Foerder Preston, Howard Mary C
Psychology Department, CHASS, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI 48221, USA.
Psychology Department, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Sep 7;14(17):2604. doi: 10.3390/ani14172604.
Domestic cats are capable of leading both solitary and social lives and socializing to humans. This type of socialization may also enhance an animal's problem-solving ability. We examined the relationship between socialization and problem-solving ability, problem-solving speed, and latency to approach a novel apparatus in domestic cats. Socialization towards humans was measured with the Feline Behavior Assessment based on the ASPCA's Feline Spectrum Assessment. This modified measure requires assessors to observe an individual cat's behavior during three steps: observation test, door test, and the stroke and push test. During each test, the assessor examined specific behaviors that are indicative of socialization. Problem solving was assessed with a food-acquisition puzzle box that required the subject to pull on a tab to release a food reward. Twenty-four out of eighty-six cats solved the problem-solving task. More socialized cats were more likely to solve the problem, solve it faster, and approach the apparatus sooner. We also found a significant relationship between age and problem solving; younger adult cats were more likely to solve the problem than older adults. These results provide evidence that domestic cats are not only capable of solving this type of problem but also that their socialization towards humans influences their abilities.
家猫既能过独居生活，也能过群居生活，并与人类进行社交。这种社交行为也可能会提高动物的解决问题的能力。我们研究了家猫的社交能力与解决问题的能力、解决问题的速度以及接近新装置的潜伏期之间的关系。基于美国防止虐待动物协会（ASPCA）的猫行为谱评估，采用猫行为评估来衡量猫对人类的社交能力。这种改进后的测量方法要求评估者在三个步骤中观察每只猫的行为：观察测试、门测试以及抚摸和推搡测试。在每次测试中，评估者检查特定的、表明社交能力的行为。通过一个获取食物的拼图盒来评估解决问题的能力，该拼图盒要求受试者拉动拉环以获得食物奖励。86只猫中有24只解决了问题解决任务。社交能力更强的猫更有可能解决问题，解决问题的速度更快，并且更快接近装置。我们还发现年龄与解决问题之间存在显著关系；年轻的成年猫比年长的成年猫更有可能解决问题。这些结果表明，家猫不仅有能力解决这类问题，而且它们对人类的社交能力会影响其解决问题的能力。
