#OWHAT? When your cat thinks you’re just a big cat..
Thursday, September 14, 2017
We probably all wonder what our
cats think of us. And many of us probably also wonder “does my cat love me
back?” Some cats are very affectionate towards their human caretakers (lucky
you!), while other cats treat their “hoomans” like their private butlers.
According to John Bradshaw, a
cat-behavior expert at the University of Bristol, cats see us as big, clumsy
and non-hostile cats. With an excellent taste in food of course.
Bradshaw
studied domestic cats for over 30 years, and his conclusion is that cats are
essentially still wild. Cats were never bred to fulfil a specific role (like
with dogs and hunting for example), so they never went through a big
evolutionary change.
“The
interaction of cats with human is mostly driven by pure instinct. Especially in
comparing to dogs, where it’s very much about learned behaviour”, Bradshaw
says. “When a cat “kneads” on our lap, it’s because he or she want to give a
message for the mother cats to keep the milk flowing. Rubbing up against our
legs or hands is a very clear way of treating you like as other cat; to show
their affection to us”.
Fun
fact: cat breeds that are bred intensively and are very dependent on humans,
are also very affectionate towards us. Take Persians for example; they would
never survive without us. They need to be groomed/brushed daily and their ears
and eyes need to be cleaned.
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