Cats are often considered distant and capricious in their feelings. Research conducted by experts from the University of Oklahoma suggests that cats survive the death of other pets, including dogs.
Brittany Greene and Jennifer Vonk of the University of Oklahoma interviewed 412 cat owners about changes in their behavior after losing another animal in the same home. In an article published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science, they say that cat grief is very similar to that experienced by humans. Its symptoms include sleep problems and loss of appetite.
“The cats were less engaged in sleeping, eating and playing, and more in seeking the attention of people and other pets, hiding, spending time alone and apparently searching for their lost companions,” the experts wrote.
Cats are in mourning
According to the authors of the article, the longer a cat lived with another animal, the more often the caregivers reported a change in its behavior after the death of the other pet. However, as they pointed out, the experience of mourning was not affected by whether the cat was present at the death of the other animal, nor by the number of animals in the house. According to the scientists, the results of the study challenge the common view that cats are unsociable animals. They also indicate that the psychological experience of loss may be universal.
– Unlike dogs, we tend to think that cats are aloof and unsociable – Jennifer Vonk told the American weekly “Time”. However, she noted that in the wild, cats tend to group together and create hierarchies. – I think we misjudged them – she added. The American study is the second known research project in the world that looks at the reaction of domestic cats to the death of another animal that is their companion at home.
The Guardian, PAP, sciencedirect.com
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