It's a common belief that over time, pet owners start to look like their animals. Now comes the terrifying news that cats look up to their owners as role models and copy their behaviour.
Next time you reach for your fridge, think twice. If your cat is watching, she will probably overeat as well.
In a new study from the University of Messina, it turns out that indoor cats who live closely to their owners "mirror" the lives of their caregivers. They sleep at the same time, eat at the same time, and can even become more or less social depending on the behaviour of their owners.
"Cats are clever animals with a long memory," Jane Brunt, director of the Catalyst Council, told Discovery News. "They watch and learn from us, noting the patterns of our actions, knowing where their food is kept and what time to expect to be fed, how to open the cupboard door that's been improperly closed, and where their feeding and toileting areas are." Because cats copy our habits, if you spend a lot of time raiding(搜刮)the fridge, your cat will return to its food bowl for that midnight snack, too. According to the study, this explains why "human and cat overweight rates often seem to match".
There's no word if drinking green tea and making sure you go to yoga will benefit (使受益) your cat, but based on the study, it sounds like sticking to a healthy eating and sleeping habit is best for both of you.
There's a lot we can learn from our cats in return. "When they sit softly breathing, eyes halfclosed, the sense of peace and calm that comes over us is like a private less on in inner meditation(冥想), "Brunt said. They're probably pretty good at remaining calm.
So, according to science, though we think that cats are not close to us all these years, it turns out they are in fact learning from us and looking up to us. Scary, huh?
