--- title: Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds description: A new study by scientists from Oregon State University has determined that cats prefer human social interaction to food. canonical: https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-28T12:53:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:32.272Z article:section: Science og:title: Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds og:description: Cats love a cuddle - despite their standoffish reputation og:url: https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2975b011796c4b/69877d90e20a8728eda84ec4/cats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Cats og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds twitter:description: Cats love a cuddle - despite their standoffish reputation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2975b011796c4b/69877d90e20a8728eda84ec4/cats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Cats Are Just as Smart as Dogs, Study Suggests [Watch (HLS stream): Cats Are Just as Smart as Dogs, Study Suggests](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qkv5k1zG.m3u8) (0:54)  _Published 2017-01-26. Cats may be just as smart as dogs (and humans), a new study suggests_ by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 28, 2017 12:53 PM UTC  British Shorthair tortie and white female cat with tortie and white kitten, and chocolate and cream bicolour kittens British Shorthair tortie and white female cat with tortie and white kitten, and chocolate and cream bicolour kittens Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 28, 2017 12:53 PM UTC [Cats](http://time.com/4678615/cats-mental-health-problems-study/) may have a reputation of being standoffish creatures who show their owners affection merely to fill their tummies. However, a new study carried out by scientists from Oregon State University has determined that felines actually prefer human social interaction to food, making them no less loving than their canine counterparts. For the study, which was published in the journal [_Behavioural Processes_](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376635716303424), scientists examined what happened when domestic pets and shelter cats were given a choice of stimuli. The creatures were offered a choice between food, toys, scent, and social interaction with humans, to see which their preferences were. Although there was clear individual variability in cat preference, social interaction with humans was the preferred activity for the majority of both pet and shelter cats, followed by food. “Increasingly cat cognition research is providing evidence of their complex socio-cognitive and problem solving abilities,” the study read. “Nonetheless, it is still common belief that cats are not especially sociable or trainable.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/"},"headline":"Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds","datePublished":"2017-03-28T12:53:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:32.272Z","description":"Cats love a cuddle — despite their standoffish reputation","url":"https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/","keywords":["animals","cats","nature","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2975b011796c4b/69877d90e20a8728eda84ec4/cats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2975b011796c4b/69877d90e20a8728eda84ec4/cats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cats","caption":"Cats","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/","name":"Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Cats Are Just as Smart as Dogs, Study Suggests","description":"Cats may be just as smart as dogs (and humans), a new study suggests","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qkv5k1zG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-26T21:06:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qkv5k1zG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/","duration":"PT54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4714823/cats-very-social-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```