Do cats get attached to their human family?

Cats have had the reputation of being aloof and self obsessed for some number of years, now. And although I’m the first to admit they more than likely feel they are the leading role in their own Hollywood blockbuster, I’ve never agreed that they aren’t capable of feeling a degree of (for want of a better word) love for the people that care for them.

A cat in Bakersfield, U.S.A illustrated just that this week, in my opinion. Tara, an average sized tabby cat literally barrelled towards a dog after the dog attacked her small human family member. She fought the dog off with a spectacular degree of heroics and managed to ensure the little boy had minimal wounds from the event.

I started looking around for other examples of cats caring for the humans that care for them. There’s been many situations where cats have literally saved the lives of the people that care for them; alerting humans to a gas leak, persistently calling another family member when there’s been a medical emergency….the list goes on. Sometimes, it could purely be the cat’s curious nature that makes them behave the way they do in these cases, but others are unmistakeably a protective instinct that drives them to ensure the humans they trust are safe.

Due to the cat’s reputation as being a rather self absorbed creature, some people will never believe they have the capacity to love their human family. But sometimes, there’s no other explanation for their behaviour.

Tara and her small human family member, Jeremy

(Photo courtesy of Kron4.com)