I love farm cats.  Self sufficient, catch the mice, live in the barn, don’t need no stinking cat box kind of cats.  The kind who have their kittens in the hay loft, who can catch and eat anything that moves including small dogs and who stop by to be petted-maybe-on their way to more important things.  House cats, urban cats, all other cats – not so much.  And the truth is absolutely NONE of the cats gives a rip about me—or you!Think I’m kidding or exaggerating?  New data says probably not.  The Daily Mail reports researchers from the University of Lincoln’s School of Life Sciences adapted a version of the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST).  Huh?  That is a test that has been widely used to demonstrate bonds between children and dogs to their primary caregiver and now applied to cats and their owners.

Twenty cats were put in unfamiliar environments with both their owner, then with a stranger, and then on their own. They then assessed the amount of contact sought by the cat, the level of passive behavior, and signs of distress caused by the absence of the owner in different situations.   You can see where this is going can’t you?

Study leaders say although the cats got more vocal when their owners left as opposed to a stranger, the vocalization might be a sign of frustration or learned response, as NO other signs of attachment were seen!

The cat whispers conclude that cats develop social preferences or r

ALEXANDER UTKIN/AFP/Getty Images
ALEXANDER UTKIN/AFP/Getty Images
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elationships, but that these relationships do not appear to be typically based on a need for safety and security.” (Daily Mail)

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