Cats Love a 'Free Meal'! (March 12th)

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Do you find that your meals taste better after a long day of work?

Whether it's at a company, self-employment, or the noble labor of housework and childcare, the day's work eventually comes to an end.

"Phew, I worked hard today. Good job, me!" It starts with rewarding yourself, and since words aren't enough to cover the effort you put in, you toast to yourself with a nice cold drink.
You grab some 'leftovers' from the fridge to satisfy your hunger and have a little celebration for your hard work.

A 'reward meal' after working hard really does taste better, doesn't it?

While I was looking things up the other day, I found an interesting story about such 'reward meals' in an academic journal archive, so I'd like to share it with you.

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This feeling of a 'reward meal' isn't just for humans; it's the same for our canine friends. For example, a beef jerky treat given as a reward for working hard at the dog park or patrolling the neighborhood on a walk is said to taste better than one given for no particular reason, like just because the owner is home, which is essentially a 'free meal'.

This applies not only to dogs, but most animals generally prefer a 'reward meal' earned as a result of their actions over being given a 'free meal'.

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According to research from the University of California, Davis, mammals and birds are known to prefer obtaining a 'reward meal' as the result of a task.

In a specific experiment involving mammals like dogs, pigs, and mice, as well as birds and primates including humans,

they prepared: (1) food that could be eaten without doing anything, and (2) food that could only be eaten by solving a puzzle.
Although there were some individual differences, all groups chose (2).
This tendency in animals is called the 'Contrafreeloading effect (CFL)' in the field of animal behavior.

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Furthermore, a study published in 1971 suggested that only cats do not show CFL and prefer a 'free meal.' (Animal Learning and Behavior, 2013)

To verify this result, the research team conducted a 'CFL experiment' on 17 cats.

They set up an experiment for indoor cats with two conditions: 'food that can be eaten without doing anything, and food that cannot be obtained without solving a puzzle.' Almost all the cats chose the food that could be eaten without doing anything—in other words, the 'free meal'.

The experiment also focused on individual differences among the cats; the cats were equipped with activity sensors, and even the most energetic individuals chose the 'free meal'.
In short, the choice not to solve the puzzle was a personality trait of the cats, and regardless of gender, age, or puzzle experience, the cats showed a tendency to choose the 'free meal'.

From this, it was concluded that cats are animals that 'prefer to take it easy'.


Also, as a reference experiment, when cats were given a puzzle in an environment without the reward of food, they solved the puzzle easily.

In other words, the cats didn't choose the 'free meal' because they couldn't solve the puzzle, but rather, even though they could solve it, they 'chose to take it easy and not solve the puzzle' because they like 'free meals'.

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So, why did the cats avoid the labor of 'solving a puzzle'?

As one hypothesis, the researchers who conducted the experiment above speculate that 'it may be related to the fact that cats evolved to wait for their prey'.


Dogs hunt in packs and share their catch, and many primates and mammals search for nuts and prey on their own feet.

On the other hand, cats lie in wait for their prey.
And to focus on that one chance,
they rest intently to save energy. They spend most of their day sleeping.

When they have to work hard, they do their best, but if they don't have to, they might just be thinking, 'I want to take it as easy as possible'.

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Well, whatever the reason, it is a fact that cats love 'free meals'.
To me, that feels like a very cat-like research result.
Do the cats or dogs around you seem to like 'free meals'? And what about you?

I hope you have a great day today, too.
(🎹MIYABI)



References:
Cute Experiment Reveals How Your Cat Probably Wants Its Meals Served.
Cats prefer to get free meals rather than work for them.

Domestic cats (Felis catus) prefer freely available food over food that requires effort.

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