Why are cats the only ones among the cat family that become human pets?

I believe that many cat owners would think that cats are magical little animals. They are a great source of happiness in contemporary human life and are a must-have pet for winners in life!

When you are woken up by it sitting on your butt in the middle of the night; when the table you have worked hard to clean is overturned by it with one claw; when the paper towel you just changed is messed up by it in an instant; but as long as you look at it, all your anger will disappear in that instant...

How do cats reach the maximum level of friendliness? Are they born to be so clingy? In fact, many netizens have also said that cats seem to have very independent personalities, but how can such independent cats become human pets?

Is it possible that the independence of cats is just an illusion? In fact, as the smallest animal in the cat family, cats can become human pets for a certain reason. Today, let's talk about our cats!

01. First, we use the human sympathy triggering trait (baby schema)

Studies have found that cats are very attractive.

Although cats are close relatives of tigers, lions, leopards and other creatures that make humans tremble, they are small and cute: their chubby faces and soft bodies can be said to trigger our human nature of pitying the young, and naturally make people addicted to them.

Konrad Lorenz, Nobel Prize winner and originator of the theory of infantile traits

Compassion for children is a very interesting thing, and some mechanisms for regulating brain feedback have been discovered.

02. The second is to please humans

In fact, in order to attract and please humans, cats and even many animals have begun to learn to change.

For example, cats have even evolved the skill of slow blinking. In a study by the University of Portsmouth, researchers studied the blinking interaction between owners and cats. When the owner tried to look at the cat with a relaxed smile and blink, the cat would respond with the same behavior, which is not easy for felines.

You have to know that in nature, closing your eyes when facing an animal that is many times larger than you is a very dangerous thing.

Behaviors such as slow blinking are what humans consider to be friendly behaviors, which are not recognized by other animals. However, cats recognize and imitate this behavior, which may be an adaptation of cats and humans in the process of domestication and interaction.

Moreover, a study conducted by the Human-Animal Interaction Laboratory at Oregon State University confirmed that, like dogs, cats also have a "secure attachment" to humans. During the experiment, the researchers first let the cats and their owners stay in a new room for two minutes, then separated them for two minutes, and then let them stay together for two minutes again. The results showed that cats behaved more peacefully when humans were present, which also proved that cats look aloof, but in fact they are still very dependent on their owners.

From Homo sapiens to ancient people to modern people, humans and cats have always coexisted in harmony and friendship. They exist in our lives (cat owners), on the Internet (online cat-hugging), and in mobile phones (emoticons). Humans will never stop their love and exploration of animals. They are our partners, friends, and family.