Cats and dogs share different bond with owners

To do this, scientists observed how 20 cats reacted when placed in a unusual environment with their owner, a stranger and on their own. We always had at least one of each in our household. But University of Lincoln researchers believe that those signs were misinterpreted. Researchers have shown that cats are much more autonomous and are not necessarily dependent on their owners for sense of protection and security.

A new study tries to provide new insights into cat psychology and a final answer to why cats are not as needy as dogs are.

Cats do not form the childlike dependence on humans that dogs do, new research suggests.

The study by animal behaviour specialists at the University of Lincoln, UK, has shed light on the characteristic nature of cat’s relationship with its owners wherein it doesn’t see the owner as being a safe base.

Professor Mills said: “Although our cats were more vocal when the owner rather than the stranger left, we didn’t see any additional evidence to suggest that the bond between a cat and its owner is one of secure attachment”.

But this could mean that if a cat loves its owner, they could be prone to prefer being with them, animal behaviorists said. In a nutshell it all comes down to safety and security. Past research has indicated that some cats whose owners leave them alone display signs of separation anxiety, as dogs do.

For instance, cats see an approach by an unfamiliar person or animal as a sign of uncertain intentions and, instead, initially greet others by showing a respect for distance, interacting when they are ready – explaining why cats often quickly withdraw from those that walk right up to them to try and say hello.

A study published in 2013 in the journal PLOS ONE found that dogs similarly cling to their owners as a haven of safety when a threatening stranger is near.

The outcomes confirmed that whereas cats may favor to work together with their proprietor, they don’t depend on them for reassurance when in an unfamiliar setting, and the researchers consider that is due to the character of the species as a largely unbiased and solitary hunter.

It’s also possible that cats simply don’t wear their emotions on their fur, so to speak, and that another test might better gauge their attachment to owners, Mills said. The goal of their study was to determine why cats are less bonded to humans than dogs. They cuddle; they play, greet their owners, sulk when left alone and at times beg for attention just as one might expect from a creature that is part of a family.

Nevertheless, past papers suggested that cats too are distressed when their master is missing for hours, and some of them even show signs of separation anxiety.