Um, I have to admit that I had to re-read the paragraph too Pook. Since we were originally talking about cats, at first I thought you were making a joke about the chickens usually running away from the person that feeds them.

Many cat owners I know say that their pet has a favourite in the home. They'll love one person to death, but will only marginally tolerate the existence of the other person, looking upon this other person as some stray human who will sometimes feed them.