Mary Allen
What belongs together comes together – even when a velvet paw enters our lives. But how does our character affect our cats?
You certainly remember the very moment when you met your cat for the first time and decided: “It’s you, we belong together!” A study shows how “cat-human love at first sight” comes about and how much we influence our cats.
The Owner Influences the Cat
The research team led by Lauren R. Finka from Nottingham Trent University examined the extent to which personality traits in humans and cats fit together and influence one another.
Scientist Lauren R. Finke is convinced: “For many people, it is natural to call their pets a family member and to build close, social bonds with them. It can therefore be assumed that we influence and shape our pets through our behavior and personality, similar to a parent-child relationship.”
Finka and her team asked over 3,000 cat owners about their own personalities. Afterward, the participants should describe their cat in more detail and in particular address the well-being and any behavioral problems that may exist.
The evaluation showed that the personality traits of the owners not only influenced the health of the cat but also their character.
Owners Make Their Cats Sick
For example, there was a connection between high levels of neuroticism (tendency towards emotional instability, anxiety, and sadness) in cat owners and behavioral problems or overweight in their cats.
People high in extraversion (social and optimistic tendencies) lived with cats who were also very social and spent a lot of time in action, while in humans high agreeableness (consideration, empathy, and indulgence) also resulted in agreeable cats.
We Decide How Our cats Are Doing
It seems that cats mirror our deepest fears as well as our joys by adopting these traits themselves. A balanced human makes a balanced cat – that’s more than just a phrase.
A personality – whether human or animal – is always malleable to a certain extent. Knowing this can not only help us to become more relaxed and mindful of ourselves: our cats also benefit when we radiate more calmness when we live with them.
This starts with small everyday situations, for example when visiting the vet. Cats sense our nervousness. You can sense whether we are worried or simply pressed for time. All of this is felt by them and influences their own behavior, they may become nervous and stressed themselves.
It is all the more important to consciously deal with your own problems. Because: If we are happy, our cat is too – and of course vice versa!