Does a cat bond with its owners?

There is a very common idea of ​​cats that “live on their own” and have absolutely no sympathy for the owners. However, many cat owners will not agree with this opinion. And it is impossible to deny that many cats love the people with whom they live under the same roof. But is a cat attached to its owner?

Photo: wikimedia.org

First of all, it is worth deciding what attachment is and how it differs from love.

Love is an emotional connection with another being, and cats experience emotions, which means they are able to experience love for people. But attachment to the owner is not only an emotional connection. It is also the perception of the owner as a security base.

security base – this is someone (or something) with which the animal seeks to maintain contact, to whom (what) it runs when it feels insecure or afraid, and is very upset in separation. Having a base of safety gives the animal confidence and encourages them to explore new objects or environments.

And if for dogs the safety base is undoubtedly the owner (and only then can we say that attachment has been formed), for the cat the safety base is the territory that the purr considers his own.

Unlike love, affection is something that can be measured. To do this, psychologists have created a test. It was originally used for children, but later began to be used by animal researchers.

The animal in the company of the owner is in an unfamiliar room with toys. Then a stranger enters the same room. The owner goes out and then comes back (like the stranger). And researchers observe how the animal behaves in the presence and absence of the owner and / or stranger, as well as how it perceives the stranger’s attempts to establish contact.

And when the test was carried out with cats, no signs of attachment to the owner were found. The cat could play both with the owner and with a stranger, the presence / absence of the owner did not depend on how confidently the cat explores the new environment.

Moreover, sometimes cats paid more attention to the stranger than to the owner. This is probably due to the peculiarities of cats’ communication: it is important for them to exchange smells when they get acquainted with a new “object”. And therefore, for example, cats often began to rub against a stranger.

The only thing is that some cats meowed a little more at the door when the owner left. But, apparently, this is due to the fact that the presence of the owner adds an element of “familiar environment” to an unfamiliar environment. However, as the cat got used to the room, this behavior disappeared.

So a cat can love the owner, but still attached to the territory.

In the photo: a cat and a man. Photo: www.pxhere.com

By the way, for this reason, cats do not suffer from separation anxiety, that is, they do not experience suffering when the owner leaves the house. Normally, the cat perceives the absence of the owner quite calmly.

If you notice that your cat is nervous when you are about to leave, this may be a serious signal that he is not well.

Probably, only the owner can ensure the safety of the pet in this territory, and in his absence, for example, a dog can attack a cat or offend one of the family members. In any case, it is necessary to find out what is the cause of discomfort for the cat and eliminate it.