I think this may apply to many, or even most cats, but certainly not all. I used to think like you, but I’ve met plenty of cats that clearly have imprinted on their owners.
I think dogs have a greater capacity for this bonding, especially on average. But dogs understand humans/our body language better than any other species, including other great apes.
We co-evolved with wolves/dogs for thousands of years before cats started being domesticated. We started domesticating wolves when we were nomadic hunter-gatherers. It wasn’t until we had our agricultural revolution and started settling and farming that we started domestication of other species.
It’s believed we domesticated farm animals like goats before cats as well. It is believed that our domestication of cats began once we started having food/grain storage, and pests like mice started showing up. Cats started to hang around the food storage eating the pests, which is what is believed to lead to the domestication of cats.
I love animals, including cats, but I’m so allergic to cats that my throat will close up… I’m so glad that I don’t have that allergy for dogs, because I definitely prefer them over cats. There’s simply no other animal that can interact with us on the level of dogs. We’ve coevolved with them for at least 20 - 30k years!
Not all cats are heartless assholes, but cats inherently lack the deep level of communication and bonding that is possible with dogs. I really value that level of connection that cannot be had from any other species. A cat doesn’t watch a person’s eyes glance away, and then proceed to look where our eyes are pointing. Hardly any other great apes species are even capable of that level of understanding of human body language.
If that is what you’re going for, dogs cannot be beaten. But that’s not the only factor for people to have an animal. There are definitely times I wish my dogs were more independent/less needy when I’m busy… Cats are a great pet for someone who isn’t able to be present enough for a dog. Some people don’t want a pet like a dog that wants to be with them all the time. They’d rather have a pet that is content doing it’s own thing.
You can compare and contrast dogs and cats all day, but at the end of the day it’s all just a matter of personal preference.