Cats do love their humans

Good news for cat owners: Your pet really does care about you. Cats have long been stigmatized as Machiavellian loners who regard their owners as little more than a useful source of food. But researchers at Oregon State University have found that cats can bond with us just as strongly as dogs or infants do. To analyze the human-feline relationship, scientists recruited 117 cats and their owners to take part in a “strange situation” test. To start, a cat and its owner entered an unfamiliar room together. After two minutes, the owner walked out. When the owner returned, two minutes later, scientists observed the cat’s response. Some two-thirds of the kitties went to greet their owners, then went back to exploring the room. Those animals were securely attached to their owners, researchers concluded, using them as a safe base in an unfamiliar situation. One-third of the felines showed insecure attachment, shunning their owners or clinging to them when they returned. Studies of dogs and children have yielded similar results, with 65 percent of infants and 58 percent of dogs showing a secure attachment to caregivers. “The more we find out about cats,” lead author Kristyn Vitale tells The New York Times, “the more we’re seeing that they are social creatures.” ■