Adorable research is showing that kittens bond the same way human infants do. Structured off of a 1960’s experiment on babies, the team found very similar attachment patterns to their caregivers.
Via Nova:
“A lot of people have these stereotypes about cats, that they’re aloof or solitary,” says Kristyn Vitale, an animal psychologist at Oregon State University. “But they [also] use their owners as a source of security when they’re stressed out.”
Vitale’s newest paper, published today in the journal Current Biology, may suggest exactly that. Using a version of the Strange Situation adapted for domesticated felines and their human companions, she and her colleagues have found that the majority of cats tested appear to establish a secure bond with their caretakers—similar to the way that babies (and dogs) do, they argue.
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