We are used to thinking that cats walk by themselves and that, unlike dogs, they get used not to a person, but to a place. It seems that this is nothing more than a myth: it turns out that they also know how to become attached to their owners – just like we do to them – but this attachment can be different.
Often we perceive animals – especially those that are traditionally considered domestic – as family members, and disputes about what we have in common with our smaller brothers have not subsided for decades. There is indeed a lot in common. Many of the animals definitely have their own language, soul (if we believe in it) and emotions. How exactly are we different from other mammals?
Paul Sagard, a philosopher and specialist in the field of thinking, is sure that it is not necessary to humanize animals and attribute to them the qualities of the “crown of creation”. He recalls that in the process of evolution, man has developed many skills that are not available to our brothers in the animal world. Unlike animals, we:
- Able to learn – and learn better and better. In addition, we teach this to others.
- We imagine both the past and the distant future, we live not only in the “here and now”.
- We come up with not only new objects, ideas and concepts, but also tools for their creation.
- We know how to make a fire and cook food in a million different ways.
- We can navigate maps.
- We have not only emotions, but also emotions about our emotions: for example, we can be afraid of boredom or hope to fall in love.
- We try to learn everything we can about our own species.
- We resort to artificial intervention in the image of our body in order to increase our chances of success.
- We tell each other jokes and laugh at jokes.
- We create governments, laws, ways and codes of practice.
- We communicate using a language with rich vocabulary and complex syntax.
Animals are not alien to something human – for example, they are able to establish strong bonds and keep them for a long time.
Understanding that we are different and equal should help people treat animals fairly and kindly.
In addition, scientists periodically make quite unexpected discoveries that show that something human is not alien to animals – for example, they, like people, are able to establish strong bonds and keep them for a long time. Recently, the journal Current biology published a study proving that cats are capable of becoming attached to their owners. Moreover, attachment in the very human sense of the word.
An experiment conducted by animal behaviorists at the University of Oregon showed that 64% of kittens develop a strong bond with their owners and maintain it into adulthood. Moreover, attachment in them, like in humans, takes many forms.
To learn more about how cats develop attachment, the scientists used a test called “Strange Situation”. Usually this method is used to study the characteristics of attachment in primates and dogs. The researchers tested the relationship of 79 kittens and their owners and recorded their interactions with each other on camera. During the test, cats and owners spent some time together, and then separated. Later, the pet was launched into the room, where he again met with the owner.
Cats with a secure attachment style approached “their people”, petted, and generally responded calmly to separation. When reunited, they allowed themselves to be petted, rubbed against the face of the owner, after which they calmly played near the owner and explored unfamiliar territory.
The connection between a human and a cat is stable over time, and, apparently, it is their first contacts with each other that play a decisive role.
Cats with an anxious-resistant or ambivalent type of attachment after the reunion did not want to get off their owners’ laps and constantly demanded attention.
Avoidant cats simply avoided contact with their owner after reunion: they could sit or lie in the corner of the room without paying the slightest attention to him.
Researchers are sure that it is not necessary that cats with insecure attachment types do not have “warm feelings” towards their owners. The connection between a human and a cat is stable over time, and, apparently, it is their first contacts with each other that play a decisive role.
Previously, it was believed that cats, in principle, are not able to become attached to people. This inability was mainly due to the fact that these animals often do not live in packs, but on their own. But it turned out that, if necessary, the mustachioed-striped ones are quite capable of uniting.
It turned out that the feeling of attachment to the owner is not alien to them. So, they have much more in common with people than we sometimes think.