Having lived in the US (small town in Oregon) and Norway, I notice a difference in how cats relate to strangers.
In the US, cats tend to be very friendly with strangers, to the point of coming up to greet me when I go for walks in neighborhoods I am not familiar with. In Norway, cats tend to be skeptical to strangers, and avoid me when I see them coming through the yard or when I am out on a walk.
In both cases, their behavior seem to reflect the human culture. In the US, people tend to be very friendly towards strangers. And in Norway, people tend to be polite and distant with strangers, and reserve the warmth to family and friends. This pattern seem quite consistent and obvious in my experience, and others – who have lived both places – report noticing it too.
I wonder if cats pick this up from humans around them, just as we humans do as a child?
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– cats and culture
– us (west coast), cats very friendly with strangers, come up to meet me when i go for a walk etc.
– norway, cats skeptical to strangers, loving at home and those they know
– both, reflect human culture (seem very consistent, and noticed by others too)
Could be an interesting research project.