Face it, your cat doesn't care about you: Felines rarely help owners

"This suggests that domestication, sharing our home, and forming close bonds are not sufficient to produce spontaneous, human-like helping behaviour. The findings, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, are likely explained by the fact that cats 'domesticated themselves' and were never selectively bred for their cooperation."

"While dogs were selectively bred for their ability to cooperate with humans - like in herding or hunting - cats were never specifically chosen for their ability to be helpful. Analysis of the data showed that while up to 60 per cent of dogs and nearly half of children approached the objects to indicate where they were hidden, none of the cats did."

Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University compared how untrained pet dogs, pet cats, and toddlers responded when a familiar person searched for a hidden object. Over three-quarters of dogs and children indicated the object's location or retrieved it, displaying similar helping behavior. Cats, however, rarely provided assistance despite paying attention to the situation, except when the hidden item was their favorite treat or toy. Scientists attribute this difference to domestication patterns: dogs were selectively bred for cooperation with humans through herding and hunting, while cats essentially domesticated themselves and were never specifically chosen for helpfulness. The study suggests that simply sharing homes and forming close bonds are insufficient to produce spontaneous human-like helping behavior in cats.

Read at Mail Online