Many cat lovers will often describe their pet as a bit of a prick, albeit jokingly. However, each cat owner can tell you that their dear cat has its own, very individual personality.
However, that was put under a big question mark thanks to a recent study, which claims that each cat’s personality and behavior can be labeled via a combination of seven basic traits.
The study aims to improve the lives of our furry friends.
Salla Mikkola, a veterinary scientist of the University of Helsinki in Finland, explained that, in contrast to dogs, considerably less information is known about cats’ personalities, and there is some extra demand for discovering related problems and risk factors.
“We need more understanding and tools to weed out problematic behavior and improve cat welfare. The most common behavioral challenges associated with cats relate to aggression and inappropriate elimination [urinating or defecating in the house],” she added.
The research was completed according to a 138-question survey published on Petsofi, an animal welfare website.
The data was input by the cats’ owners.
The reason why the study relied on owners is that cats can modify their behavior considerably in a laboratory environment in contrast to the way they behave at home.
The questions took into account parameters like a cat’s age, sex, breed, coat color, and main activity.
The humans also had to retake the same survey after a while, which helped the scientists determine the accuracy of the reports by analyzing information from the two surveys.
The final test group consisted of 4,316 cats.
It turned out that cats can be broken down into five personality traits and two behavioral traits:
- Activity/playfulness
- Fearfulness
- Aggression towards humans
- Sociability towards humans
- Sociability towards cats
- Litterbox issues (such as refusing to use the litterbox or using it poorly)
- Excessive grooming
Also, it was found that different breeds manifest different personality traits.
“The Bengal was the most active breed, while the Persian and Exotic were the most passive. The breeds exhibiting the most excessive grooming were the Siamese and Balinese, while the Turkish Van breed scored considerably higher in aggression towards humans and lower in sociability towards cats,” explained Hannes Lohi, a veterinary scientist from the University of Helsinki.
