A latest research has found that domestic cats don’t usually think of their owners as a focus of safety and security in the way, dogs do. The study, performed by animal behavior specialists at the University of Lincoln, UK, has shown that dogs recognize their owners as a safe base where as the relationship between people and their feline friends is apparently different.

It is increasingly known that cats are more social and have more ability to have shared relationships than generally thought. The new study has shown that adult cats seem to be more autonomous even socially, and they are not necessarily relying on others for protection.

Daniel Mills, who led the study with Alice Potter, said, “The domestic cat has recently passed the dog as the most popular companion animal in Europe, with many seeing a cat as an ideal pet for owners who work long hours”.

Mills added that as per earlier researches some cats show signs of separation anxiety when their owners leave them alone, the same way that dogs do. But, the recent study has in fact shown that cats are very independent than canine companions. Mills mentioned that there might be the case that what they interpreted as separation anxiety were actually signs of frustration.

During the study, researchers observed the relationships between many cats and their owners. Researchers placed the pets in a strange environment together with their owner, with a stranger and also on their own and observed their reactions.