Quoted from http://news.discovery.com/animals/cats-humans-pets-relationships-110224.html:
Cats Adore, Manipulate Women : Discovery News
Cats Adore, Manipulate Women
Cats attach to humans, and particularly women, as social partners, and it's not just for the sake of obtaining food.
By Jennifer Viegas
Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:15 AM ET
- Relationships between cats and their owners mirror human bonds, especially when the owner is a woman.
- Cats hold some control over when they are fed and handled, functioning very similar to human children in some households.
- While the age, sex and personality of owners affect these relationships, the sex of the cat doesn't seem to matter.

Although there are isolated instances of non-human animals, such as gorillas, bonding with other species, it seems to be mostly unique for humans to engage in social relationships with other animals.
The bond between cats and their owners turns out to be far more intense than imagined, especially for cat aficionado women and their affection reciprocating felines, suggests a new study.
Cats attach to humans, and particularly women, as social partners, and it's not just for the sake of obtaining food, according to the new research, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Behavioural Processes.