Small study reports correlated urinary oxytocin in cats and owners

Following urine samples from twenty-four cats and nineteen owners

A Kyoto University and Azabu University research group monitored urinary oxytocin and cortisol for one month in 24 cats with usable urine samples and their 19 owners. The group reported that owner and cat oxytocin concentrations were correlated. Higher owner cortisol was associated with lower cat oxytocin, but the two groups’ cortisol concentrations showed no clear association. Owners of cats with higher oxytocin also had lower negative mood, and owners who spent time closer to their cats had greater vigor.

According to the researchers, this specific relationship between cats’ and owners’ hormone concentrations had not previously been examined.

The study reports a correlation between cats’ and owners’ urinary oxytocin concentrations, while finding no clear correlation between their cortisol concentrations.

The observation adds cat-owner data to questions about shared physiological states. It is an association study, however, and the researchers said it does not establish which side, if either, causes the observed relationships.