It appears like we have found ourselves a copycat.
Yes, you read that right. Your feline companions are found to be mimicking your personality and characteristics more than you think, especially your extroversion, openness, and emotional stability.
In a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE, they found that the traits of human cat owners that appear to be more dominant were also seen in their cats.
Researchers surveyed more than 3,000 cat owners and asked questions that will measure their personality traits of the Big Five Inventory, which is a psychological model that focuses on language and vocabulary and the five broad traits of hoomans, which are extroversion, openness, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
In conclusion, they found that owners who have a high neuroticism percentage also had cats with behavioral problems. Meanwhile, owners who are more extroverted had cats who love to enjoy the outdoors.
This finding is also like a parent raising their children.
“Many owners consider their pets as a family member, forming close social bonds with them,” Lauren Finka, co-author of the study and animal welfare researcher from Nottingham Trent University, told The Telegraph in an interview. “It’s therefore very possible that pets could be affected by the way we interact with and manage them, and that both these factors are in turn influenced by our personality differences.”
However, she believes more research is needed to know more on human-cat relationship and to what degree does an owner’s personality influence their pets.
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