Changes

Normally, cats depend on their [[Feline Territorial Behaviour|location and territory]] for security, rather than to other individuals. This could be described as an attachment; cats show signs of anxiety and distress when taken away from their territory, and will attempt to return to it. This is because cats are [[Feline Predatory Behaviour|solitary hunters]] and do not require other cats to help them to gain the resources that they need to survive. The territory provides everything that the cat needs to survive and thrive. It is unlikely that cats develop exactly the same kind of attachment related problems as are seen in obligate social species such as the dog. However, cats that are anxious or fearful may come to depend on their owner(s) for security and reassurance, either because their environment does not offer them sufficient opportunities to regulate their own emotional state, or because the owner has control of resources the cat needs and uses access to these to reinforce dependent ands attention seeking behaviour. Keeping cats indoors is observed to increase the level of interaction between cats and their owners, and it might be expected that dependence problems would be more common in these individuals.

Normally, cats depend on their [[Feline Territorial Behaviour|location and territory]] for security, rather than to other individuals. This could be described as an attachment; cats show signs of anxiety and distress when taken away from their territory, and will attempt to return to it. This is because cats are [[Feline Predatory Behaviour|solitary hunters]] and do not require other cats to help them to gain the resources that they need to survive. The territory provides everything that the cat needs to survive and thrive. It is unlikely that cats develop exactly the same kind of attachment related problems as are seen in obligate social species such as the dog. However, cats that are anxious or fearful may come to depend on their owner(s) for security and reassurance, either because their environment does not offer them sufficient opportunities to regulate their own emotional state, or because the owner has control of resources the cat needs and uses access to these to reinforce dependent ands attention seeking behaviour. Keeping cats indoors is observed to increase the level of interaction between cats and their owners, and it might be expected that dependence problems would be more common in these individuals.

==Maintenance stimuli==

==Emotional homeostasis==

Research in dogs supports a hypothesis that emotional homeostasis in that species is dependent on the presence of "maintenance stimuli" in the animal's environment<ref>Appleby, D., Pluijmakers, J. (2004) Separation Anxiety in Dogs: The Function of Homeostasis in its Development and Treatment. ''Clinical Techniques in Small Animal Practice''. 205-215.</ref>. Maintenance stimuli are those stimuli which the puppy experiences in the secure presence of its mother during the sensitive period, typically in and around the maternal den. These stimuli are associated with parasympathetic arousal. As the puppy develops, its attachment and reliance on its mother decreases, and it becomes more engaged with its environment and other members of its social group. When an environment contains sufficient maintenance stimuli, an adult dog will remain in a parasympathetic state, when maintenance stimuli are absent then the dog will enter a state of sympathetic arousal. For dogs in an unfamiliar environment, stress can be buffered by the presence of other members of the social group. This hypothesis is used to explain how puppies that are reared in a non-domestic setting such as a kennel or shed lack a suitable set of maintenance stimuli and become dependent on people and other animals as a source of security. This hypothesis could be used to explain some aspects of separation problems in cats, but it is important to acknowledge species differences.

Research in dogs supports a hypothesis that emotional homeostasis in that species is dependent on the presence of "maintenance stimuli" in the animal's environment<ref>Appleby, D., Pluijmakers, J. (2004) Separation Anxiety in Dogs: The Function of Homeostasis in its Development and Treatment. ''Clinical Techniques in Small Animal Practice''. 205-215.</ref>. Maintenance stimuli are those stimuli which the puppy experiences in the secure presence of its mother during the sensitive period, typically in and around the maternal den. These stimuli are associated with parasympathetic arousal. As the puppy develops, its attachment and reliance on its mother decreases, and it becomes more engaged with its environment and other members of its social group. When an environment contains sufficient maintenance stimuli, an adult dog will remain in a parasympathetic state, when maintenance stimuli are absent then the dog will enter a state of sympathetic arousal. For dogs in an unfamiliar environment, stress can be buffered by the presence of other members of the social group. This hypothesis is used to explain how puppies that are reared in a non-domestic setting such as a kennel or shed lack a suitable set of maintenance stimuli and become dependent on people and other animals as a source of security. This hypothesis could be used to explain some aspects of separation problems in cats, but it is important to acknowledge species differences.