科学美国人60秒 SSS Your Cat Thinks You're Cool（在线收听）

Your Cat Thinks You're Cool 猫咪认为： 你是最好的

We tend to see house cats as aloof and independent, mostly preferring to engage in their own kitty business. But that assumption may be littered with error. Because a new study finds that, given a choice, Fluffy would probably pick you over her favorite toy or treat. The research—which might give cat owners pause—a purrs in the journal Behavioral Processes.

过去我们经常认为家猫非常的冷漠、独立，几乎都在从事它喜欢的喵事情。但是这个假设可能是错误的。因为一项新的研究表明，若有选择，小猫咪对你的喜欢可能超过它最爱的玩具和零食。这项研究——这可能会让小咪的主人吃惊——该研究结果发表在《行为过程》杂志上。

Scientists have analyzed what dogs like. And cotton-top tamarins, Galapagos tortoises, even giant pandas. But Kristyn Vitale Shreve, a grad student at Oregon State University, realized that no one had ever really put feline predilections to the test.

科学家分析了狗狗喜欢什么。棉冠獠狨、象龟甚至大熊猫。但是，Kristyn Vitale Shreve是俄勒冈州立大学的一个研究生，他意识到没有人真正对猫咪进行偏好测试。

So Shreve and her team got 25 house cats and 25 shelter cats and stuck each in a room with a set of several items. In the first round of tests, kitties got to spend time with objects in four different categories: toys, like a feather or a stuffed mouse; odors, like a cloth that smells of catnip or a gerbil; food, like tuna or chicken; and a human, who would pet them or talk to them or play with them.

所以，Shreve和她的团队将25只家猫和 25只避难猫，每一只猫咪放在一个屋子里，屋子里有很多其他的东西。在第一轮测试中，小咪们花时间玩四种不同的物品：玩具，如一个羽毛或填塞老鼠;气味，有猫薄荷味或者沙鼠气味的布料;食物，如金枪鱼或鸡肉;人，宠爱小咪和它聊天以及和它玩耍的人。

In the final round, the top item from each category would be pitted head-to-head-to-head-to-head for the title of kitty’s most favorite thing.

在最后一轮测试中，每一种东西中小咪最喜欢的事物挨个紧密的排列。

The results? “Our take home message is that although each cat displays an individual preference for each item,” Kristyn Vitale Shreve, “the majority of cats and shelter cats preferred interaction with a human. Followed next by food, then toys, then scent.”

最后的结果呢?”尽管我们的家猫对每一个东西都显示出自己的偏好“，Kristyn Vitale Shreve还说道，“”“大多数的家猫和避难猫咪都更加喜欢和人类进行互动”。第二位是食物，然后是玩具，最后是气味。

Fully half the cats preferred spending time with people—although tuna did come in a close second. And six of the 50 test kitties chose to keep it finicky by refusing to interact with anything or anyone at all.

尽管金枪鱼紧居于第二位，但是多数猫咪都喜欢喝人类相处。同时，在这50个猫咪中，有6只小咪非常的挑剔，拒绝和任何事物和任何人互动。

The results suggest that if you ever want to persuade your feline friend, you might offer your attention as a reward.

研究结果表明，如果想要劝说你的小咪，最好呢多多关注小咪，把这作为奖励吧。

“This research is relevant, especially in an applied setting, where preference tests like these could be used to assess an individual’s most preferred item. And then that item could be used for training purposes. Or even to serve as enrichment, especially for shelter cats or potentially other captive wild cats to reduce negative behaviors or even stereotypic behaviors.”

“这项研究可以进行相关应用，尤其是用于应用环境中，这类偏好测试可以用于分析个体最喜爱的事物。”之后这个事物就可以用于训练目的。甚至当做用于其他，尤其是对于避难猫或者其他野生猫科动物来减少负面行为甚至刻板的行为。