Hey cat, quit staring at me! What on EARTH is he thinking about?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Those of us who work at home are spending a LOT more time with our pets these days! How can we better understand our feline friends’ PURR-sonality?
Salla Mikkola and her team at the University of Helsinki investigated.
They surveyed the owners of over four thousand cats, which included fifty six different breeds. The subjects were asked questions about their cats’ behaviors and habits at home.
According to the survey, cats’ personalities are made up of seven distinct factors, including playfulness, fearfulness and sociability. Also, owners reported that different breeds had different personality traits. Examples? Russian Blue cats were found to be the most fearful. Those aristo-catic Siamese? They scored high in friendliness towards both humans and cats.
I guess the cat’s out of the bag! Despite being raised in different environments, cats of the same breed display similar traits.
Hmmm … maybe someone should survey the cats about their OWNER’S personalities? The results could be CAT-aclysmic!
Reference: Mikkola, S., Salonen, M., Hakanen, E., Sulkama, S., & Lohi, H. (2021). Reliability and validity of seven feline behavior and personality traits. Animals, 11(7), 1991. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071991