Felines are more independent than dogs and don't miss you when you're gone, study reveals

• Dogs and children form a 'secure attachment' to their primary caregivers
• Researchers wanted to discover if cats formed the same bond 
• They put cats in unusual situations with strangers and recorded reactions
• Study found that cats don't suffer from separation anxiety like dogs do - and their wailing may instead simply be a sign of frustration

By Victoria Woollaston for MailOnline

3 September 2015

Researchers have found that cats don't see their owners as a source of safety and security in the same way dogs do, making them more independent

Dogs are well known for being loyal and devoted companions, while their feline counterparts are typically aloof and detached. 

Now researchers have discovered that this is because cats don't see their owners as a source of safety and security in the same way dogs do, making them much more independent and less reliant. 

In particular, they found cats don't suffer from separation anxiety and any noise they make when their owner leaves is more likely to be out of boredom or frustration.

The study was led by Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine at the University of Lincoln's School of Life Sciences. 

He explained that while it is increasingly recognised cats are more social and more capable of shared relationships than previously thought, this latest research shows adult cats are more autonomous - even in their social relationships.

This means they don't necessarily depend on others to provide a sense of protection.

A test known as the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST) has been widely used to demonstrate that the bond between children and dogs to their primary carer typically meets the requirements of what's known as a 'secure attachment.'

This is defined as the carer being seen as the focus of safety and security in otherwise threatening situations.

By developing an adapted version of the SST, Professor Mills and his colleague Alice Potter from the RSPCA were able to test this theory on cats. 

During the experiments, the researchers observed the relationships between 20 cats and their owners, placing the pets in an unfamiliar environment together with their owner, with a stranger and also on their own. 

A test known as the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST) has been widely used to demonstrate that the bond between children and dogs to their primary carer typically meets the requirements of what's known as a 'secure attachment.' By developing an adapted version of the SST, researchers could test this theory on cats

The researchers observed the 20 cats and their owners, placing the pets in an unfamiliar environment together with their owner, with a stranger and on their own (setup pictured). Although the cats were more vocal when the owner left, there was no evidence to suggest the bond between a cat and its owner is a 'secure attachment'

In varying scenarios, it assessed three different characteristics of attachment including the amount of contact sought by the cat, the level of passive behaviour, and signs of distress caused by the absence of the owner.  

'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,' said Professor Mills.

'This vocalisation might simply be a sign of frustration or learned response, since no other signs of attachment were reliably seen. 

He continued that he would have expected the cats in the strange situations to stay close to their carer, show signs of distress when they are separated and 'demonstrate pleasure when their attachment figure returns', but these trends weren't seen.

Professor Mills continued: 'Previous research has suggested that some cats show signs of separation anxiety when left alone by their owners, in the same way that dogs do, but the results of our study show that they are in fact much more independent than canine companions.

'It seems that what we interpret as separation anxiety might actually be signs of frustration.' 

'For pet dogs, their owners often represent a specific safe haven; however it is clear that domestic cats are much more autonomous when it comes to coping with unusual situations. 

'Our findings don't disagree with the notion that cats develop social preferences or close relationships, but they do show that these relationships do not appear to be typically based on a need for safety and security.  

The results of the study reveal that while cats might prefer to interact with their owner, they do not rely on them for reassurance when in an unfamiliar environment, and the researchers believe this is because of the nature of the species as a largely independent and solitary hunter. 

The findings are published in the journal Plos One.  

Read more:

• www.plosone.org/...

SO THAT'S WHY DOGS HATE CATS! 

You may think your dog has an irrational hatred of cats, but their instinct to chase felines out of their territory might be more reasonable than you think.

Fossils have revealed the two species have a rocky past after the introduction of cats to the Americas had a devastating effect on the continent's species of wild dogs.

In fact, it is thought that competition from cats caused up to 40 species of dog to become extinct in the region millions of years ago.

The introduction of cats from Asia into the Americas 18.5 million years ago is thought to have drastically decreased the biodiversity of dogs, according to researchers.

Competition for food from ancient felines is said to have played an even more important role than climate change in eliminating dog species on the continent.

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