About That Published Paper Stating Cats are More Independent Than Dogs & Contest Winner

Photo Courtesy: Gordon Brice

There was a flurry of publicity surrounding an article about cats and attachment to owners published this week in Plos One, a Journal of published "research" that states on their website: There's no stress waiting to find out if your article meets subjective acceptance criteria. Read that again. Carefully. When research is published in a Peer Reviewed Journal it takes a long time and passes through the hands of several researchers in your field. From what I read, that's apparently not so with Plos One. They go on to assure that Every article published by PLOS ONE is thoroughly assessed by an Academic Editor and an average of 2 reviewers drawn from an expert global network.  Then they brag about an academic network and go on to say how much publicity they can crank out for your paper.  You can find links for Publication Fees, Media, well, you get the idea. Those fees, by the way, can range from just over thirteen hundred dollars to nearly three thousand dollars. Check it out for yourself. They also have some support for those who cannot afford to pay the fees. I had seen articles from this publication which does show that they get a lot of publicity. I will admit that I have never read anything in this Journal when researching an article for publication.

Photo Courtesy: Frank Incremona

This takes us to the aforementioned Domestic Cats (Felis silvestris cats) Do Not Show Signs of Secure Attachment to Their Owners by Alice Potter and Daniel Simon Mills Animal Behavior Cognition and Welfare Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It was received on June 5, 2013, Accepted on June 18, 2015, and published on September 2, 2015. It was not externally funded, but was undertaken in partial fulfillment of the MSc of Alice Potter.

The paper goes on to detail how they devised research done on a small number of cats based on research that is done with dogs to determine their attachment to their owners. Cats and Dogs are two entirely different species with very different norms of behavior. One thing that you do not do is remove cats from their home environment and expect them to behave as they normally would when plunked down in an entirely new place. They need as much time as it takes to adjust to a new place, a new home. They prefer to watch from a place of safety where they can observe but not be seen, emerging when they are comfortable. This was not provided for them. Dogs are completely different and unless the dog has a behavior issue with shyness or fear, they don't care where they are. One place is as good as the next. 

Photo Courtesy: Lisette Brodey

Dogs tend to view a room as a human does, on one level. Cats view a room on many levels. The floor is the first, the chair is on the second level, with levels increasing as higher places are found in the room. 

These "researchers," using this design, then brought in cats to see if they were attached to their owners and how they responded to strangers in the room. How were the people standing or moving? Why were the cats observed in a strange place and expected to behave the way another species would? Few of the footnotes mentioning other research concerned cats. One was about Monkeys, far more were about dogs.

I don't mind saying this: I'm not impressed. 

The truth about cats, which any behaviorist or behavior consultant can tell you, is that cats are Independent Hunters but they are not Independent Animals. They seek out affection and attention. This is why a cat is often on the book you are reading or your keyboard while you are at the computer. He is soliciting attention. Cats often greet their owners at the door when they come home and some are quite vocal, using a number of sounds as they "talk" to their owners. Many cats will follow their people from room to room, engage them in play and behave as one would expect a loving companion to behave. They headbutt and give slow eye blinks as a display of affection, rub up against their owners, some kiss and snuggle in for a cuddle. If that isn't attachment then someone is going to have to come up with a different definition of the word.

Photo Courtesy: Jayne Lewis

Sadly, the pseudo-science is confirming Old Wives' Tales about cats that many of us have been working to dispel and replace with the truth. Comments to articles based upon this paper range from clear descriptions of cats who do not behave that way at home but are, indeed, attached to their owners, to those saying it confirmed how awful cats are!  

Frankly, I'm disgusted. I would welcome real, peer-reviewed research. If I'm wrong then I want peer-reviewed research by experts in the field to prove it.

What's your opinion?

Now, to announce the winner of this past week's contest. The lucky winner of a copy of The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie, published by Hay House, is Sue Werkheiser! Congratulations! Please contact me through my website: www.darlenearden.com, with your mailing address which will be sent along to the publisher so you can receive the book.  Thanks to everyone who entered.

Watching Cat Videos and Saving Lives

Avi Photo Courtesy Eddie Pena

I'll bet you're wondering what watching videos and saving lives have in common. It's actually pretty simple, so simple that you'll wonder why you didn't think of it first. 

You're sitting at your computer. I know that because you're reading this. What are you going to do after you've read this blog post? Go back to work and wait for another break to surf the 'net again? Or are you going straight to surfing? If you're reading my blog it's a pretty good bet that somewhere along the way you're going to be watching cat videos. What would you think if every time you clicked on a site to watch a cute cat video, cat meme or cat photo it meant you were making a donation to cancer research, to help save lives? Pretty neat, isn't it? Here's the payoff (any pun intended), the site, Cats vs Cancer, exists. Point your browser to catsvscancer.org to find it.

Cinnamon Courtesy Jayne Lewis

I had an opportunity to interview Tom O'Connor, co-founder and CEO. His friend Eddie Pena, is co-founder and COO. 

Q. WHOSE IDEA WAS THE WEBSITE?  HOW LONG HAS IT BE UP?

We just launched about 7 weeks ago on December 1st, 2014.

I got the idea for the site two years ago when I realized how good the internet was getting at raising money for charity, after saw my wife, Amber, playing an app/game on her phone that donated money to fight world hunger for every few minutes you played. I instantly loved the idea of generating money for a good cause by simply entertaining someone for just a few minutes.

At the same time I'd been thinking about how adorable cat videos were really taking over the internet in such a funny way. Everyone was sharing them on social media, email, etc.

Then it hit me. Wouldn't be really great if you could raise money for a good cause simply by watching cat videos? 

Q. HOW IS IT FUNDED AND HOW DOES IT RAISE MONEY?

We are an all-volunteer operation at the moment, so for now it doesn't cost too much to run the site. Eddie and I initially funded it with our own money, and now we are raising money through the google ads placed on the site, as well as direct donations.

Once we have a big enough audience, we can sell ads directly to companies, just like any other site. This is a big step because selling our own ads would generate a lot more for our charity partners!

Cat Courtesy of Karin Bundy

Q. WHO IS INVOLVED IN SELECTING THE CHARITIES THAT ARE SPONSORED AND HOW OFTEN DO THE CHARITIES CHANGE?

Right now we are changing the charities monthly. We research them on our own, and have been relying on people from other organizations who have years of non-profit experience to guide us in making our charity choices.

Q. WHY DID YOU OPT TO FUND CANCER IN PEOPLE? WOULD YOU EVER FUND RESEARCH FOR CANCER IN PETS?

Nearly everyone I spoke to in the years leading up to our launch could tell me a story about how cancer had affected them in some way. Whether it was a close friend, or a family member, cancer wasn't something you I found people very far removed from. As far as funding research for cancer in pets, yes, we have discussed it and may do that at a later date.  

Q. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY?

Thank you for the support. People always ask how they can help us....of course you can "donate meow" as we like to call it, and that really goes along way! But even more so we want you to come watch videos on the site, share content with friends, and come back often.

The more you visit, the more you help us in raising money for our charity partners.

Meet the co-founders here: bit.ly/1sXBCAA I promise that you'll love their video. The Charity of The Month is also posted on the site so you'll know where the money is going.

On New Year's Eve, Superior Digital Displays, donated a 13-story billboard in Times Square to support the cause. Really. Here it is:

Cats vs Cancer lets you do something good while you're having fun. Who can resist that?