Why do many people think cats are “Indifferent”?

Dogs seem to be born unable to hide their emotions – they sit restless, sniff, and wag their tails to show satisfaction, nervousness, or pure joy. We can easily see through their minds.

Cats’ body language is also complex – quivering tails, wrinkled fur, ears and beards all reveal their emotional state. Snoring usually (but not always) represents kindness or satisfaction. In general, we can use body language to tell if the cat in front of us is funny.

It is well known that dogs are close to humans. Cats that have been domesticated for thousands of years still seem to need to improve their public image. Many people think that independent character is a very bonus trait, but some people think that such a cat is too cold and selfish. Cat haters claim that cats are only close to humans when they are hungry.

Cats and cats must find these claims unfounded, insisting that cats, like dogs and dogs, have deep feelings for their owners. In this case, why do some people still think cats and cats are cold and unfriendly? Are they wrong?

To find out why cats don’t look friendly enough, you need to understand how they are domesticated first. Cats are domesticated more slowly than dogs, and unlike dogs.

About 10,000 years ago, the first domesticated cats appeared in Neolithic Middle Eastern villages. Cats at the time did not rely on humans to feed them, and humans guided them to guard the granaries to catch mice and other pests for a living. From the beginning, cats and humans are not as close as dogs, after all, dogs will help people hunt, share their prey.

Now curled up on the sofa, or looking down at your cat at the top of the bookshelf, it retains many pr-domesticated natures, such as hunting, touring territory, and mono-claiming; Humans have not yet fully domesticated the wildness of cats.

“Humans mostly misunderstand cats,” says Karen Hiestand, a veterinarian at the International Cat Care Center. Cats are domesticated for shorter periods of time, and their ancestors were not herd animals.

The family cat’s ancestor, the African wildcat, loved to live alone and only looked for the same species during mating. “The only celibacy animals domesticated by humans are cats, and the other domesticated animals are herd animals.”

Cats are so different, no wonder we misunderstand their message.

“Because cats are independent and take care of themselves, more and more people like to have cats, ” says Mr. Hirsted. But whether humans can accept a cat’s lifestyle is another matter entirely, and some people want cats to be like humans or dogs, but that’s impossible. ”

Although research on cat emotions and sociality lags far behind dogs, it has also grown in recent years. Most studies are still in their infancy, but have shown that the relationship between cats and humans is quite complex.

“The relationship between cats and humans varies widely by genes, and their closeness to humans depends on the experience of the first six or eight weeks of life, and if cats are happy with humans during this period, they may prefer humans to hang out with humans.”

Domestic cats and humans are different in their closeness. Stray cats that see humans or hide or escape are more like wild cats. In places such as the Mediterranean And Japan, some fishing villages are home to groups of stray cats who are friendly and cater to the people who feed them.

Cats that live with us are also different; some keep their distance from humans, others are very sticky.

What do we need to do if we want to be close to cats?

Like dogs, cats communicate primarily through body movements rather than sounds. “It’s harder for people to read a cat’s body language than it is for dogs,” says Kristyn Vitale, a doctoral student who studies cat behavior. But it’s clearly not to blame the cat.

Researchers at Portsmouth University in the UK have found that dogs can mimic babies’ expressions, which inspires love among their owners and is one of the main reasons why dogs are more likely to win over cats. The muscles around a dog’s eye raise the inner eyebrow – a capability not found in its ancestor wolf. “Dog’s Eye” is not a cliché, but an evolving advantage that strengthens the emotional connection between dogs and people.

Cats, however, don’t have that kind of muscle. The cat’s eyes looked a little cold and heartless, and the two cats’ eyes could be a harbinger of an imminent outing. But when cats slowly wink at you from the other side of the room, the meaning is completely different – they are expressing love. Turning your head to the other side doesn’t mean disdain, it’s relaxing.

Mr. Wytal did research at Oregon State University, where his owners left cats and dogs alone in their rooms before suddenly returning after a period of time. “Interestingly, most cats only come forward when their owners return, and then they explore the room alone and rarely return to their owners, but that’s pretty much the case with dogs.”

“We wouldn’t be so worried if the dog came back to its owner after running around the room and playing with the toys, ” Saytar said. The researchers call this phenomenon “safe attachment” – when the owner returns, both the cat and the dog calm down, indicating a strong emotional connection with the owner.

“Humans’ expectations of animals can affect their behavior,” Wytal said. “To expect cats to be as enthusiastic as dogs is to force them to go against their nature.

Part of the problem, says Mr. Hirsted, is that humans have been ignoring the fact that cats and dogs have different temperaments, and even long-trained experts are not immune. “In 2007, I was at a meeting and I felt like an idiot,” she says. I don’t know a lot of basic information about cats, such as where they like to separate where they eat and drink. The perspective of research is new, and once you realize that what you know about cats is wrong, you start learning interesting things. ”

Cats like to walk around people. Cats were previously thought to be marking territory, just as wild cats would grind on trees or signs to divide the territory. But in fact, cats are often a symbol of connection to each other – cats rub their smells on you and their smells on themselves. They’ll also be cat allies like this. Creating a “common smell” is a way for cats to distinguish between enemies and friends.

The key, says Mr. Hirsted, is that relaxed cats are more likely to make friends. “Food, water, and places to eat and drink Lazar are all satisfying before they are in a social mood.”

So, when you go home the next time you find your cat looking at you motionless on the couch, or lounging in the hallway yawning, don’t be disappointed, in fact, the cat is welcoming you home in its own way.