Neuroscientist Dr Paul Zak, who examined the results, said: ‘From this sample it’s true to say that these dogs love their owners five times more than the cats do.’
Dogs are, in effect, wolves, which are pack animals that imprint on the alpha male and female. Genetically, then, it makes sense that they become attached to an owner who takes the role of the alpha male or female. Since that trait already existed when semi-domestic wolf-dogs began to stay with a tribe for sustenance and protection , it also makes sense that it would be reinforced--that a tribe member would be attracted to a wold-dog that imprinted dramatically on him or her. And the feedback loop continued.
Every species of cat I am aware of other than lions are solitary animals that don't stay in packs, and don't imprint on anything. Back when wolf-dogs were domesticating, wild cats still had the capacity to fend for themselves by killing wild animals, and also didn't have the genetic "training" to follow a master.
Big surprise, 10 or 20 or 30 thousand years later, dogs have learned to imprint on a human in behavior that looks like "love," while most cats are perfectly (or purrfectly) content to go their own ways with only modest amount of close human contact. There are exceptions on the cat side, but it is rare that one has the same type of bond with a person as most human-owned dogs.
Takes our clothes when we leave and lays on then until we get home and since the kids are grown up she is the only one who gets excited when we get home anymore like a little child.
The cat we had years back I swear was Damian reincarnated. Evil as evil can be
All you cat lovers leave your doors open tonight and report back how many came back. I know of 1
They made a song about cats coming back. If you only know of one cat that has returned you really know very few cats or know very little on the subject. Either way I'd re-think expressing an opinion on the topic until you learn more.
I have had four cats. All of them have gotten out. All of them have come back. My friend had three that were all indoor / outdoor cats and would go in and out as they please. Now you know 8 and I could go on and on. Indoor / outdoor cats are very common.
I am amused by the sterotypes on here. Cats are individuals. Some love their human companions a lot, some dont. Some show it better than others. Some are sweet, some are mean, some are scared of everything.
Trying to tell cat owners that their pets don't love them when you know nothing of the particular cat or the relationship is ignorant and really pretty nasty. But you know that already which is why You made the statement.
I would've liked to see mention of a control group Â
Where cats and dogs received attention from a random person. That way you can see whether or not they were simply responding to attention and affection, or if it was indeed a response to the specific owner.
I'd say dogs NEED their owners 5 or 10 times more than cats do.
Cats are far stranger creatures than dogs. We now have only one cat who is skittish and will almost never seek you out for affection. We recently also had a orange tabby (redheads are indeed crazy) who thought he was a dog. He would chase deer, get into fights with dogs (and usually inflict damage), park himself on your lap and usually slept between my wife and I on his side with his head resting on her pillow. He used up every one of his nine lives and racked up nice vet bills for doing stupid things like eating fake flowers, chewing on electrical cords (lost half his tongue on that one) and getting hit by at least 3 cars...with the last car encounter doing him in a year ago. I loved that cat more than any other dog or cat I have ever had.
It's interesting that so many people believe an animal being around Â
I've had a number of each over the decades. All the dogs were very affectionate. Some of the cats were just as affectionate as the dogs and some were not.
while they are very young, or they will never be completely trusting of a human, no matter how much affection/comfort you give them.
Dogs have a little more leeway.
I believe that if a kitten experiences no human contact before hitting seven or eight weeks it will, for all intents and purposes, be a wild animal for life.
The cat is better than the dog. He comes when called always. He's the first one to greet me when I get home. He licks my hand when I bend down to pet him. He stands in the corner of the shower every single time I shower. He's really the best animal I've ever seen. He loves people and we let him out in the hallways and he comes back when we call him. Maybe growing up around 2 labs helped but he might be the greatest cat to walk the planet.
To sum it up. Dogs are better becaus this cat acts like a dog. That says it all.
she and her mom just showed up in our yard one day. The mom walked right into our house. I had to trap Rusty to get her in side. She was a few months old, outside the window of when cats get acclimated to people. She was always skittish and attached herself to one of my other cats. When he died, she became more affectionate. She was such a sweet cat. You can tame a feral, it just takes a lot of time and patience.
And if 50lb cats just roamed around everywhere, there would be attacks Â
all the time. Not sure you all understand specious. Cats never lose that wildness. They are pure killers. Some dogs are but it can be trained and bred out of them or in them.
The sweetest nicest friendliest cat is a killer at heart.
My Golden retriever couldn't kill anything.
RE: And if 50lb cats just roamed around everywhere, there would be attacks Â
all the time. Not sure you all understand specious. Cats never lose that wildness. They are pure killers. Some dogs are but it can be trained and bred out of them or in them.
The sweetest nicest friendliest cat is a killer at heart.
My Golden retriever couldn't kill anything.
Still waiting for a relevant point to be made here.
was fostered with lots of other animals and caring humans. The combo of being raised in very early life with other animals and kind people, and personality will lead to a very docile cat. I also think males are more docile than females. MY boy is like a dog. He speaks when spoken to. He fetches. He shows affection etc...
My cat should love me, I just spent $1000 on him at the vet. Had a blocked bladder. Now he's home and I just gave him his pain meds. Cats on drugs are weird.
My cat should love me, I just spent $1000 on him at the vet. Had a blocked bladder. Now he's home and I just gave him his pain meds. Cats on drugs are weird.
I find male cats more affectionate than females.
this happened to my cat twice in a month. It wasn't cheap. He has been good since the prescription food.
And thanks for the compliment. He is quite a nice looking animal. haha
Dogs are, in effect, wolves, which are pack animals that imprint on the alpha male and female. Genetically, then, it makes sense that they become attached to an owner who takes the role of the alpha male or female. Since that trait already existed when semi-domestic wolf-dogs began to stay with a tribe for sustenance and protection , it also makes sense that it would be reinforced--that a tribe member would be attracted to a wold-dog that imprinted dramatically on him or her. And the feedback loop continued.
Every species of cat I am aware of other than lions are solitary animals that don't stay in packs, and don't imprint on anything. Back when wolf-dogs were domesticating, wild cats still had the capacity to fend for themselves by killing wild animals, and also didn't have the genetic "training" to follow a master.
Big surprise, 10 or 20 or 30 thousand years later, dogs have learned to imprint on a human in behavior that looks like "love," while most cats are perfectly (or purrfectly) content to go their own ways with only modest amount of close human contact. There are exceptions on the cat side, but it is rare that one has the same type of bond with a person as most human-owned dogs.
Not complicated.
The cat we had years back I swear was Damian reincarnated. Evil as evil can be
They made a song about cats coming back. If you only know of one cat that has returned you really know very few cats or know very little on the subject. Either way I'd re-think expressing an opinion on the topic until you learn more.
I have had four cats. All of them have gotten out. All of them have come back. My friend had three that were all indoor / outdoor cats and would go in and out as they please. Now you know 8 and I could go on and on. Indoor / outdoor cats are very common.
I am amused by the sterotypes on here. Cats are individuals. Some love their human companions a lot, some dont. Some show it better than others. Some are sweet, some are mean, some are scared of everything.
Trying to tell cat owners that their pets don't love them when you know nothing of the particular cat or the relationship is ignorant and really pretty nasty. But you know that already which is why You made the statement.
Cats are far stranger creatures than dogs. We now have only one cat who is skittish and will almost never seek you out for affection. We recently also had a orange tabby (redheads are indeed crazy) who thought he was a dog. He would chase deer, get into fights with dogs (and usually inflict damage), park himself on your lap and usually slept between my wife and I on his side with his head resting on her pillow. He used up every one of his nine lives and racked up nice vet bills for doing stupid things like eating fake flowers, chewing on electrical cords (lost half his tongue on that one) and getting hit by at least 3 cars...with the last car encounter doing him in a year ago. I loved that cat more than any other dog or cat I have ever had.
Dogs have a little more leeway.
Dogs have a little more leeway.
I believe that if a kitten experiences no human contact before hitting seven or eight weeks it will, for all intents and purposes, be a wild animal for life.
Have a Golden retriever now. Dog is crazy co-dependant like a stalker.
And I have had some great cats.
And I have had some great cats.
That's why we don't keep Tigers, Lions, Leopards, Lynxes, etc. as pets. It's a specious argument.
To sum it up. Dogs are better becaus this cat acts like a dog. That says it all.
Um. That cat sounds like a perv...
Good point. It's not really "love" on the dog's part, it's ... being a dog. They are great companions though.
I'm allergic to cats so I've never lived with them much. I think they're cool (in several meanings of that word), definitely very different from dogs.
And I have had some great cats.
You do realize that people do keep larger cat species that are around 50lbs as pets, right?
The sweetest nicest friendliest cat is a killer at heart.
My Golden retriever couldn't kill anything.
The sweetest nicest friendliest cat is a killer at heart.
My Golden retriever couldn't kill anything.
Still waiting for a relevant point to be made here.
I find male cats more affectionate than females.
I find male cats more affectionate than females.
this happened to my cat twice in a month. It wasn't cheap. He has been good since the prescription food.
And thanks for the compliment. He is quite a nice looking animal. haha