Overview
- The Eötvös Loránd University study, published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, assessed whether cats show attachment to owners using established behavioral metrics.
- Each cat experienced short sessions with an owner, a stranger, both, or neither while researchers tracked proximity, watching behavior, greetings, and anxiety cues.
- Cats were no more likely to stay close to, seek out, or greet their owner than a stranger, leading authors to conclude there was no measurable cat–owner attachment under test conditions.
- Anxiety-related behaviors and acceptance of a friendly stranger differed little between owner and stranger, contrasting with prior dog studies that show strong owner-focused attachment.
- Authors interpret the findings as reflecting feline independence, while noting limits from the small therapy-cat sample and distinguishing owner recognition by scent from emotional dependence.