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January 2, 2014

In Response to: “Science Says: Cats Don’t Love their Owners.”

elephant journal recently shared an article that presumably proved that cats don’t really love their owners.

But, I have six cats (just under 2/3 the number of cats in the aforementioned study), and have done my own diligent research on these and several other cats over the years, and wanted to share with you some of my own findings:

And my studies conclude that cats do in fact love their owners.

No, it is not just food that motivates these felines as was portrayed in the prior, and sadly flawed study. My research clearly conveys, that while cats are admittedly different from dogs, they can be just as loving towards their owners.

In addition, my results may actually unlock certain clues that hint toward the fact that many cats may actually be smarter than dogs—gasp!

First, some background on the origins of the members in my current experimental cat group:

I’m a tad embarrassed to admit to the quantity, but I love and am truly loved back by my very own six cats! All of us living in a smallish three bedroom townhouse with three kids and a husband.

We originally had two cats, but, sadly one was called to kitty-heaven. Thus we looked for a kitten—mainly to sooth the painfully obvious grief of the lone cat that was left behind. But the new kitten we found and fell in love with came with a sibling attached as part of the arrangement. We took the package deal. Then there were three.

Eventually, I got the great idea to volunteer at my local Humane Society. One night the phone rang around 11PM; a hopeless and exasperated sounding lady was calling directly from the Humane Society Hotline and explained that there was an abandoned litter of three two-day-old kittens that would probably not make it. She could find no one to foster and raise the babies to the 10 weeks old point when they would become adoptable for others.

Of course I got into my car and picked the kittens up within the hour. I fed them and kept ’em warm. And what is known in the cat-fostering business as a ‘foster failure’ followed to occur in my home exactly ten weeks later. Then there were six.

And there you have it—the origins of my complete and current research group of six cats in total. And now for a look into the lives of a few of the cats in my study. . .

This is Baby, and he is the only male subject in my cat-posse-research group. He is definitely my daughter Serena’s cat. He will come howling to my room at night if she has a fever, and he has never even used a thermometer. Baby also follows Serena around the house and has to be in the room with her when she showers.

When Serena leaves for school in the morning, Baby needs to be consoled just like an infant missing his mommy. And he runs into her arms when she arrives home each day wanting to be held on her chest, much like a puppy might, but more intensely. You can clearly see the love that they share in this photo.

 

 

Baby has also lets Serena dress him up in just about anything without a complaint. He is quite the patient and sweet guy-cat. Here he is loving life as a hippy! Dig?

 

 

 

 

Let me now introduce you to Pink, the cat, caught in the act of stealing my necklace and laughing in my face about it in this very next picture!

Pink takes things out of and puts things back into my purse, drawers and a variety of other places. She specializes mainly in jewelry, hairclip and rubber band theft.

Sometimes she puts her spoils in her food or water dish, but other days she takes the stopper out of the sink and drops her booty down the drain. (A much more evolved trick than burying a bone, I deduce.)

Once Serena lost her peace-sign necklace. My husband took the sink apart and viola! It was stuck in the U-Tube, under the sink. Yes, Pink is extremely smart and it can be in-fur-iating at times!

 

In addition to being a kleptomani-cat, Pink is also very affectionate.

She prefers to be held when she is not either on your lap or sitting beside you. Luckily, I had saved a baby sling for sentimental reasons, but now make great use of it when carrying Pink around the house.

She especially loves to cook with my husband or me while being carried close and with a good vantage point of all that is going on from the sling. She really hates being left out of anything!

Pink also loves to greet me if I have just come into the house or a room where she has been. We enjoy taking catnaps together. She likes to be spooned as much as any other tenderhearted lover.

 

The following picture features Lily, the beautiful lover. Every morning at 4:30 AM, Lily climbs onto my chest and starts kneading her paws, snuggling me and purring.

Lily possesses the amazing ability to be so darn cute that just looking at her makes me love her.

I’m absolutely sure she feels the same about me. (Especially at 4:30 AM since cats have great night vision.) Yep, it can now pretty much be written down in the research journals as another scientifically proven fact that cats do give love without expecting anything but love in return.

I could go on and on about my other fur-babies and their various abilities and loving traits—opening cupboards and drawers, playing fetch, gathering around me or my family members when one of us cries, etc. . . but I feel that I have pretty much stated the majority of my findings and proved my research through the examples given above.

And there you have it. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt that cats do love their owners!

But don’t just take it from me, as there are other personal studies that have been done. I especially recommend the researcher in the following video who relies on concrete and irrefutable signals from her cats to gage their love and commitment levels:

 

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photos: courtesy of the author

 

 

 

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