Science shows what those of use not blinded by the allure of moving-stuffed-animals already knew:
The study is entitled “Personality Structure in the Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris catus), Scottish Wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia), Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), and African Lion (Panthera leo)” (PDF). Truly, I love these academic titles.
The researchers set out to discover whether there were any consistent similarities in personality between these disparate types of felines.
What they found was that each had three dominant personality types. The Scottish wildcat, for example, had at its core dominance, agreeableness and self-control. Which is not dissimilar to many of my Scottish friends.
How is this all not totally obvious and easily observable? –
In order to better understand cat personalities, cat experts rated a number of animals’ behaviors using the “Big-Five” human personality traits:
1- Openness to Experience
2- Conscientiousness
3- Extraversion/Introversion
4- Agreeableness
5- NeuroticismAccording to the research, domestic house cats and African lions have similar personality structures. Both have strong characteristics related to dominance, impulsiveness and neuroticism.
If you have ever thought your cat was anxious, insecure, tense, suspicious, or aggressive toward you, you aren’t making it up. If they were bigger, your cats would probably consider killing you.
But the news isn’t all bad: just like lions, house cats are also playful, excitable and impulsively hilarious.
