Rats exploring a new environment do better with a buddy. Scientists measured rats second exploration of a novel space either alone or with another rat. Rats who had a buddy on that second trial were more exploratory, and the effect lasted through a third solo trial. Read more!
Who would have guessed that the big research questions of 2014 would be all about cats (okay, I’m biased)? Do cats really love us? Do they recognize our voices? Do they hate petting? Why do they love boxes? Does anyone understand them (even our vets?)? Why are cats so mysterious???
I wrote about several cat studies that came out in the last year or so: on whether cats ignore us when they hear our voices, whether cat bites are related to depression, whether play can prevent behavior problems, how people feel about stray cats, how little veterinarians know about cat behavior, and of course the yet-unpublished study claiming that cats aren’t attached to us.
Czech deer taking no chances
There used to be an electric fence at the Czech-German boundary. While the Iron Curtain may have come down 25 years ago, red deer prefer to maintain that previous line in the sand, and are not crossing into "foreign territory." Read more here.
A recent study in PlosOne suggested that people who are treated for cat bites are more likely to suffer from depression. I tell you why I'm not yet convinced, over at the Berkeley Science Review...
Early-life isolation leads to cognitive deficits in cows
Separating calves from their cow friends may lead to social awkwardness, have less coping skills and makes it harder for them to solve problems. Read more about the study.
My latest article about the science behind what it means to be a cat person...check it out over on the Dodo!
I hate to report on research before it’s been written up and peer reviewed, but since “the cat has been let out of the bag” on this one via Reddit and several media outlets, I feel I have to comment on what I’m seeing and reading in the headlines (already: "Study: Your cat hates you and "Sorry, your cat hates you").
Veterinarian Daniel Mills (the same person who brought us the “cats hate petting” study) is currently leading a study to examine the relationship between cats and their owners, or as he states at (:30) “Whether cats are making an emotional commitment” to their owners. You can watch the news clip here:
Photo by Jacqueline Munera.
Rumor has it, cats hate petting! Science PROVES it, right? WRONG!...I debunk the myth over at the Berkeley Science Review...