Monday, September 7, 2015

Your cat's just not that into you

This is my cat. She currently lives with my sister back in Canada, while I live 3000 miles away in London. I've often wondered if my cat misses me and whether or not she will be happy to see me when I come visit. Apparently, the answer is no.

Researchers have long known about parent-child attachment, which relates to safety and security between a vulnerable individual and a carer. Attachment tests have been adapted to study relationships between other species (like chimps and dogs) and their carers. Since, as many cat-owners will tell you, cats are as much a member of the family as any child or dog, researchers at the University of Lincoln (Lincolnshire UK) sought to study attachment styles between cats and their owners.