In the debate of Cats vs. Dogs, the correct answer is yes. But for those who think they have to pick a side, many use the argument that cats aren’t as affectionate or trainable as dogs. The aloofness of felines is infamous, but a recent experiment might prove that’s we’ve been wrong all these years!
Daily Mail reported on a study of 50 cats that’s found that felines prefer spending time with humans to eating food and playing with toys. Researchers from Oregon State University monitored the behavior of cats taken from their owners’ homes as well as animal shelters as part of their study. To find out what cats most enjoy doing, the researchers left the animals without food, toys and any human interaction for several hours (heartless, I know. But it’s for a good cause!). The researchers then presented the cats with four different kinds of stimulation: including human interaction, food, scent and toys. All were presented at same time and the felines choose their favorite. OSU found that although cats had different preferences, most cats preferred to socialize with humans than eat food.
Yes, I’m using this opportunity to show off how cute my cat is.
Sounds crazy, right? You let a dog choose between treats and pets, for the most part you know where Fido is going to go. But while 37% of the cats show preference to food, they came in second to the 50% that wanted human interaction.
But if cats want to chill with us more often than not, why do they have such a bad rep? One of the researchers wrote in a paper: “This disconnect may be due, in part, to a lack of knowledge of what stimuli cats prefer, and thus may be most motivated to work for.” Basically, humans are reading the room wrong in regards to what cats really want. Researchers even when on to say that this could be a sort of breakthrough in training cats!
Can you even imagine a cats obeying the sit command?
Okay, maybe that’s pushing it. Still cute though!
