Does your cat love your husband more? Scientists find out who he meows to more often

Domestic cats meow noticeably more often when their male owners enter the house than when females return. A group of researchers from Ankara University came to this conclusion.

The work was published in the journal Ethology.

How the study was conducted

Researchers observed 31 cats at home. The owners were asked to film the first few minutes of their return home using a chest camera. The researchers then analysed the first 100 seconds of each clip for 22 parameters - from the number of meows to gestures like rubbing their heads against their legs or stressors such as yawning.

Cats do indeed "talk" to men more often

The result was unequivocal:

• when meeting men, cats made an average of 4.3 vocalisations,

• and 1.8 when they met women.

Age, breed, sex of the animal and conditions in the house had no effect on this difference.

The scientists explain this by the fact that men tend to talk less to their pets, which means that cats have to be more active in attracting attention with their voices.

"Men are less likely to engage in verbal interactions with cats, and this may encourage animals to use vocal cues more frequently," the study authors wrote.

Greetings aren't just meows

The researchers also noted that cat greetings are a complex combination of behaviours:

• friendliness (tail raised, rubbing against feet),

• vocalisation,

• coping mechanisms (yawning, pulling, scratching).

This is both an attempt to establish contact and a way to relieve stress after the absence of the owner.

Limitations

The study was conducted only in Turkey and on a small sample, so the scientists emphasise that new data from different countries are needed to see if this difference is universal.