illusions. I love cats. The relationship trade is generally a good one, even if they are little psychopaths.
December 15, 2013
What if I have other people’s dogs/children come to me? 😉
December 15, 2013
Glad you aren’t in denial Bill Carter. It means that other people’s dogs and children know you are awesome Lex Larson.
December 15, 2013
The same guy does/did research on cat scenting and vomiting. My sister’s cat used to vomit on her comforter when he wasn’t happy.
December 15, 2013
Chad Haney LOL! Did you see the article (which IIRC had a video clip) discussing how domestic cats have adapted in ways that make it easier to live with humans, and which differ from their ancestor species? I remember mention of how domestic cats vocalize more (and do so in the same frequency as baby cries), and tolerate living with other people, other animals and other cats in a smaller territory than their wild cat counterparts.
… and now as I typed that, my cat sauntered in, meowed at me, and rubbed on my leg. I’m apparently now required to offer the resources of catnip and petting!
December 15, 2013
I think Dr. Mills co-authored a study that ticked off a lot of cat lovers. It was something about how there are some cats that don’t like to be petted. Those cats produce less stress hormones if there are other cats in the house that can be pet in their place. If they are the only cat, they have high levels of stress hormones. There were a lot of cat lovers that said such cats don’t exist. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of some cats that don’t really like to be petted.
December 15, 2013
My first job was in a vet clinic, so I saw a lot of pet cats in various levels of stress. There were definitely individuals who didn’t enjoy being touched or petted. There were some breeds that seemed to show this the most (Siamese, specifically).
December 15, 2013
stoughton1 Yeah let someone attack you and see where your cat is LOL
December 15, 2013
Shocking! People are mere convenience to cats! 😿
December 15, 2013
My critique of this study is that different breeds of different cats and dogs have certain characteristics that make them more prone to gravitate towards humans. Furthermore, individuals of different breeds behave differently which is heavily reliant upon its rearing.
Either way, whether this scientific study is valid or not, dogs are way better in all respects
December 15, 2013
YOUVE RUINED CATURDAY… And my life 🙁
December 15, 2013
The harsh truth 😉
December 15, 2013
my daughter’s cat love her — and goes to her for a source of comfort when having had a bad day out — and when she is not there, the cat takes me as second choice. The cat is totally wary of strangers; she would never jump up on a strangers lap like in the video =^.^=
December 15, 2013
I don’t know how many dogs and which breeds they tested. The study is ongoing and they have only test 20 cats. Again I don’t know which breeds. I’m sure you will find some dogs that don’t fit the model/hypothesis and some cats that don’t as well. That’s why they hopefully have a large number of experiments and have thought carefully about which breeds they are testing. I couldn’t find a published paper on their work. Probably because they mentioned it is ongoing.
December 15, 2013
At least I didn’t call this #anticaturday for Sean Heffernan
December 15, 2013
lol. You
shouldcould have Chad HaneyDecember 16, 2013
This just blew my mind.
December 17, 2013
did we really need scientific proof for that? lol
December 17, 2013
It helps with the deniers Suhaib Ayaz
December 17, 2013
Yeah showed it to my sis and she still doesn’t believe in this experiment, plus her argument that she needs an independent pet instead of a needy dog lol
December 17, 2013
If someone tries to break into my house, I’d rather have my barking dog.
December 23, 2013
As much as I hate cats and would love to wholeheartedly agree with this video, not all cats are like this one. The one in my house is very loyal to her owner, and acts just like the dog in this video did whenever she sees him. If I am playing with her, and he walks in the room, she defers to him.
I think this experiment is also flawed because it did not show different studies with different cats or dogs of different ages and breeds. I think that the cat in my house is younger so she behaves more clingier and that may change as she ages.
Also, this video also made me realise how much of a dog person I am. Call me clingy and needy because I prefer dogs, but I just think a relationship between a dog and a human is more mutually beneficial. I’ve heard so many stories of cat owners playing with their cats and either their scratching them, taking their seat on the couch, restricting them from getting up if they are sitting on their lap because the owner fears being attacked if they disturb the cat, or the cat withholding love or being petted(only being petted when they want to, not on owner’s time). I only ever hear of issues with a pet from dog owners if that dog is sick. Otherwise, it’s all fun.
I’ve owned three cats in my life and I still wonder why people would want to own one. But to each his own.
Thanks as always for posting these informative bits Chad Haney 🙂
December 23, 2013
The study is still ongoing as far as I know. Certainly there will be some dogs and cats that don’t fit their model, which is why I’d like to read about this when it’s published.
December 30, 2013
Dogs and humans are pack animals. They rely on a social structure. Cats, for the most part are comfortable on their own and thus dont require the same security that dogs and humans are comfortable with.
December 30, 2013
AmericanPoliceState, dogs and humans (along with other mammals are social). However the pack issue with domesticated dogs is debatable. There’s a good book by Coppinger that talks about how domesticated dogs have evolved. Here’s a link to a discussion I had about it.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ChadHaney/posts/Gj4uVS5f3T3
Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior & Evolution
by Raymond Coppinger and Lorna Coppinger
http://goo.gl/eLL7g