The special relationship between cats and humans: they are not attached more to the house than to their owners

Some cats may seem a little more reserved than dogs, but deep down — very deep down — they respond to humans in the same way as their ancient enemies, according to a new study. Research conducted at Oregon State University provides irrefutable evidence that cats can form secure or insecure bonds with their owners.

In the study of human attachment behavior, researchers examine how infants reacted when reunited with their parent or caregiver after a short absence. When reunited, securely attached babies return to exploring their environment in a calm manner. About 65% of infants have a secure attachment. But insecurely attached babies either avoid their parents or cling to them like velcro. After conducting these experiments on babies, dogs, and primates, the researchers wanted to see how cats would behave in tests. Let’s if a cat truly attached more to the house than the owner.

Unbelievably, the test results were very similar

Both adults and kittens spend 2 minutes in a room with their owner or caretaker. That person then leaves the room for 2 minutes and returns for another 2 minutes. This is called a safe base test.

About 65% of cats bond securely with their owners. (For dogs, this is 58%.) The results show that adults are also able to bond securely with their owners, not just kittens. Such cats continue to explore their surroundings even after the arrival of humans. But of course they also keep an eye on the owner. Insecurely attached cats showed signs of stress, such as tail twitching, lip licking, avoidance of the owner or, on the contrary, excessive attachment.

Cats and dogs differ in almost everything, but they have one thing in common

“Like dogs, cats display social flexibility in regard to their attachments with humans.” — said Kristyn Vitale, study author and researcher at Oregon State University’s Human-Animal Interaction Lab.

“The majority of cats are securely attached to their owner and use them as a source of security in a novel environment. Even kittens who went through a 6-week socialization training course did not shift their bond with their owner. Once an attachment style has been established between the cat and its caregiver, it appears to remain relatively stable over time. Even after a training and socialization intervention. Cats that are insecure can be likely to run and hide or seem to act aloof. There’s long been a biased way of thinking that all cats behave this way. But it is true that the majority of cats use their owner as a source of security. Your cat is depending on you to feel secure when they are stressed out.” — explained dr. Vitale.

This discovery gives hope for the rehoming and integration of shelter cats. Many prospective owners want to adopt, but instead buy from a breeder, because they are not sure that they would be able to form a deep relationship due to the kitten’s past.

So the urban myth that a cat attached to the house more seems refuted

Even as children, we often heard the saying that the cat is not attached to its owner, but to the house. They get their sense of security from the property and otherwise see people only as servants or a source of food. We have somehow always felt that it should be more than that, and now we are very proud to be able to say: we said it!

And to go even further, a 2017 study by Dr. Vitale even proved that cats value contact with their preferred person more than toys and food. Of course, we are talking about cats, so the emphasis is on the word “preferred”.