If you have ever spent time around cats I'm sure you will agree that cats have personalities! Each cat is unique and will have their own habits, likes and dislikes and ways of interacting with the world, however, research has been done on cat personalities that suggest there are 5 factors that go into the personality of a cat. Let's learn more about the personalities of cats!
The 'feline five' are 5 personality traits of cats that were identified by Carla Litchfield and colleagues at the University of South Australia using a survey of over 2,800 cat parents in Australia and New Zealand. The 5 personality traits that emerged were neuroticism, extraversion, dominance, impulsiveness, and agreeableness. (Interestingly, there are also 5 traits that are often used to think about the personality of humans, and 3 out of thost 5 are shared with cats! For humans, they are neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness.)
Let's learn more about each of the feline personality traits.
First up is neuroticism, which is a trait that cats and humans share. Catster.com says that cats who score high on the scale for neuroticism are often shy and anxious. Cats.com would characterize cats like this as nervous cats in their article about cat personality types. Nervous cats may be fearful and stressed, so if you have a cat who is shy and anxious, make sure they are able to access places where they feel safe. This could just be under the bed, a cat cave or bed or even a cardboard box where they can retreat if they are feeling insecure. Be patient with a nervous cat and you can gain their trust and help them feel more secure.
Next is extraversion, another personality trait that is common to both cats and people. Cats high in extraverson are energetic, smart, curious and find it easier to adjust to new situations, people and other animals. With all that energy and curiousity, extraverted cats can get bored and even depressed if they don't have an outlet, so if you have an extraverted cat make sure they have plenty of toys and make sure you set aside time to give them attention. These cats might also enjoy walks outside either in a backpack, stroller or even on a leash.
The third cat personality trait in the feline 5 is dominance. These are bossy cats and when they want your attention, they'll make it clear, even if it means pushing something off the table or sitting in front of the TV. Dominant cats can even become bullies if you have other animals in the household, so they might be best as an "only child". If you do have a bossy cat at home with other animals, cats.com suggests try to show the other animals affection when the boss is otherwise occupied to avoid their dominant instints from taking over.
The 4th of the feline five is impulsiveness. As the name indicates, cats high in implusiveness are impulsive and can be fearless. These are the cats that might jump down from a balcony, perform parkour feats to get to the top of the refrigerator or tear down the curtains trying to get to a bird. These spontaneous cats need a lot of play time to use up that pent up energy! Cats.com also cautions not to punish a spontaneous cat when they get into mischeif, because that can make them anxious which then can cause them to get even more unpredictable.
Last of the feline five is agreeableness, which is also a personality trait that cats and humans share. Cats who score high in agreeableness are easygoing, friendly and affectionate. Their easygoing nature can actually make it easier to forget about their needs since they aren't as bossy as a dominant cat or as destructive as an impulsive cat can be, but it's still important to make sure they feel valued, so be sure to still set aside some playtime and attention if you have an agreeable cat!
Learning more about your cat's personality will help you form stronger bonds and a better relationship with them. IDRLabs has created a quiz based on the survey used by Carla Litchfield that you could use to help you understand your own cat's personality! Click here to try it out - don't worry we'll wait!
So, what did you find out? What is the personality of your cat?
Cover photo by Juli Kosolapova on Unsplash
Leave a comment