猫和主人的关系可能比狗更亲

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.

很多人认为狗很忠诚，是特别友爱的好伙伴，而猫很可爱，但只是在容忍我们。其实我们可能得重新考虑一下。2019年的一项研究显示，猫和狗跟人类朋友是一样亲近的。

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.

听到这个，养猫的人可能不会太惊讶，但我们从中能看出两个要点。首先，我们好像低估了猫和人的亲近程度。而且研究表明狗并非唯一和人类有亲密关系的动物。

“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，俄勒冈州立大学动物科学家Kristyn Vitale说：“猫和狗一样会灵活地跟人类建立关系。”

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

“大部分的猫和主人的关系很亲密，在陌生环境中只有主人能给他们安全感。”

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.

研究团队在行为实验中观察了猫在陌生环境中对主人的反应。此前对恒河猴（1958年报导的颇具争议的铁丝妈妈实验）和狗（同年报导的一个更具有道德的实验）进行的研究表明这两个物种都能建立亲密和不亲密的关系。

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.

有親密关系的狗狗在陌生环境中和主人团聚后很放松，会继续探索。而没有亲密关系的狗狗会一直很紧张，要么过分依赖人类，要么尽力躲避人类。

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.

这项新研究表明猫具备和人类建立亲密关系的能力和特征，只不过它们有自己独特的表现方式。

Vocabulary

tolerate  v. 忍受;容忍;包容

flexibility  n. 灵活性; 伸缩性; 可塑度

security  n. 保护措施;安全工作;担保;保证

controversial  adj. 有争议的，引起争议的

excessively  adv. 过度地; 过分地; 极度地;

trait  n. 特征，特性，特点