¡BASTA YA de decir que LOS GATOS son PEORES QUE LOS PERROS! ❌😾💥 ¿Gatos desapegados e independientes?

We've been wrong our whole lives saying that cats are too independent and don't care about humans at all. Hi, I'm Carlos and I'm a veterinarian and this is Alcatofo. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. The other day I was reading a scientific journal and I came across this article. New research shows why cats are more independent than dogs. And of course I couldn't ignore the article and I started reading it. There were a lot of things that pissed me off. The problem here is that we always see independence or an animal having its own autonomy as something negative. Because of course, most people want to share their lives with an animal companion who pays attention to them, who is on top of them all day. Because if, well, my pet, so to speak, is at home and doesn't pay attention to me, why would I want it, right? In Japan, families who lived with animals were surveyed to find out if they felt or believed that their animal companions could feel emotions. Dogs scored higher and positive emotions such as friendship, sympathy, or even feeling sad for what happened to people. However, cats were associated with clearly negative emotions such as hatred or jealousy. These perceptions do not come to us out of nowhere. They are part of popular culture in films and audiovisual works that we can watch. The cat Lucifer in the film Cinderella was always against what the protagonist Cinderella wanted to do, so he automatically became an antagonist and enemy. But in other films that are not animated, this role can also be seen in the case of the cat always relating to the bad guys in James Bond films. Who is the animal companion of the bad guys? Well, of course, a cat. So, as I say, it is always normal to see cats with this perhaps slightly negative counterpoint. And of course, many people are based on the erroneous ideas that cats are independent because in nature they are also independent because they are not capable, for example, of forming social groups. But the problem is that this is not entirely true. It is true that cats that live in a wild environment may not form very stable colonies or groups with other cats. In fact, male cats tend to be a bit more territorial. They have an environment where, well, they have what are called resources, food, water, resting areas, and also groups of females within. But these groups of females associate with each other, forming societies or structured groups to help each other, especially when they have litters. When the mother goes out to hunt to feed herself, the other mothers stay with her litter to prevent a predator from coming and taking them away. This precisely leads us to dismantle the idea that cats do not socialize with Each other do not get along with other cats. But of course, this belief can come from other sources. For example, there are times when our cats at home behave a little rough with each other. And that's not because cats are antisocial, but because that's the way they establish their own social norms, their dominance, relationships, a certain hierarchy of saying who's boss in the house. Later, those cats that may have had a little brush with each other at some point can rest together perfectly or even get to groom each other. In fact, in the wild, so much so that people like to use this to explain cat behavior, it's very common for two males who live together and are part of the same social group to engage in grooming behavior. And in fact, it's a social norm because the one who grooms is the dominant cat. It's a way of saying, well, since I'm the one in charge, I can do whatever I want with you. What has ultimately been shown over time and through studies and observations of how cats behave, is not that cats are always independent, but that cats are optionally social animals. That is, they form groups where there is a certain collaboration, coexistence, etc. Based on a series of prerequisites, such as their experiences when they are young. They have had sufficient capacity for socialization, that is, to recognize other cats, to know how to interact with them, and in some cases, based on the resources that surround them. If there are enough resources, food, water, resting areas, as I said before, it is more likely that a colony can be established there where cats live together in harmony, because what they fight about is not because they do not get along, but rather because of the competition for those resources. The thing is that people tend to perceive this as something negative to begin with, and then continue by comparing it to dogs. They do not do the same thing that dogs do, which, which is to establish more or less large packs. And therefore cats are independent and antisocial. So, with all this, I think we can now banish the idea that cats are antisocial animals with each other and therefore independent, at least with other cats. But what about humans? Well, although you and I know the answer because we live with a cat, it seems that a study of everything is necessary. And. Well, I have good news. There already is one. It has been shown that cats are social animals with people too, through a scientific study, which seems to be the only thing that matters. Although it is true that society insists on consciously drilling into our heads from the time we are little, over and over and over again, that you Cannot trust a cat, that a cat is a worse friend than a dog. Well, all those negative ideas. Fortunately, as cats are studied, more and more social behaviors are also demonstrated with people. Look, I am tired of telling you that your cat communicates with you by blinking slowly, which I already told you is a way of telling a cat that you are peaceful, that you trust it, and that it trusts you. Well, that is an example. In a specific study, a series of cats were given the choice between several alternatives. On the one hand, they had food. On the other hand they had toys or even scents or things that caught their attention through their sense of smell. And the last of these options were their humans, their trusted people. In short, up to 50% of the cats that participated in the study chose their people. Instead of going for the food first, they would approach their humans first, greet them, interact with them, and then do other things. Their trusted people always came first. And you might say, well, 50% is only half. Does that seem like a small number to start with? Well, because the remaining 50% were divided among all the other options. Other studies have shown that if we behave in a distracted manner, if we don't call them by their name, if we don't make eye contact with them, cats often decide not to approach us. And in fact, something very interesting is that when a human goes to a cat shelter and tries to make contact with the cats, the more effort they put into it, the more they look at them, the more they call them, the more the cats respond and the closer they get to them, even if they don't know the person. Of course, it's another thing to know how to approach a cat. If you don't trust them too much, then you can't be too intrusive, too invasive. You can't approach them like a bull in a china shop. Again, a cat is not a dog. They tend to have a slightly reserved nature at first. But if they see that nothing is wrong and they gain confidence, they will take the first step and approach you. If you don't understand this as a person and suddenly you go up to any cat to try to hug it, then it's normal to perceive that it behaves a little hostile. But that's not the cat's problem. It's that you haven't known how to interpret the cat and how you should address it. And as I've told you, all the experiences that cats have had previously in what is called the socialization phase are very important. It may also be that humans are a bit guilty when it comes to Bringing cats to live in our home by not letting them socialize enough. For example, when a dog is a puppy, well, after receiving its vaccinations and so on, it is normal to take it out to the park and have contact with other people, with other dogs. And that way it learns how to relate to each one of them. However, there are times when cats, well, as soon as they are born, wean them or take them away from their mother to feed them with a bottle, and then we take them to a house, and that cat only learns to relate to the people who live in that house and no one else, not with the other animals. And they do not know how to interact with other cats. And that is where many of the problems that cats have in terms of socialization come from. And that is why you may think that they are more independent. But what happens is that we humans are the ones who are so to speak, altering that learning process, that process of your cat knowing how to approach the rest of the world. If you think about it, that happens much less with cats that come from a shelter that have been rescued from the streets. Why? Well, because in the shelter, to begin with, they have to have contact with a lot of cats that already live there, and their own hierarchies are already established among them. But they are also used to having a lot of different people come to the shelter, like volunteers cleaning them, people who feed them, or people who come to visit to adopt other cats, that shapes their character and also how they interact with the rest of the world. It has also been scientifically proven that today it seems that if we don't talk about science, we are not saying anything that cats that in the socialization phase, in the first months of life, more or less three or four months, have contact with other cats or with other people, have more sociable behaviors when they are adults. For all these reasons, saying that cats are too independent, that they are very independent of people, seems like a mistake. Again. But I bring you even more science. When, for example, you leave your feline companion at a veterinary clinic because they have to perform some type of surgery, or because, I don't know, they have to look at something, your cat misses you, feels distressed. Well, that seems obvious. But in another of the studies that I have consulted, which I have linked below, like the rest in the description box, it has been seen and demonstrated that your cat, when it perceives you, when you pick it up again, feels comforted. In other words, its stress levels go down. And they do not go down because they are paid more or Less attention at the veterinary clinic because the veterinarian is more or less attentive, which can contribute, okay. But above all, the determining factor is that your cat recognizes you as a human it can trust. And that's why when it sees you, it says, oh, I'm finally going home and this person isn't going to hurt me. So with all this that I've told you and that I already knew, you'll understand my anger when I read that article published in a scientific journal where we all go to get information, to see what's new, what has been discovered regarding cat behavior. If on top of that, in that scientific journal, that should treat things with a little more rigor, we're once again comparing dogs with cats when their needs are completely different. We're starting from an erroneous, negative approach. In the scientific study, what was studied was how dogs and cats react to a situation that causes them fear, anguish, anxiety. Of course, dogs are more likely to turn to their humans to protect them from these situations. But in the case of cats, as we all know well, anyone who considers themselves a cat person, the first impulse they have when there is a situation of fear or stress is not to go to a human, but to go to a shelter. I run away and hide. So, regarding the subject of the article in question, what really upset me was that they were writing it based on a scientific study that had been done at a university, a veterinary school, drawing conclusions such as that cats are much more independent than dogs. And on top of that, approaching it in a negative way, as if they didn't know that this is the mechanism cats use to deal with situations that cause them stress or anguish. And coming on top of it from an authoritative voice like a scientist who has done a study at a university, it is normal for people to read it and draw wrong conclusions, always associating it with negative behaviors. This is like when, well, other times, other articles have been published where they said such strong things about cats, such as that they were psychopaths, nothing more and nothing less. Well, they had analyzed human psychological traits and had transposed them to cats, which makes no sense whatsoever. Just as it makes no sense to compare how people act with how cats act, because we are not the same. It also makes no sense to compare how dogs act with how cats act. Even though they are animals, they are different species, and they deal with their problems differently. So that is why I wanted to make this video, to bring you my thoughts, so that when you come across this type of thing, you do not let yourself be guided Solely by what is in the headline, but also understand well you, who are a cat person, who know how cats act, that many times the way they act or deal with certain problems is very much determined by their own physiology and by how their species acts, how cats act in general. There is no need to compare that with any other animal. In any case, if all this reflection has helped me to dispel false myths about cats, which you know, I love to dispel. Come on. And also to help you get to know your feline companion better, then I'll be satisfied with that. Although it's true that my voice in the scientific community doesn't resonate as much as these highly regarded articles. So if you want to contribute to making this known and resonate everywhere, what you have to do is share this video among all the people who live with cats, and also among those who don't. And also remember that right now the channel needs you more than ever. And if you want us to keep making videos, you, you have an appointment with us every Wednesday here on the Happy Pets and Families YouTube channel. And on our secondary channel, questions and Answers from a Veterinarian. You have a new video every day. And don't leave yet, because first we have to meet. Here we have this little one named Merlina. She was so tiny when they sent us the photo. She was only two months old. He lives with his human companion, a Susena Rodriguez. A family interested in dogs and cats greets us from Guatemala. The dog's name is Chimuelo and the kitten's name is Alex. They greet us from there with their human companion, Stephanie. We say goodbye with this beautiful, very outgoing kitten named Ines. She lives with her human companions Juan and Mercedes in Huelva. Thank you very much for following the channel Happy Pets and Families. And we'll see you in the next video. What do you say to the cat? Yes, Here, here, here. My kitten is going to take a nap, right? Kiss. Kiss from a kitten. No, there is no kiss from a kitten. It's like a collective reflection. But don't start reflecting. Give me information. Give me interesting, interesting things. Hello, I'm Carlos and I'm a veterinarian. Let go. I love you, but you hurt me. Her nails are very long. I stuck them in mine today. Twice. Oh, hello. I'm Carlos and. Oh, cat acupuncture. When we're little and we watch an animated movie, cats usually always have. Oh, wait. Give me little kisses. You can't be scratching me all the time. Look, he's giving me little kisses. That's one bite, one little K. It scares me because every time he sits up. No, don't do that, please, because you're going to ruin my knee.