Honors College Thesis
 

Attachment Bonds Between Cohabitant Pairs of Domestic Cats and Their Owners

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/mw22vd17v

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  • Domestic cats have been shown to form secure attachment bonds with humans, allowing them to use their owners as a secure base and giving them comfort and confidence when exploring an unfamiliar environment. Many cat owners believe that cohabitation with other cats is beneficial for their pets, and that cohabitant cats offer comfort in the owner’s absence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attachment behavior of cohabitant cats and compare this to bonds with their owners. Eighteen cat dyads (36 individual cats) underwent a modified secure base test with six stages in order to observe their behavior, both alone and with the owner or cohabitant cat present. Attachment styles were assigned to each cat-human and cat-cat pair, and behavior was measured through coding of recorded video of each session. While evidence of attachment bonding between cohabitant cats was observed, cats were found to be more soothed by and more likely to form secure attachment bonds with their owners. However, there is also evidence that some soothing effects occur as a result of a cohabitant cat’s presence. These findings help expand our understanding of cat social cognition and their ability to bond in both intraspecific and interspecific relationships.
  • Key Words: Cat attachment, cat behavior, cohabitant cats, human-animal interactions
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  • Pending Publication
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  • 2021-06-03 to 2023-07-04

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