貓和主人的關系可能比狗更親

Many think of dogs as loyal， love-filled companions， and cats as cute beasts that tolerate us—but we might have to rethink about that a little. According to a 2019 research， cats can get just as bonded to their human friends as dogs do.

很多人認為狗很忠誠，是特別友愛的好伙伴，而貓很可愛，但只是在容忍我們。其實我們可能得重新考慮一下。2019年的一項研究顯示，貓和狗跟人類朋友是一樣親近的。

This may not come as a huge surprise to those who live with cat companions， but it suggests two important things. Firstly， it looks like weve underestimated the depth of the bond cats can form with their people. Additionally， it shows that dogs dont have a monopoly on secure social bonding with Homo sapiens.

聽到這個，養貓的人可能不會太驚訝，但我們從中能看出兩個要點。首先，我們好像低估了貓和人的親近程度。而且研究表明狗并非唯一和人類有親密關系的動物。

“Like dogs， cats display social flexibility in regard to their attachments with humans，” said animal scientist Kristyn Vitale of Oregon State University in September 2019.

2019年9月，俄勒岡州立大學動物科學家Kristyn Vitale說：“貓和狗一樣會靈活地跟人類建立關系。”

“The majority of cats are securely attached to their owner and use them as a source of security in a novel environment.”

“大部分的貓和主人的關系很親密，在陌生環境中只有主人能給他們安全感。”

In their behavioural experiment， the research team observed how cats respond to their owners in a strange environment. Previous research on rhesus monkeys （the controversial wire mother experiments reported in 1958） and dogs （a much more ethically sound experiment reported last year） had shown that both species form secure and insecure attachments.

研究團隊在行為實驗中觀察了貓在陌生環境中對主人的反應。此前對恒河猴（1958年報導的頗具爭議的鐵絲媽媽實驗）和狗（同年報導的一個更具有道德的實驗）進行的研究表明這兩個物種都能建立親密和不親密的關系。

In a secure attachment， a dog in a strange environment will， upon being reunited with their humans， relax and continue to explore. An insecure attachment， on the other hand， will see the dog continue exhibiting stress behaviour， either clinging excessively to the human， or avoiding them as much as possible.

有親密關系的狗狗在陌生環境中和主人團聚后很放松，會繼續探索。而沒有親密關系的狗狗會一直很緊張，要么過分依賴人類，要么盡力躲避人類。

This new study suggests that cats have the ability and the necessary traits to form deep social bonds with humans. Its just that they may express themselves in their own special way.

這項新研究表明貓具備和人類建立親密關系的能力和特征，只不過它們有自己獨特的表現方式。

Vocabulary

tolerate? v. 忍受;容忍;包容

flexibility? n. 靈活性; 伸縮性; 可塑度

security? n. 保護措施;安全工作;擔保;保證

controversial? adj. 有爭議的，引起爭議的

excessively? adv. 過度地; 過分地; 極度地;

trait? n. 特征，特性，特點