I think dogs can be like that too. We were told when she came to us that our dog Sonia, who bears a close resemblance to the RCA dog, spent most of the first two years of her life living by herself in a forest where she relied on her own skills to stay alive. Although she's lived with us for three years she looks at the world first from her own point of view and afterward takes into account our greater power (food, door opening ability, control of leash and so on). When she encounters a new person she seems to give them no special dominant status as human, examining them simply with interest. Sometimes you can see perplexity on their face, why isn't this dog in the background, in its place, who does it think it is?
I think this was the best definition and comparison could be done about the feline nature. I believe it's precisely this sense of equality and independence that attracts me in cats.