Cat researchers suspect: "All cats are little psychos" - why that's not bad

Created: 09/22/2022, 17:30

Cats are considered to be more arrogant animals and perhaps meaner creatures than dogs.

Why is that and why is it not bad?

Cats are commonly described as mean pets.

It is true that many house tigers are very affectionate beings who simply like to sleep all day and occasionally fetch their cuddles and food.

However, there are also cats that happily throw glasses off the shelf, destroy flower pots or knock over watering cans, even though their master or mistress says “no” with an angry look.

Why is that?

And is it true that all cats have these psychopathic traits?

Cat researchers suspect: "All cats are little psychos" - why that's not bad

Cats can sometimes have a bit of a psychopathic effect on us (symbol image).

© IMAGO / perspective

When cats engage in psychopathic behavior, it's not out of spite or because the animal just wants to annoy its owner.

Instead, these traits in cats are deeply ingrained in evolution and are natural.

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Scientific basis: Psychopathy in humans and animals as an instinct of self-preservation

Psychopathic people suffer from a personality disorder characterized by having little to no empathy, being adept at manipulating and exploiting those around them, and acting without remorse.

They are usually very willing to take risks, are irresponsible and act without considering losses.

Cats, which are commonly accused of being arrogant animals that, unlike dogs, have “servants” rather than masters, have similar traits that stem from the animal’s nature.

"It is likely that all cats have an element of psychopathy that would have once assisted their ancestors in obtaining resources such as food, territory, and mating opportunities,"

CAT Tri+ At Home Questionnaire: Is My Cat A Psychopath?

In order to get to the bottom of the question of whether your own cat is a psychopath, you can now use a questionnaire that is precisely tailored to this topic.

For its creation, the research team from the University of Liverpool examined 2,042 cat owners and their cats and created 46 questions with which one can analyze the behavior of one's own pet.

The CAT-Tri+ questionnaire has five categories: Audacious, Reluctant, Mean, Pet-Friendly, and Human-Friendly.

Each category has different questions to answer.

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It contains statements such as "My cat dominates me (hunts me, attacks me)", "My cat explores dangerous places (gardens of other cats, high places)" or "My cat runs far from home".

The interaction of the cat with other cats in the neighborhood or other pets that are not cats is also researched, as well as the behavior towards the owner, for example when playing, when the human leaves the room or the contact with other people who are the cat doesn't know yet.

On a scale from 1 to 5, it is indicated whether the respective statement describes one's own pet "not at all" to "extremely well".

At the end, the answers are added together to form a result.

Purpose of the questionnaire: Recognizing psycho-behaviour and improving the human-cat relationship

However, this questionnaire is not a nice pastime to be carried out out of curiosity.

With the CAT-Tri+ questionnaire, the researchers want to make it easier for humans and cats to live together.

Many animals end up in shelters when their owners can't handle them, and unfortunately cats are no exception.

Especially the independent house cat can sometimes cause misunderstandings and frustration because he cannot make himself understood by his human.

"Disinhibition and animal unfriendliness predicted a better cat-owner relationship, while meanness and boldness predicted a poorer relationship," the Liverpool researchers explain in the Journal of Research in Personality.

The questionnaire should help to better understand your own pet and to interpret the behavior of cats.

If the owner can use this to identify unwanted behavior, he can work against it from now on and train the cat away from one or the other psychopathic trait, such as scratching the sofa furniture or picking at the pant leg.

Cat and owner benefit from this in the long run and coexistence should be more peaceful.