A Study Found That Cats Mirror Their Owner's Personality

Next time you complain your cat is acting like a brat; question whether you do too

Rachel

• Published in Animals
• July 11, 2019

Questions have risen for years about why cats behave the way they do. People who don't like cats complain that they're rude, unfriendly and arrogant (which, as anyone who has met a cat knows, is completely untrue). But, nevertheless, people often wonder where cats get their unique personalities from.

Finally, science has done something relevant to answer this question! It turns out that there is research to suggest that cats mimic traits from their owner. So, to all those people who claim that they've only met mean cats, maybe you only know mean people; considering that is where cats get their personalities from.

The study from Nottingham Trent University and the University of Lincoln was titled "Owner personality and the well-being of their cats share parallels with the parent-child relationship".

Its results draw the same conclusions as other studies, which shows that cats get their personality from their owners!

The research involved asking over 3,000 cat owners questions which measured their personality traits (such as openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism).

The results show that traits that were more prominent in humans were also more observed in their cats.

WHAAATTTT

For example, if a human-owner is a permanently stressed, or anxious person, their cat is likely to be the same.

The study also highlighted those of us who consider cats as our kids!

They compared the relationship between human children and their parents and cats and their human owners. It found that between 30% and 60% of personality traits are inherited, while the rest are a result of environmental factors.

Humans who scored higher on the "agreeableness" trait had cats who had better well-being outcomes and were more satisfied with their relationships.

Additionally, humans who were more conscientious and open had cats who were less aggressive, less fearful and more outgoing.

Another study found that cats adopt the lifestyle of their owners.

The study looked at two groups of cats. The first group had the cats living in smaller home and stayed close to their owners. The other group of cats were kept outside at night on large properties.

The cats eventually began to copy the lives of their owners. The second group of cats became more nocturnal.

It showed that humans have a large influence on the lifestyle of their cats.

So there you have it!

Science proves that humans have a huge impact on how their cat behaves!

Rachel